Reception at welcome rally a pleasant surprise for Chargers players

INGLEWOOD – It's probably a sign of the times that we do it, but so many of us are guilty of it we all share culpability.

Something newsworthy happens and we jump on social media to gauge the response. The mistake isn't tapping into Twitter or Facebook or any other mode of mass media to test the waters.

It's in assuming what we see always paints an accurate picture.

Melvin Gordon made that mistake. So did Joey Bosa. And while Philip Rivers isn't a big social media guy, he heard enough from people around him that he thought he had a pretty good handle on things.

It was all over social media, after all.

The Chargers aren't welcome in Los Angeles. They'll fail miserably in their new home upon moving from San Diego.

The Bolts are hated anywhere north of the Orange County line.

Despised. Unwanted. Detested.

Their new home won't support them. They'll fail miserably and regret the day they ever decided to make the 120-mile move up Interstate 5.

The venom was everywhere. The hate intense. If you spent five minutes on Twitter you would have thought the New York Yankees showed up at Fenway Park and told the Boston Red Sox to take a hike.

Bad.

Like so many others, many of the Chargers players got sucked into the mass cesspool soon after the Chargers announced they were leaving San Diego for L.A.

And upon taking one look, or two or three, they freaked out.

“You hear that nobody up here wants you,” Rivers said.

What in the world are we stepping into, they thought.

“I mean, on social media you just see all the negative comments,” Gordon said.

He was worried, is what he was saying.

The second-year running back from Wisconsin opened a smile that seemed to stretch from Imperial Beach to the Ventura County line.

“Then you get here today and you realize we have support,” he said.

“Today” was the Chargers’ Welcome to Los Angeles gathering at The Forum on Wednesday, at which around 200 local Chargers fans opened their arms to L.A.'s newest NFL.

It doesn't mean the Chargers will have a ready-made full throttle passionate fan base waiting for them when they open next season

Because they won't.

It doesn't mean they don't face an uphill challenge finding their place in a crowded Los Angeles sports landscape

They do.

But you got the feeling Wednesday in watching the local Chargers fans on hand and the energy they created and the good vibes they delivered the Chargers at least have a foundation to build on.

“I didn't know there were this many Chargers fans in L.A.,” Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett said. “I was shocked to see how deep the fans were.”

They'll have to work for it. They'll have to deliver a product worthy of our care and support. And while we don't give our hearts frivolously, we've proven over and over and over again when you do right by us we'll do right by you.

Doesn't matter if you're a native or one of the millions who arrived here from somewhere else. As long as you're good neighbor and a positive contributor to the region, chances are you'll be one of us in no time.

That's been the case going back to the Rams arriving here from Cleveland in 1946, to the Dodgers from Brooklyn in 1958 and the Lakers from Minneapolis in 1960.

We may talk a good game. We're tough, judgmental and demanding.

But if you stick around long enough to reel us in, then give us something compelling enough to hold our interest, we've got your back.

And for every Rams fan or local Raiders fan who'll never jump over to your side, there's plenty of others just standing on the sideline waiting to get pulled in.

So don't fret about the haters or the loudmouth bullies on social media.

The Chargers understand the challenge.

But they sure were relieved to see the door wasn't exactly slammed in their face as Twitter and other outlets led them to believe.

“Seeing this support, it's amazing,” Bosa said.

Added Gordon: “I know we've got to come up here and build a fan base. We've been in San Diego for 50-plus years so I knew it wasn't going to be super sweet or this would be sold out. But it was definitely way more than I thought would be here.”

Rivers doesn’t waste his time on social media, but he heard enough from friends to worry the shoulder Los Angeles offered him would be as cold as a January playoff game in Green Bay.

But after spending the last few days here, his outlook has brightened.

“Shoot, just walking on the street here the other day you get people recognizing you and saying ‘Go Chargers.’ I think that part we'll be just fine,” Rivers said.

But he understands the responsibility he has in cultivating and maximizing the success of that opportunity.

“As coaches and players, once this all settles, we're used to playing and working and playing football,” Rivers said. “If we do that well, if we win games, then I think we'll be all right.”

Nothing is guaranteed.

But you get the sense after observing things in the real world rather than cyberspace, the Chargers have a real opportunity to succeed here.

It’s going to be an uphill climb.

But it won't be Mount Everest.