A Darkness Retreat: The "Rick Roll Game" As Told by the Chargers Fans Who Were There
- Dominic Mucciacito
- Nov 8
- 12 min read
Updated: Nov 10
This is the true story of one of the biggest gaffs in Chargers history; the night that the stadium MC played the rock anthem of the visiting team.
The NFL left Los Angeles in 1995 and did not return until 2016 when the Saint Louis Rams became the Los Angeles Rams once again. Born in 1936, the Cleveland Rams played for a decade in Ohio before owner Dan Reeves moved the franchise to Los Angeles in 1946.
If you think about it, teams have been either moving west to LA, or threatening to, since before the Potsdam Agreement.
In the late fifties, the Rams went from being the major professional sports franchise in Southern California to being one of five. The Los Angeles Dodgers moved from Brooklyn in 1958, the Los Angeles Chargers of the American Football League were founded in 1960, the Los Angeles Lakers moved from Minneapolis in 1960, and the Los Angeles Angels were awarded to Gene Autry in 1961.
In the decades that followed the Kings, Raiders, Clippers, Ducks, Angel City F.C., Galaxy, Sparks, L.A.F.C., and obviously, the Chargers would join them. All the while competing with the two major university's teams for attention. Nobody could possible be a fan of all of them, so they choose.
After the professional football teams ditched them, those with a taste for pro football didn't go hungry; a whole generation of Anglinos were given the run of the menu.
Unchained from the local franchises, the television broadcasts could now air the best teams; the best games. Perhaps you stayed loyal to your parent's teams. Others simply chose a team that won indiscriminately of what decade it is: clubs like Pittsburgh, Green Bay, San Francisco, New England, and, more recently Kansas City gained LA chapters of fandom.
Aaron Vrabel and his dad have been going to Chargers games since 2002 and have been season ticket holders since 2004. They have seen the team's bandwagon both teeming with revelers and deserted; listless. They have seen the fans of the opposing teams fill the stands on many occasions, first in San Diego, and now in LA.
Aaron Vrabel: If the Chargers aren't having an amazing season, fans don't show up. I've labeled it "perfect weather fans" and it's funny to see some people pick up my term on Twitter. It's so true!
Let's be honest. These team fans don't travel, they are 98% Southern California born-and-raised fans of those teams, and bandwagoners. Possibly they are "traveling" from some city within the IE, LA, or SD counties, but have never even been to the state of where their teams reside.
All the mattered is that the interest in the game continued to grow. The vacuum in Los Angeles didn't diminish any interest in the sport, even if you now had to catch a flight to see game.
"When allegiance calls, the archaficionado of pro football sheds the trappings of normal life and, coped in the bliss of his daydreams, flies forth to worship Sunday's sweaty demigods." -George Plimpton. Sports Illustrated September 13,1965
When the Chargers moved north in 2017 they played home games in the Stub Hub Center (now Dignity Health Sports Park), the 27,000 seat home of the LA Galaxy. Chargers season ticket holders were offered the first rights to purchasing seats in the smaller venue, but for obvious reasons, many of them declined.
Others were put on a waiting list. The Chargers were quick to point out that all of their tickets immediately sold out, and this was true. Unfortunately those tickets were mostly gobbled up by greedy seat brokers looking to flip them to the highest bidders.
The team sold tickets to the tiny venue on the promise that it was a 'once in a lifetime' experience, and it was, for better or worse.
Though my brother and I were put on a waiting list we attended a handful of games in Carson when we could afford to, and the Chargers marketers were right about one thing: It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There was not a bad seat in the building and the sightlines (especially compared to Qualcomm) were incredible.
Yes, the tiny stadium in Carson that the team shared with the MLS team was a punchline, but it was a pristine, sparkling punchline that did not subject the partisans to long lines that inched slowly towards repugnant troughs as they stood in rivers of piss.
Still, Chargers fans seem to be trying to forget the three years that the team spent in Carson. Looking back at some of my own posts for this story; I can feel how acutely the my adoptive city's apathy still stings.
