BOLTED artwork

BOLTED

8 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 months ago - ★★★★★ - 122 ratings

BOLTED is a six-part docuseries podcast from BLEAV Podcast Network that chronicles the rise and fall of the San Diego Chargers, the fight to keep them that split a city in two, and the aftermath that left a football team without fans, and football fans without a team. Dozens of former players, staff, politicians, reporters, and academics all weigh in for this story of money, power, and a little bit of football.

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Episodes

BOLTED: The Saga That Made San Diego a Football Widow – Trailer

July 19, 2023 23:50 - 2 minutes - 3.37 MB

A look into what's to come on BOLTED

Chapter 6 - The Fight for Nothing

April 06, 2021 09:00 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MB

2017. What was once unthinkable has become reality. The San Diego Chargers are now the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers’ move is the NFL’s grandest experiment yet. A test of civic pride, media market rights, and real estate deals. Money, power, and just a little bit of football. In our final episode, we'll look at where things stand. What happens when one city loses its team and another city gains it? How has that move redefined success for the NFL in the future? And how does San Diego mov...

Chapter 5 - The Definition of Insanity

March 30, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MB

January 2015. New San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer triumphantly declared in his first State of the City address that he would be assembling a group of civic leaders to “keep the Chargers in San Diego where they belong.” But the Chargers were no longer the only team eyeing a move to Los Angeles. The Rams and Raiders, former Angelenos themselves, were also mulling a move back. This episode chronicles the final two years of the San Diego Chargers. When the city was confronted with the errors of ...

Chapter 4 - Masters of Disaster

March 23, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 62.5 MB

By the start of the 21st century, the Chargers franchise was in shambles. They were the worst team in football, playing in an aging and increasingly obsolete stadium. But change was coming. On the field, the organization underwent one of the most successful rebuilds ever accomplished in football, producing a dominant team that won five AFC West titles in six years. Off the field, the Chargers hired longtime political messaging wiz Mark Fabiani to get a stadium deal done. What could possibly ...

Chapter 3 - Time Bombs

March 16, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.3 MB

As the nineties came to a close, two parallel crises were slowly building in San Diego. The first was at City Hall, where the city’s pension system was pushing the city to the brink of financial ruin. The second was with the Chargers, whose elite prospect QB Ryan Leaf was about to take the field. We talk to Leaf, and the policymakers who were there. This episode’s sponsors include: MANSCAPED.com - Get 20% off and free shipping with the code BOLTED. BetOnline.ag - Your Online Sportsbook ...

Chapter 2 - The Bottom Line

March 09, 2021 10:00 - 55 minutes - 51.9 MB

In 1984, majority interest in the Chargers was bought by Alex Spanos, a construction magnate who rose from rags to riches. But how did the Spanos family first accumulate their fortune? How did their management style influence their conduct as owners? And what happens when a team of underdogs finds themselves playing in football’s biggest game? This episode’s sponsors include: MANSCAPED.com - Get 20% off and free shipping with the promo code BOLTED at checkout. BetOnline.ag - Your Onlin...

Chapter 1 - Identity Theft

March 09, 2021 10:00 - 44 minutes - 41.6 MB

January 12th, 2017. The San Diego Chargers of the NFL packed their bags after 56 years of calling San Diego home, and headed north to Los Angeles. But to understand why, we have to go back decades, even centuries. How is the history of these two cities intertwined by centuries of a bitter rivalry? How did the Chargers come to call San Diego home? And how were the seeds for disaster planted generations before they would bear fruit? This episode’s sponsors include: MANSCAPED.com - Get 20% o...

BOLTED: The Saga That Made San Diego a Football Widow - Trailer

February 09, 2021 01:05 - 1 minute - 2.5 MB

BOLTED is a six-part docuseries podcast from BLEAV Podcast Network that chronicles the rise and fall of the San Diego Chargers, the fight to keep them that split a city in two, and the aftermath that left a football team without fans, and football fans without a team. Dozens of former players, staff, politicians, reporters, and academics all weigh in for this story of money, power, and a little bit of football. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a...