The San Diego Chargers, that NFL football team that hopefully won't tank in the playoffs again this year, should pay Jeramie Duguid a promotional fee.
Duguid, a 29-year-old Hemet resident and an ultra-enthusiastic Chargers fan in good and bad years, drives what amounts to be a rolling billboard honoring his beloved team. When he heads down Interstate 15, his Ford F-250 truck with high-lift suspension is one of the most noticeable examples of Chargers spirit that game-bound fans will see.
His towering, shiny pickup already was a yellow that matched the Chargers familiar lightning bolt insignia. He added a giant, Charger-blue decal called a skin. It covers about half his truck.
The decal, which looks like a custom-paint job, outlines a big, yellow lightning bolt and displays the Chargers name and sky filled with bolts.
The theme continues on the back of his truck, where a barbecue for tailgate parties is mounted in a trailer hitch receiver. The grill was professionally painted yellow and blue with the Chargers name.
The big truck, with its oversized cab loaded with his football-loving buddies, is quite the sight when it ventures into San Diego County for a day at Qualcomm Stadium. They tailgate in the parking lot before watching the games.
"Usually people stare at you and tell you they like it," he said. "They give you the thumbs up."
Duguid was a Lakers fan until around the time he graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1998. His attention shifted south to football and the San Diego Chargers. He began buying tickets for games.
Two years ago, he bought season tickets with Albert Aguilar of Menifee, Julio Marquez of Temecula and Eddie Navarro, who operates his family's east Hemet location of Arturo's Grill. Besides their steady San Diego attendance, they have flown to Chargers away games in Pittsburgh, New England, Dallas and Kansas City.
Typically, they venture south for tailgate parties complete with steaks or Navarro's fine Arturo entrees. Duguid keeps a giant ice chest strapped inside the back of his Chargers truck along with a propane tank to fuel his barbecue.
He also carries a television and satellite dish on board so he can watch football games in the parking lot while waiting for the Chargers kickoffs.
He said he would enjoy going to the stadium to tailgate even if he couldn't get inside.
After the games, they, as Duguid calls it, "re-tailgate" for about 90 minutes while the parking lot clears out.
Duguid isn't the only one who should be paid a promotional fee. His very cute 18-month-old daughter, Sophia, wears her second Chargers uniform. She already grew out of her first uniform.
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