The Chargers franchise began as one of seven American Football League teams, and after five playoff appearances in the AFL, the team made the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to hopefully continue their success. During the 1969 season, while still part of the AFL, the Chargers beat the defending Super Bowl champions New York Jets in front of a record-breaking home crowd of 54,042 fans who purchased Chargers tickets. The win over the Jets proved the Chargers had the talent to compete in the NFL, but after their general manager stepped down in 1971, and many of their stars from the 60’s had either been traded or retired, the Chargers fell on hard times for most of the 1970’s. Success finally found its way back to San Diego in 1979 when they boosted Chargers tickets sales and also made their way back into the playoffs, sparking a streak of four consecutive playoff appearances for the Chargers. In what seemed like a case of deja vu, the Chargers went another 10 years without a playoff appearance. The 10 year skid without a playoff appearance finally ended in 1992 when the Chargers hosted a first round playoff game and sold the first playoff Chargers tickets in over 10 years. The success from 1992 continued through the 1994 season when the team again got the chance to sell playoff Chargers tickets and made it to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Qualcomm Stadium has been the home to the Chargers since the merger. Millions of Chargers tickets have been sold in Qualcomm. The stadium is also home to the San Diego State football team and until 2003, was home to the San Diego Padres. Qualcomm Stadium has also hosted three Super Bowls, none of which the Chargers were in so no Chargers tickets were sold. It is also one of only three venues to host a World Series, Super Bowl, and MLB All-Star Game. The seating capacity at Qualcomm Stadium has risen steadily over the 40+ years it has been used as the home stadium for the Chargers. At the construction of the stadium it could seat 52,596 fans who purchased Chargers tickets, and most recently was updated in 1999 to be able to seat 70,561 fans. Despite the large number of seats available for fans. The Chargers along with other NFL teams have had trouble filling their stadiums. In the past few years, the Chargers have only been able to fill 90% of their stadium, which equates to roughly 65,000 Chargers tickets sold for each home game, a low number by football standards.
12-4-12: Being in second place is usually a strong position for most teams, but not when you are 4-8. Losers of four in a row and San Diego Chargers will head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers this week. The remainder of their schedule includes trips to New York to face the Jets, and two home games against the Panthers and Raiders. Phillip Rivers has thrown 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions on the season. The chargers have the 6th best rushing defense in the NFL.