Wisconsin football puts San Diego to shame

Remember the temperature at kickoff for the New York Giants at Green Bay Packers 2007 NFC Championship Game?

The wind chill was about 20 degrees below zero and it only got colder from there as the night (and an overtime game) progressed.

People were sitting on metal bleachers – if they were sitting at all – and most were wearing half a dozen layers of clothing.

Now take a trip a couple hours south to Madison, Wisc. where numerous football games have been playing in well-below-freezing temperatures.

Like the people in Green Bay, they are more than willing to sit on metal bleachers … if indeed they are sitting at all … come rain, hail, sleet, snow, you name it.

There’s no doubt that these are tough people; real football fans.

Now we go to San Diego where people were complaining about a wet stadium and 60-degree temperatures when the Chargers hosted the New York Jets in the 2004 AFC playoffs.

No metal bleachers; no freezing temperatures. But from the cry of how “miserable” it was inside Qualcomm Stadium, you would have thought Green Bay’s Lambeau Field would be a January luxury in comparison.

Lambeau Field opened in 1957 and has 72,298 seats; it’s been sold out since 1960; and the stadium underwent a $295 million renovation in 2003.

Qualcomm Stadium was built in 1967 and has 70,000 seats; it was 15,000 seats short of a sellout for the Chargers’ first home game in their 1994 Super Bowl season; and it has had renovations in 1984 and 1997.

What’s the difference between Wisconsin and San Diego?

Tradition.

The University of Wisconsin has the “Jump Around” before the fourth quarter and mascot Bucky Badger. San Diego State has 50,000 empty seats per game and a historically (politically?) correct Aztec Warrior mascot.

The Packers sell out if it’s 30 below zero. The Chargers struggle to sell out when it’s 80 degrees.

Wisconsin vs. San Diego. One has tradition; the other has the sun. Seems like tradition always wins out when it comes to football.

Chargers: Status quo good enough?

The Chargers are making it clear that status quo is good enough for them.

It was good enough to give them the No. 1 seed in the 2006 AFC playoffs; good enough to get them to the 2007 AFC Championship game.

But will it be good enough to get them to an eventual Super Bowl? We’ll see.

The team did the expected Thursday by cutting fullback Lorenzo Neal and free safety Marlon McCree. It was not so expected when offensive tackle Shane Olivea, who started much of last season, was also released.

The Chargers are banking that their current roster, plus the addition of linebacker Derek Smith from the San Francisco 49ers, will be enough to lead them to the promise land in 2008.

They’re certainly going to lose cornerback Drayton Florence and running back Michael Turner to free agency. Back-up quarterback Billy Volek can also hit the open market … and the Chargers may be best to let him go and elevate Charlie Whitehurst to the No. 2 QB slot.

The Chargers are down to just four picks in the 2008 NFL draft. Apparently, what they already have is believed to be enough by General Manager A.J. Smith.

Time will tell …

Chargers should remain silent

Philip Rivers has received much criticism this week for running his mouth off, but what about Shawne Merriman?

After the Chargers won a physical game at Tennessee three weeks ago, Merriman said in regard to the playoffs:

"There were a bunch of cheap shots out there, but they can get some cheap shots on the sofa at home while they watch us."

He was referring to the Titans sitting home watching the Chargers in the playoffs. What a mistake!

If Tennessee wins Sunday night at Indianapolis (and the Titans are favored), then Tennessee will play the No. 3 seed in the first round of the AFC playoffs.

The Chargers will be No. 3 unless they lose Sunday at Oakland and Pittsburgh wins at Baltimore. That combination is very unlikely to happen.

Sure, the Chargers will be out to "get" Tennessee for the Titans’ apparent dirty play the first time the two teams met.

But Merriman certainly would have been better served to wait until Tennessee was out of the playoffs before saying the Titans could sit home and watch the Chargers in the postseason.

This week’s prediction:

Chargers 31, Raiders 14