A Chargers fan raised $100,000 to buy a billboard outside team's new LA home ripping the NFL
Watching your favorite team pack up and relocate to a new city is one of the most painful experiences in sports, and one betrayed Chargers fan decided to do something about it.
Joseph MacRae is a lifelong San Diegan who hadn't missed a Chargers game in 25 years. But when his team made the decision to move up the coast to Los Angeles, he was devastated. Now, MacRae has a plan to get back at team owner Dean Spanos by displaying anti-relocation messages on an electronic billboard less than two miles away from the team's new home in the StubHub Center.
MacRae created five different images blasting the Chargers and the NFL. They will be displayed on the billboard for the next three weeks, coinciding with the Chargers' three-game home stand.
Earlier this week, MacRae teased his followers by posting one of the graphics to Twitter:
MacRae raised money for the billboard rental via a GoFundMe page titled "The fight for LA billboards." In the description, he blasts not only the NFL and the Chargers, but also the Los Angeles Rams and Oakland Raiders organizations. The Rams recently returned to Los Angeles after 20 years in St. Louis, while the Raiders are set to move to Las Vegas in time for the 2019 season.
"This isn't just for San Diego fans. This is for Oakland fans and St. Louis fans as well," MacRae wrote. "Your cities didn't deserve this and most importantly, you didn't deserve this."
The billboard is located at the intersection of Main Street and Intersection 405, about a mile and a half away from the StubHub Center in downtown Carson. MacRae says the billboard company has assured him it will not do anything to prevent the images from being displayed, according to San Diego's KSWB-TV.
The Chargers will play their first home game in their new city on Sunday, when they host the Miami Dolphins at 4:05 p.m. ET.