Dodgers or Chargers, who provides better sporting event in LA?

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Stadium- Overall Grade: A+ –  Like any Dodger fan worth their salt, I have always loved Dodger Stadium. Even before its iconic orange scoreboards lost their luster and were replaced by the new ownership group (along with much of the roster), there doesn’t seem to be anywhere I’d rather be on a Friday or Saturday night, or really any night, than at Dodger Stadium.

It’s accessible, there are parking options that are more affordable than the $20 or $50 option if you are lucky enough to be able to walk over a mile into the stadium, too. You can reach any point in the stadium with the right ticket (or with lax ushers and game day staff), and the variety of different views afforded by the stadium at Chavez Ravine, from the downtown skyline to the immaculate playing field makes for a wonderful night.

Fan Experience- Overall Grade: B- –  Here’s one of the main negative aspects of the Dodger games I’ve been to. Leaving the game after the final pitch is rough thanks to parking lots owned by the evil McCourts no doubt.

But in all seriousness, outside of kiss cams and dance cams and the wonderful hat shuffle, what is there to do when baseball is not being played. Whenever an inning ends, the blank space is filled with a blank stare at a phone screen or at a badly produced hype video.

For me, there could be more excitement integrated into the games, from better music selections to better in-stadium entertainers and entertainment. Other MLB franchises have incorporated fun mascots and interactive fan experiences like racing the Freeze in Atlanta for example. Dodger Stadium, while it tries, does not have a very fan-friendly experience for spectators not 100% invested in the game itself.

Fan Excitement- Overall Grade: B – Along those lines, Dodger fans are not always very into the game it seems to me. Please don’t take offense to this, I’m fairly certain if you’ve made it this far into the article you have the mental strength and stamina to last through a major league baseball game.

But for the fans who don’t really mind if a star is up, or if it’s bases loaded and two outs, or both even, as was the case on Saturday night when Cody Bellinger came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning down a run, they don’t really seem to care.

Fans aren’t easily swept up into the moments like they seemingly should be. On top of that, there are a lot of moments that the stadium should not be dead silent that it is. Outside of a run being scored, Dodger fans really don’t do much in terms of cheering or starting the wave.

One redeeming quality is that they show up in droves, filling the 50,000+ seats with ease almost every night. But outside of attendance and a sheer mass of people, there is little buzz for much of the game, even when it’s close and against a rival.

Player Talent – Overall Grade: A – Of course, more important than the seating or the parking or the fans around you is the product on the field, and the Dodgers and their front office have that covered. Homegrown stars like Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw, and Walker Buehler populate the field, along with a crop of international signees like Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Jin Ryu who have only played in LA, and a whole new set of rookies in Gavin Lux and Will Smith.

As far as talent goes, the Dodgers are talented, and they win a lot of games and score a lot of runs while allowing the fewest in baseball. They are great, end of story.

Now, on to football.