Over the past few months, the Chargers have made their intent to "Fight for LA" well known.
Their mission is best summed up by President of Business Operations A.G. Spanos.
"We are committed to earning the hearts and minds of Los Angeles football fans one at a time."
The "Fight for LA" has taken on a variety of forms. Most recently, the Chargers teamed up with Saatchi and Saatchi and production partner, AllDayeveryday, to create a series of four films showcasing their commitment on and off the field for all of Los Angeles. An anthem spot called "Fight For LA" is complemented by three shorter films called "Earning Respect," "I've Been Waiting for This," and "Players Promise".
Several Chargers appear in the series, answering various questions directly from the heart of Angelenos. Among those featured in the spots are Keenan Allen, Casey Hayward, Jason Verrett, Melvin Gordon, Brandon Mebane, Hunter Henry, Jahleel Addae and Denzel Perryman.
And of course, Philip Rivers.
Shortly before taking the field for the first time this preseason, Rivers weighed in on what the "Fight for LA" means to him.
"We're coming into a community where some have already been fans of ours, but some are asking why should they root for the Chargers," he said. "There are a lot of professional and college teams here, so what is it about your team that we should root for you? Now, our approach is to win football games, but I've always thought if you're a team that's authentic, who fight together, play hard, play tough and are real people you can relate to, then people appreciate that. And I think that's who we are. We're made up of a group of people who act and think like that. So that's what we're fighting to prove, and that's what I think this campaign is trying to portray."
Rivers also stressed how the "Fight for LA" isn't only about what the team does between the white lines, but also the impact they can have in the community.
"This is a new community to be involved in. So many of our guys over the years have done so many things in the San Diego community. Now we have an opportunity in the greater Los Angeles area to be impactful in this community. We don't take that lightly. I know it means a great deal to the guys in our locker room to make a difference not only on the field, but off the field."
We Hear you LA #Fight4LA pic.twitter.com/G1ezdvKz0k — Jason Verrett (@Jfeeva_2) August 8, 2017
