Lone Chargers Fan Among a Sea of Vikings Fans is a Sports Photo of the Year Candidate
The Minnesota Vikings and their fans took over Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California Sunday. While the Vikes dominated the Chargers on the field by the tally of 39-10, their fans took over the entire stadium, outnumbering Chargers fans nine-to-one by some estimates. And that situation gave us one of the best sports photographs of the year.
In the midst of that crazy scene of Vikings celebration, a photo captured one lone Chargers fan. Draped in a powder blue hat and t-shirt, he sat among a sea of standing, cheering Vikings fans. His arms were crossed defiantly and the expression on his face showed he was not, in fact, enjoying his day.
Robert Gauthier of the LA Times captured that shot among many on Sunday. He sent it out in this tweet:
A purple haze hangs over #DignityHealthSportsPark #Vikings 39 #Chargers 10https://t.co/9eqxizQwDv@JeffMillerLAT @LATimesfarmer @latimessports pic.twitter.com/lHjTykduUH
— Robert Gauthier (@rgaut999) December 16, 2019
Here's a tweet focused on just that photo:
Amazing pic by @latimes photographer Robert Gauthier capturing Fan Appreciation day pic.twitter.com/0pHbRDPVKB
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) December 16, 2019
That's an absolutely amazing photo and sums up the entire Chargers experiment in Los Angeles. It beautifully represents the entire mess Dean Spanos and the NFL made by allowing the franchise to relocate. Oh, and yes, yesterday was "Fan Appreciation Day." I truly hope all of those Vikings fans felt appreciated in Los Angeles.
Because of how perfect that shot is and the message it sends, it is definitely one of the sports photographs of the year.