Сан-Диего Супер Чарджерс: Диско әнінің тарихы

"San Diego Super Chargers" was the fight song of the San Diego Chargers (now known as the Los Angeles Chargers) of the National Football League (NFL). The disco song was written in 1979 during the Air Coryell era of the San Diego Chargers, and it was recorded by a session band dubbed "Captain Q. B. and the Big Boys." New Chargers owners replaced the song in 1989 with a non disco cover version, but the original version was revived around 2002. The team itself was also sometimes referred to as the San Diego Super Chargers.

In the 1970s, the Chargers were owned by Gene Klein and ticket sales were lagging after losing seasons. In 1979, the team was playing a winning and exciting style under head coach Don Coryell, popularized by its high scoring offense, nicknamed Air Coryell. Klein started an aggressive marketing campaign that included the song. Klein's son, Michael, brought some friends from the recording industry to a few Chargers games, and he requested the creation of a song based on the Chargers' playing style. "We wanted something that would light up the crowd," said Michael Klein. Studio musicians in Los Angeles collaborated with the vocalist, Los Angeles R&B singer James Gaylen, to record the song. However, the recording was lost when Qualcomm Stadium, the then home of the Chargers, renovated its sound system room in the late 1990s. The team became the Los Angeles Chargers after relocating in 2017.

Bernie Wilson, Associated Press (AP) sports writer, wrote in his book, San Diego Chargers, that the song is "perhaps one of the catchiest fight songs of all time". AP referred to the song as a "dated disco smash", while The Standard Times called it an "infamous piece of NFL kitsch". Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune commented that the song "has tortured more eardrums than anything Simon Cowell or Paula Abdul ever judged" on American Idol. The San Diego Union Tribune calls the song "cool, catchy and camp" and "a local anthem" while noting that the 1989 remake was "ill advised." The Union Tribune noted that a generation of fans grew up hearing the song and associate it with the good times and winning during the Chargers' Air Coryell era. Although the song was blaring during the 1980 AFC Championship Game, Oakland Raiders receiver Bob Chandler said that "a lot of our guys liked it. I kept tapping my feet to it." The Raiders won the game 34–27. In 1996, Neil Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs said that while he despised the cannon that the Chargers fired after each of their scores, he especially hated their fight song. Prior to the 2007 AFC Championship Game against the Chargers, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said, "I hate that song." He first heard it when he was an assistant coach with the New York Giants in 1980, when the Chargers won 44–7 while Fouts threw for 444 yards. Belichick called the game a "track meet" and recalled Chargers players such as Chuck Muncie, Kellen Winslow, and John Jefferson. "They didn't get through playing that song before they had scored again and they started playing it again. It was 'San Diego Super Chargers,' that's still ringing in my head." and some fans even played "San Diego Super Chargers" at their weddings. The song was known outside of San Diego as well. Chargers offensive guard Doug Wilkerson, who played under Coryell, said, "We were the 'San Diego Super Chargers.' That song was fast and electric, and so were we."