San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The club began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and spent its first season in Los Angeles, California, before moving to San Diego in 1961. The Chargers joined the NFL as result of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, and play their home games at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers had been the only NFL team based in Southern California since the Raiders and Rams moved out of Los Angeles in 1994. On January 12, 2016, the Rams were approved by the NFL to relocate back to Los Angeles for the 2016 NFL season, and the Chargers were given a one-year option to join the Rams in the Los Angeles area. However, team chairman and CEO Dean Spanos announced on January 29, 2016, that the Chargers would remain in San Diego for the 2016 season.

Melvin Ingram

Melvin Ingram (born April 26, 1989) is an American football linebacker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of South Carolina, and earned All-American honors. He was selected by the Chargers in the first round with the 18th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, and was considered one of the top pass rusher prospects available.

Early years

Ingram was born and raised in Hamlet, North Carolina. He attended Richmond Senior High School in Rockingham, North Carolina. As a senior linebacker he recorded 87 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

College career

Ingram attended the University of South Carolina, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks football team from 2008 to 2011. He played linebacker for the Gamecocks before switching to defensive end. As a junior in 2010, he led the team with nine sacks.

In 2011, Ingram registered 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. He also scored three touchdowns. Two of his touchdowns came against Georgia in a 45-42 victory in Athens, including a 68 yard fake-punt for a touchdown. Ingram's strong senior campaign helped propel the Gamecocks defense to a final No. 4 national poll ranking, and he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

Philip Rivers

Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina State University, and was drafted in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft with the fourth overall pick by the New York Giants, who traded him to the Chargers for their first overall pick, quarterback Eli Manning. Rivers' career passer rating of 95.7 is fourth-best all-time among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts. Rivers is ranked 3rd all-time in consecutive starts by a quarterback in NFL history.

After starting Chargers' quarterback Drew Brees went to the New Orleans Saints following the 2005 season, Rivers came off the bench to lead the Chargers to a 14-2 record in his first season as a starter. In 2007, he helped the Chargers win their first playoff game since 1994 after beating the Tennessee Titans in the wildcard round of the 2007 playoffs and eventually leading them to the AFC Championship Game.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles (ⁱ/lɒs ˈændʒəlᵻs/ loss AN-jə-ləs or loss AN-jə-liss) (Spanish for "The Angels"), officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States after New York City, the most populous city in the state of California, and the county seat of Los Angeles County.

Situated in Southern California, Los Angeles is known for its mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, sprawling metropolis, and as a major center of the American entertainment industry. Los Angeles lies in a large coastal basin surrounded on three sides by mountains reaching up to and over 10,000 feet (3,000 m).

Historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. In 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4, 1850, five months before California achieved statehood. The city experienced rapid growth with the discovery of oil.

National Football League

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL's 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing sixteen games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1923 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season; the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is among the biggest club sporting events in the world and individual Super Bowl games account for many of the most watched television programs in American history, all occupying the Nielsen's Top 5 tally of the all-time most watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015. The NFL's executive officer is the commissioner, who has broad authority in governing the league.