Credit: Don De Mars/ EVT Sports

As I reach the start of my fifth decade on this planet, there is one certain thing.

Like you, I suffered as a fan of San Diego sports.

A native of San Diego, I was born at Doctors Hospital in Mission Bay. My father loved sports, was scouted by the Dodgers as a pitcher, and is the first-ever Athlete of the Year at Mission Bay High School, where he excelled in football and baseball. My earliest memories are of Chargers, Padres, and Clippers games. Mixed in were occasional off-road races, horse races, or SDSU sporting events. He loved sports, and his passion for them was absorbed into my soul.

There is nothing I would love more than for my city to be considered a sports town.

Sadly, that is not the case.

There is no sugar coating it.

The Padres are making noise, and the newly formed San Diego FC enjoyed an excellent run in its inaugural season, but there is little to nothing to celebrate (I am sorry, San Diego Sockers, but it’s true). The aforementioned Chargers and Clippers left town without winning anything special. The AFL Championships the Chargers won were the closest thing, but organized football was nothing like it is today. In the modern era, the Chargers went to the Super Bowl once, during the 1994 season. They were blown out by San Francisco, who assembled one of the best teams in NFL history.

The prized jewel of San Diego sports is the Padres.

The franchise has two World Series appearances (1984 and 1998), but with only one win in 10 games, there is little to hold your head high about. They did fall to two juggernaut teams in the 1998 Yankees and the 1984 Tigers. I guess you can just chalk it up to bad timing. Three major sports championship appearances and three blown-out losses.

One thing is clear: San Diego needs a championship. We need a parade.

Here is my New Year’s Wishlist for San Diego sports.

 

AztecsCredit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports

Relevance

The city needs to think outside the box. Look at what the Padres created. They are selling out nearly every game, and there is no end to that in sight. They took advantage of the location of their beautiful ballpark and also utilized what the city is best known for: its weather. Petco Park is now a yearly destination for Monster Truck rallies, dirt bike races, rodeos, concerts, a golf course, and holiday festivities, and concerts. They constantly utilize the tourism industry to rake in the dollars.

Most think Petco Park is filled with San Diegans at these events. There is a huge turnout from locals, but the real money is made from people visiting the city and sightseeing. The Padres are welcoming to tourists and create a party scene at home games, which is the envy of the league. You don’t need to be a baseball fan to go to a Padres game and have a blast. You can choose from multiple world-class dining establishments, drink at multiple bars, and just enjoy the electricity in the air. Before you know it, you’ve dropped a couple of hundred dollars at Petco Park. Now, multiply that by 30-40,000 people, and you’ve flipped the script on being a small market team.

There is no reason this formula cannot work for other franchises in the area. They first need to bring in the masses. Reduce ticket prices to rock bottom and attract the crowds. Grow the fan base. Cultivate the love of the sport. Then, when your organization is the hip place to be in town, enjoy the profits and keep investing in the product. The Padres continue to renovate Petco Park to make the fan experience more enjoyable, while reaping the rewards in the pocketbook. They are building relevance to the city regarding sports.

 

Continued Growth

Creating these new franchises and allowing them to flourish is not something for the faint of heart. Overnight success is a rare thing. San Diego FC turned heads, but making noise and actually winning a championship are two vastly different things. Thankfully, their excellent start should propel the franchise into the coming years. Ticket sales are soaring as San Diego is indeed a soccer town. The San Diego Wave also enjoyed immediate success but tailed off in the following years. The franchise is in a good place as well, as San Diego is covered well when it comes to futbol.

The San Diego State University is widely considered the best athletic program in the city. With multiple stars and hall-of-famers players in professional baseball, football, and basketball, the school has an athletic history that will be hard to beat. However, UCSD and USD are making noise. The University of California, San Diego, in particular, is turning heads in men’s basketball, and the USD baseball program produced several relevant major leaguers over the years. The area is growing in terms of collegiate athletics, and that is exciting.

To continue the growth in the area, San Diego must keep local high school athletes in-house. Time and time again, four and five-star football players leave for the East to play in the SEC and Big 10. They leave for more established programs, with stadiums full of students. They also leave for the money in the modern era of collegiate sports. SDSU has some money to spend, but without major accomplishments, they are paddling uphill through turbulent waters. It is a vicious circle, but somehow, some way, they must continue to grow. Keep San Diegans in San Diego.

 

Building More Memories and a Championship 

Lamont Butler’s buzzer-beater a few years ago, landing the SDSU men’s basketball team in the NCAA Championship, was easily one of the best moments in the history of San Diego sports. The city needs more memories like that to cultivate fans within the area. The reality is, San Diego is made up of transplants. People from other areas settle in San Diego and bring with them their allegiances to their local sports franchises. For those potential fans to embrace their new city teams, success is the key. Nobody wants to root for a losing franchise if they have a choice.

As a native of America’s Finest City, there is no choice for me. It is San Diego sports until I die. For transplants to become fans, they must have something to cheer about. With no NBA, NHL, or NFL team, the city is all over the place in terms of its rooting interest. That hurts us, but in time, hopefully, the city of San Diego can become attractive to a franchise in one of these three major sports. It will take a lot, but it is possible in time. Likely not in my lifetime, but the idea is to build for the future. To make San Diego relevant.

To create the opportunity, the city must continue to support the franchises it currently has in town. The Wave, SDFC, and Padres draw well in professional sports. Each must continue to create memories that last, and with those accomplishments, perhaps the city will be blessed with a championship. We can only hope. A parade downtown would instantly raise the credibility of the city. The proverbial monkey would be off the back, and the future would be bright in San Diego, like the California sun. One day. This will happen. We will experience that joy, and it will be surreal.

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.

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