Joint practices during NFL training camps between two different teams are a good idea…in theory.
Jobs are on the line and the competiveness gets ramped up a level when a team isn’t going one-on-one against potential teammates. Some coaches believe that reverting away from the same drills against the same players on the same field can be beneficial in properly evaluating talent, and rightfully so.
It also can be a good time for players to release and pent up steam or frustrations they may’ve experienced in their first two weeks of camp. But sometimes, joint practices or scrimmages go south quickly, and emotions can quickly boil.
Or, in the case of the Los Angeles football scene, it can be a tone setter in what will become a new chapter in Southern California sports rivalries.
Football returned to the City of Angeles a year ago after the Rams departed St. Louis for Southern California. A year later, Los Angeles now features two NFL teams after the Chargers relocated north on I-5.
The Chargers' official slogan is “Fight for L.A.”, and after the two teams shared a practice field on Wednesday in Irvine, California, the battle to control the city’s allegiances is literally on.
The rivalry is not only brewing on the field, but off it as well, as some Rams fans made light of the two teams going head-to-head.
The two teams will clash in a pre-season game on August 26th at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. They’ll eventually share more than just a practice field when the Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park opens in Inglewood for the 2020 season. The $2.6 billion stadium will be host of Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
While the joint practice may’ve resorted to acts of violence, it should help generate interest for football in So. Cal, which has been a challenge in the past.
(H/T Twitter/lisalane_sports)
