Why You Should Root For the Chargers
NFL playoffs continue this weekend
January 15, 2010
Antonio Garay in 2006, when he was a mere Chicago Bear.(Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
It’s because of their Jewish quotient!
Kaplan’s Korner breaks it down: of the eight remaining playoff teams, the San Diego Chargers have two Jews (David Binn and Antonio Garay), the Dallas Cowboys also have two Jews (Igor Olshansky and Kyle Kosier), and the Minnesota Vikings have one (Sage Rosenfels). It’s probably not worth letting Rosenfels sway you in favor of the Vikings: he’s an aging back-up quarterback who gets very little playing time due to Minnesota’s aging starting quarterback, Brett Favre. Nor should you root for the Cowboys, ever.
So go Chargers! Phillip Rivers is the NFL’s most exciting young quarterback. Running back LaDanian Tomlinson (and, yes, Coach Norv Turner) deserve a Super Bowl win. As do the Chargers, a venerable franchise that dates back to the American Football League’s founding 50 years ago but has yet to bring home a Lombardi Trophy. To get prepared for this weekend’s game—San Diego hosts the New York Jets on Sunday at 4:40 P.M., EST—check out this new profile (via Kaplan’s Korner, natch) of Chargers defensive tackle Antonio Garay.
Oh, and for the record, the favorites will win this weekend (home team in caps):
NO (-7) over Arizona; INDIANAPOLIS (-6.5) over Baltimore; MINNESOTA (-2.5) over Dallas; New York (+7.5) over SAN DIEGO—but San Diego wins the game.
Samson Ain’t Got Nothin’ On These Guys [Kaplan’s Korner]
Jewish Charger Antonio Garay Strives to Help Bring San Diego a Super Bowl Championship [San Diego Jewish World]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
