san diego super chargers.

after saturday’s AMAZING chargers playoff victory, i reflect…

in 1994, the chargers made their first and (so far) only super bowl appearance, against the 49ers in miami.

a season ticket holder, it also happened to be my first year in radio, at star100.7 (where the 80’s and 90’s sounded better, hi star! ha.) a morning show producer/douche-on-the-street, i went by the moniker, chris the bagel boy. here i am pictured with the hoff in his baywatch (non-bloated eating a hamburger on a bathroom mat) days.

in addition to prank phone calls, wacky street corner bits, and crashing michael jackson’s hotel room, i was sent to miami (for a week) to cover super bowl XXIX for the radio station. it was a different time in the industry. money was flowing like wine, and advertisers instinctively flocked like the salmon of capistrano (dumb&dumber nod.)

twenty four and armed with a motorola flip, i reported on the food, the clubs, the parties, the women, oh, and the chargers. rolling with stan humphries, junior seau, tony martin, reuben davis, leslie o’neal, and natrone means, i (thought) i meant business. in fact, i recall sneaking into a fancy cocktail party where lee hacksaw hamilton was broadcasting with xtra sports 690. “good night, now.”

super bowl sunday was madness. i was shuttled to joe robbie stadium, interviewed hulk hogan, and watched the game from the end zone (seated next to a friend, frank “the walrus” anthony.) the halftime show, with patti labelle and the miami sound machine, was of no interest to me.

ultimately, the chargers lost super bowl XXIX to san francisco by a score of 49-26 (a blowout led by steve young and jerry rice.) given the odds, it was no surprise.

didn’t matter, we were happy to get there.

personally, it was the ultimate victory. not only did i get to see my team play in the super bowl, it was also the moment i fell in love with my chosen profession…

it’s not the end, it’s the journey.