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Los Angeles Chargers won't rebrand yet, but perhaps they should

During the chatter about the San Diego Chargers moving to Los Angeles, there were rumors of a possible rebranding if they moved. A fresh start in a new city.

The Chargers have moved but the rebrand won’t happen, at least yet. Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that a Chargers official said the team will keep its same uniforms for the next two seasons, when it’s playing at the StubHub Center in Carson. The story said the possibility of at least changing uniforms for 2019, when they move in with the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, hasn’t been ruled out.

The Chargers should change uniforms. And their whole identity, too.

The one theme from the Chargers’ move north is that nobody in their new city seems to care they’re there (it’s why I picked the Chargers’ move as the worst in NFL history, when our Yahoo writers did a roundtable judging the worst relocations in sports history). Not that a total rebrand would fool everyone in Los Angeles into thinking it’s a brand new team, but at this point it can’t hurt.

The Chargers are probably going to have a tough time creating a foothold in Los Angeles. It’s hard to imagine a large group of San Diego fans keeps supporting a team that left them because they refused to pay a ton of money for a new NFL stadium. The Rams have already beat the Chargers to the L.A. market. That doesn’t mean the Chargers can’t take over as L.A.’s team, but how would they? The easiest answer is by winning regularly, but that franchise has never been a big winner and for all but a few NFL franchises, winning big is a fleeting thing. The Chargers can’t just plan on a New England Patriots-like run to establish their popularity in L.A.

That’s where a rebrand could help. The Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens went that route, and it probably helped fans in those cities feel like they were supporting their own team, not another city’s ex. With a smart new nickname and uniform, it might generate some excitement that clearly isn’t there now for the Chargers. At least the rebranded Los Angeles (fill in the blank) would feel new, not a constant reminder of how the Chargers left for San Diego when it wanted to stay. The logo fiasco from last week should be a sign that a hard reset is needed. If that wasn’t enough, new coach Anthony Lynn flubbing the name should be.

For the next couple years, however, they’ll be the Los Angeles Chargers. In that time, maybe they’ll see the benefit in leaving their old identity behind for a completely new start.

The Los Angeles Chargers won't change their look for at least the next two seasons. (AP)
The Los Angeles Chargers won’t change their look for at least the next two seasons. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!