Jesse Valdez is a Chargers fan since 2007 who creates Chargers related content on social media. His fan pages are called "Chargers Hype."
Jesse Valdez: It was shocking, disappointing, and very difficult, to be a content creator at that time. I would read countless messages from emotional fans feeling abandoned, betrayed, and bitter.
It became really ugly for former fans to let go and allow others to continue following their favorite football team two hours north. I quickly learned that the hostility and disdain for Los Angeles were deeply rooted in the baseball rivalry between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The narrative that the "Chargers have no fans" is still trotted out by fans and national media to this day. Some things die hard.
"I did NOT enjoy games at Stub Hub," said Karen Garcia, a season ticket holder for 26 years-and counting.
Garcia and her husband Ken (a Steelers fan) used to drive down the 5 freeway to attend games at Qualcomm Stadium. When the team relocated they jumped at the chance to buy seats 30 minutes away from their home in Los Angeles. The game day commute to Qualcomm could take up to seven hours roundtrip.
Karen Garcia: I missed only one home game but I can’t remember one game where there were more Chargers fans in my section, than opposing fans. By the third year (2019), I was absolutely done! It’s a good thing we moved to SoFi!
Danik Thomas and his dad owned Chargers season tickets during a decade-long rebuild that would only abate when Don Coryell became the head coach. (Thomas's Twitter handle was "Don Coryell Should Be In The HOF" for years before the coach was finally inducted posthumously in 2023.)
A Chargers fan since 1973 when the team signed the living legend, black-high-top-wearing quarterback Johnny Unitas. Unfortunately for Thomas and his dad, Unitas had nothing left in the tank—but he did mentor a rookie out of Oregon named Dan Fouts who replaced him by the fourth game!
Thomas moved to Los Angeles for college in 1988 and stayed for the sake of his career but never abandoned his childhood team; eventually becoming a season ticket holder himself in 2005. He owned seats during the internment seasons in Carson too.
Danik Thomas: When they moved to Carson, I was somewhat excited about them playing in such an intimate environment.
There were a lot of games where we knew the opposing teams fans would take over. The Dolphins and Eagles (games) were awful situations to be in, and losing by missed field goals by Younghoe Koo were not helping build any momentum for any fanbase for the Chargers.
Jesse Valdez: I attended training camp in Carson and a few games at the StubHub Center, and it was a low point in my Chargers fandom. With the game tickets skyrocketing due to a smaller stadium and resellers, the soccer stadium being taken over by opposing fans every single game, the misogynistic tailgating culture, and witnessing a loss after spending over $1100 on seats. I did not enjoy the games at the StubHub Center.
The team learned quickly that it would take more than a marketing slogan to make inroads in the larger market that already had ten professional teams competing for the public's attention.
My cousin and her husband were season ticket holders that attended the first handful of games in Carson. The last one was an October game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. After four quarters of taunting and cursing her husband had seen enough.
"I'll never take her to another game," he said. "Its hard enough asking her to go just for me, but nobody needs that abuse. That's not what I signed up for."
They still haven't been back.
Karen Garcia: My expectations for StubHub are the same I have for SoFi. People will sell their tickets to Steelers fans and we will be outnumbered in our own home. I can’t worry about that any longer. All I can do is show up and cheer my butt off for the Chargers!
On October 13, 2019, the Chargers played host to the Pittsburg Steelers. The Chargers (2-3) were coming off of a 12-4 season in which they won a playoff game but were struggling out of the gate.
Running back Melvin Gordon III held out of training camp and missed the first month of the season. Left tackle Russell Okung suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in June from blood clots in his lungs and leg, which caused him to miss the first six games. Center Mike Pouncey suffered a season-ending neck injury in Week 5, which required surgery and ended his career.
Time is a flat circle. The Steelers were coming to town to harass Philip Rivers with a tireless stable of pass rushers that included T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Bud Dupree, and Javon Hargrave, and the Chargers did not have big, or athletic enough offensive linemen to protect him. Sound familiar?
