An attempt to "Rick-roll" fans of the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers at the start of the fourth quarter Sunday instead wound up angering some Los Angeles Chargers players.
The opening of "Renegade" by Styx -- the Steelers' adopted anthem -- blared over loudspeakers at Dignity Health Sports Park, with the full intention of morphing it into the much-lampooned 1980s song "Never Gonna Give You Up," by Rick Astley.
However, upon hearing the opening of "Renegade," fans of the visiting Steelers -- who were quite numerous, very loud and thrilled with a 24-10 lead at the time -- took it up a notch.
"It was crazy," Chargers running back Melvin Gordon told the Los Angeles Times. "They started playing their theme music. I don't know what we were doing -- that little soundtrack, what they do on their home games. I don't know why we played that.
"I don't know what that was. Don't do that at our own stadium. ... It already felt like it was their stadium. ... I don't understand that."
Added offensive lineman Forrest Lamp: "We're used to not having any fans here. It does suck, though, when they're playing their music in the fourth quarter. We're the ones at home. I don't know who's in charge of that, but they probably should be fired."
The Chargers are playing games at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, this season while their new Hollywood Park home, which they will share with the Los Angeles Rams, is being completed in time for the 2020 season. The Carson stadium is the home of the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer.
Coach Anthony Lynn, for what it's worth, doesn't believe the music blaring over the public-address system had anything to do with Sunday's 24-17 loss that dropped the Chargers to 2-4 this season.
"The crowd doesn't play," Lynn said, according to the Times. "If anything, I thought that crowd tonight brought a lot of energy to the stadium. It was an exciting night to play football. We just didn't execute the way we should have."
