A turning point for the San Diego Chargers

Black Monday 2012.

L: AJ Smith R: Norv Turner

The only news of the day I cared about was when the San Diego Chargers - my boys in Powder Blue - fired Head Coach Norv Turner and General Manager AJ Smith.  Turner and Smith were instrumental in neglecting our O Line, failing to choose and support quality draft picks and letting key talent go over the years.  The latter, in my eyes, one of the biggest reasons for lack of stability on our team overall.

(I will NEVER forgive either of them for trading Darren Sproles.  That little guy was one of the most electrifying members of our team for several years, and Turner and Co. threw him away like yesterday's news.)

While I would never wish unemployment and the challenges of it on anyone, in the case of the Chargers, I will make an exception.  We needed this to happen last year.  We needed this to build a championship team.  We needed this as fans to believe in our team.  Finally, Dean Spanos gave Chargers fan what they wanted.  He gave us hope in the future of our team.

Now, the search begins, and I like Spanos' plan for the future.  Instead of just hiring a coach and then the GM, he wants to hire a GM that will play a part in who our new coach will be.

A lot of names have been thrown around for our new coach in particular.  Names such as the also fired Andy Reid who spent 14 years with Philadelphia before being handed his pink slip.  Josh McDaniels, bane of the Denver Broncos, has also been thrown around, too.  While I still think McDaniels is a long shot, I will never forgive the Chargers as a whole team if they hire McDaniels in ANY capacity.

It's going to be an interesting turning point for my Chargers, and I can only hope that Spanos' belief in our franchise as a championship one leads to the right changes and direction for my boys in Powder Blue.

Looking forward to football season

Football season is right around the corner.  I love football season.  While baseball is also one of my favorite sports, there is just something magical about the football season.  Maybe it's because games are just once a week, maybe it's because of the action involved or maybe it's just because it captured my imagination as a child.

Rivers

I'm a diehard Chargers fan.  It doesn't matter what type of season they have or how badly they choke during play-offs.  I absolutely love and support them and will until the day I die.

Do I have expectations for San Diego this year?  Not really.  I've learned that you have to take the San Diego Chargers with a grain of salt.  It's great when they're winning, it sucks when they're losing but you'll stand by them through thick and thin.  We've always had a good, solid team but they just can't seem to make it to the big game and win.

Manning

Now that I'm living in Denver, I do root for the Broncos as my "default team."  While I wasn't very thrilled with Tebow Time here last season, I'm glad to see him gone so the team can actually focus as a unit as opposed to being under him.  However, if Denver had been smart, they would've kept him on the roster as backup QB and let Manning groom him into a true QB.  I highly doubt Tebow will become that now, as he's seemed destined to be a PR piece no matter where he goes instead of actually being the total package in football.

I digress.

I'm excited to see what Manning brings to Denver.  I'm sure every Broncos fan will hold their breath with each hit he takes throughout the season, but if Manning can pull off the impossible - which I do believe he can - Denver is going to be in for one hell of a good, interesting and exciting football season.  Even more so than when Tebow was here, which is really want Broncos fans need to see.

It should be an interesting season in the NFL overall, too.  We have the Saints under a microscope, facing fines and losing several players.  We have the Packers who continue to prove they're a force to reckon with.  We have some new rookies who are really exciting and starting from the get go.  It's going to be an exciting season, and I can't wait to catch as many games as I can!