Jesse Valdez: I paid over $1100+ for three seats. But as soon as I parked, I saw the sea of black and yellow everywhere. From the parking lot to the stadium seats. Terrible towels were waving, and the crowd was 95% Steelers fans.
Aaron Vrabel: What we did not expect was to be the only Chargers fans in our section, I had never seen a stadium so filled with opposing fans outside of the 2016 Raiders game at Qualcomm after the Measure C vote failed. It was so gross.
Karen Garcia: We heard the horror stories from our friends who went to the game, when we got back…..
I’m actually glad I wasn’t there, from what I heard from friends who went.
And by the way, we sold our seats that night to Chargers fans. We could have made a killing on them, but I refuse to EVER sell to rival fans. I give them away to Chargers fans and eat the cost, if it comes down to it.
Danik Thomas: If I remember that night correctly, we had high hopes of winning that game. We seemed to have a tame, polite crowd, (comparatively speaking to some of the Raiders, Broncos, Packers, Chiefs, Eagles, and Dolphins crowds) but I could be wrong, as I was upgraded to some promotional bit by a friend and we sat in the Pechanga VIP suite seats. So perhaps I was more insulated by it all.
Aaron Vrabel: The California born-and-raised Steelers fans were super assholes that night. When I was cheering for the Chargers coming out of the tunnel I had an Edgar tell me to, "Sit down. This is Steelers stadium. Also your hair lineup sucks."
Sorry, I get haircuts at Sports Clips. (Laughs.) That night was countless, "Fuck the Chargers!" chants and what not. LA Steelers fans were extra bad.
Austin Ekeler (former Chargers running back): We were kind of expecting it from the tendencies from the past.
There’s no hiding it. A lot of times, we have more away fans than home fans. We’ve kind of gotten used to it. Today was a little more than usual.
The Steelers came into the game at 1-4 but you would never know it from glancing around the stadium; On the NBC broadcast Al Michaels pointing out that the Chargers would be the team having difficulty communicating and might have to go to a silent snap count.
Down to a third-string quarterback the Steelers were starting an undrafted rookie free agent at quarterback more known for his trophy-winning duck calls than his acumen as a passer. The game played in the comfy confines of Dignity Health Sports Complex would be his first start.
It was as if the league, the network, and Mike Tomlin colluded to give the 23-year-old the NFL version of training wheels.
When Philip Rivers threw a pass laterally over Melvin Gordon's head (he had ended his holdout the week prior) the Steelers linebacker Devin Bush scooped it off the pitch at the Chargers 10-yard line and returned it for a touchdown as though it was gift wrapped.
On the Chargers next possession Rivers had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage. The ball arced in a parabola like a single piece of coal tossed into one of Andrew Carnegie's furnaces and fell into the arms of Bush again.
The Steelers cashed the turnover into points soon after. With the game just ten minutes old the Chargers were down 14-0, on their way to trailing 24-0 by the third quarter.
With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter the Chargers cut the deficit to two scores, 24-10 and the game went into a commercial stoppage.
If you ever attend a Steelers game at Acrisure Stadium, one conspicuous quirk is the song “Renegade” by Styx is played to help fire up the crowd and inspire the defense to get a stop. While not every game afford the perfect opportunity with the correct commercial break to play the song, the stadium team do their best to shoehorn it in and occasionally, though rare, the Steeler fans even get to experience a “Double Renegade“ to inspire the defense yet again.
The opening of the Styx song— the anthem at Steelers home games, some 2,500 miles away—began to play inside Dignity Health. The crowd went nuts. Well, most of them did.
Danik Thomas: I did notice that when the media crew decided to do the stupid prank, the whole mood changed for the worst in that stadium immediately. I think even Melvin Gordon had some opinions written up regarding this blunder.
Jesse Valdez: The game presenters were trying to be funny and trolling fans with the "Renegade" song, rather than being taken seriously and having class. When that song briefly played, the roar of the Steelers fans was deafening. They felt surprised by the moment and felt welcomed by the opposing team.
