Whose house? Rams, Chargers fans are true blue

Battle for Los Angeles plays out at SoFi with both sides displaying their undying loyalty.

- By Ira GORAWARA

IRA GORAWARA Los Angeles Times CHARGERS fan Angel Herrera says L.A. is a Rams town, but hopes Justin Herbert will alter that view.

Tangled shades of blue flooded the SoFi Stadium concourse. Powder blue jerseys brushed past royal blue horns in burger lines. Bolt-painted faces mingled with fans in throwback Rams gold.

“Whose house?” blared the stadium announcer.

“Rams House!” much of the crowd replied.

Though in pockets of powder blue, the response came with a shrug, or with nothing at all.

That question — whose team truly owns the Los Angeles pro football market — lingers nearly a decade after the Rams and the Chargers settled into the city's football landscape.

The Rams, who won a Super Bowl title in 2022, sport a polish that no argument over fan bases can scrub away. Meanwhile, the Chargers’ growing base insists this is just as much their town.

During the Rams’ 23-22 victory Saturday, the score felt secondary to the fans staking out territory.

Jerry Quinones, 59, is a four-year Chargers season ticket holder. A retired first responder, he rarely misses a home game. But even from his usual seat in section 330, he acknowledged the nuance between the teams.