Aaron Vrabel: I figured it out real quick. The Chargers never played Renegade before that game nor after that game. It was just another typical Chargers blunder of catering to opposing fans.
John Kegley (Chargers fan): I was standing outside the gate following the game on my phone. I thought it was awesome. The Padres were doing it too. They did it to Red Sox fans with "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond, and to the Giants fans with Journey.
Danik Thimas: Yes, (it was) a very big blunder, quite possibly the biggest blunder, I cannot think of anything remotely close to it. . .except for a Padres home game where they gave out "Welcome to Sea Level" T-shirts, and lost badly to the Rockies due to multiple home runs.
Melvin Gordon III: It was crazy. They started playing their theme music. I don't know what we were doing -- that little soundtrack, what they do on their home games. I don't know why we played that.
I don't know what that was. Don't do that at our own stadium. It already felt like it was their stadium. . .I don't understand that.
Karen Garcia: If they want to see their team, they can fly to their stadium and watch them. I am brutal!
Forrest Lamp (former Chargers guard): We're used to not having any fans here. It does suck, though, when they're playing their music in the fourth quarter. We're the ones at home. I don't know who's in charge of that, but they probably should be fired.
It should be noted that the Styx song did not play the whole way through. The idea behind the PA going momentarily Bennedict Arnold on the home team was an attempt at Rick Rolling; when you troll someone on the internet by linking to the music video for Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
But the bait-and-switch blew up in their faces. The joke was wasted on a stadium full of Terrible Towel-wavers who led by two touchdowns at the time. As a stunt it would be difficult to be more tone-deaf, short of a yellow towel with a lightning bolt on it giveaway.
What do you mean? The Chargers wear yellow too!
Aaron Vrabel: A fun little fact is after, I think, the Texans game in San Diego, they had a halftime show by the "Lone Star Band". I made an open letter bitching to the Chargers to please stop catering to opposing fans. I did everything from bitching about the flags of other teams around Qualcomm to citing how when we played the Jets in the 2009 playoffs they had a live band at the power party wearing green! The PA also played the Rhianna song "New York" in the stadium. I pointed out things like when we played the Cowboys they had a halftime show with dogs and all the trainers wearing cowboy hats.
Jesse Valdez: It absolutely was the lowest point of the Chargers’ time at StubHub. I did not attend another game until SoFi Stadium opened for the preseason in 2021.
Aaron Vrabel: I chalked up the Renegade song to just another Chargers blunder rearing it's ugly head again for opposing fans. It was embarrassing.
Despite calls from players like offensive lineman Forrest Lamp for the person in charge to be held accountable, neither the team nor the NFL announced any fines or disciplinary measures related to the failed "Rick-roll" prank. The utter failure to execute the joke and the players' anger made headlines, but the ultimate fate of the staff involved was never disclosed.
The officials spotted the ball, blew a whistle, and the game resumed. The broadcast came back from the commercial; neither Michaels or Chris Collinsworth made mention of the gaff. Perhaps they wanted to spare the Chargers ownership the embarrassment.
But why would they be embarrassed? Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the Spanos family, who own the Chargers, have had no trouble selling their tickets. The NFL's popularity had not waned. Los Angeles, as a Petri dish, has proven that.
Since the NFL's big tent returned the social experiment of pro football, and the accompaniment of fandom, has revealed that tribalism, alcohol, and chutzpah produce the same uncivil behavior that we thought was reserved for soccer hooligans in far away lands.
Only now we have cell phones to document what it must have looked like when Xerxes' Persian armies sacked Athens. The spirit of the mob desecrating the homes of their opponents is as present today as it was in 480 BCE.
It is no longer enough to revel in your team's triumphs and travails on the field. Today's fans are active participants in the battle; every first down an opportunity to gloat; every touchdown another chance to rub salt in the wounds of your neighbors.
If anyone with the Chargers is reading this, please don't ever hand those people the salt again.