First things first:

I am a San Diego Chargers fan.

I was practically raised in the city of San Diego, and have grown up pulling for its two major sports teams. Though football will never have the place in my heart that baseball does – I never could afford Chargers season tickets and I've never been to training camp – I'm nonetheless a proud Bolt fan. I've been through the agonizingly tough period in the '90s when they were horrible, excepting that Super Bowl appearance in 1994 (and even then, they were blown out). I grew up wanting to be a professional quarterback and used to run around in my front yard pretending I was Jim Harbaugh. Some times, I still think it would be cool to be Doug Flutie.

I am also an athlete. I have never played professionally, but I've played sports since I was a kid, all the way through college. I've played just about every sport at some point in my life. In that time, I've never been much for trash talking. Usually, if someone's talking trash it's because they don't have any actions to back those words up with. I've always believed in letting my actions speak for me, and when someone starts barking at someone else, I'm usually the first person to step in and tell them to be quiet. The only time I've ever opened my mouth is in a positive manner. Talking is something that I frown on.

Yet in the case of the 2007 Chargers, for once, I find myself on the opposite side of the line. I'm sick and tired of every sports commentator talking about how unlikable they are, and how immature that makes them. I'm a fan of ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning, but I could have throttled Mike Greenberg after he went on about how the Chargers are a difficult team to root for because of their outspoken nature. I've read his book, I consider him a good guy, but I wanted to slap him and everyone else who has made this such a big deal.

I might not handle things the same way, but it's my personal belief that in this case, talking might actually be a good thing.

Before we start looking at the individual cases involved in this debacle, let's look at the general situation. Most of us – fans and sportswriters alike – have never been anywhere near the shoes of a professional football player. We don't know what it's like to be in a screaming loud arena with fans heckling us. We don't know the kind of pressure to perform that they must be under. We don't know how much they give, day after day and game after game. A lot is asked of them.

This is especially true when it comes to the media. There's always a potential sound bite, or a storyline, even if it means taking some things out of context or making something bigger than it is. Don't believe me? Look at the Kelly Tilghman story. She made an inappropriate comment, she apologized to Tiger Woods and to the audience, and that should have been the end of it. Yet now there's a whole other debacle because Golfweek magazine decided rather than let the issue drop, they'd run a noose on their cover. All athletes are always under the harsh glare of the media lights. All the more reason to watch what you say, but short of becoming a mime, anything you say can be used against you.

This is also a game in which there's considerable pressure involved. On one hand, there are the New England Patriots, who had a perfect regular season and are pretty much expected to have a perfect postseason as well. I can't imagine the kind of pressure that's on that team right now. On the other hand, here are the Chargers, who have talent, but have underperformed and are looking for something to prove themselves. They're hungry for success and they know that after last season, they need it. Both these teams have a lot going on and I'm sure this is about the last thing they need.

That said, I'm convinced that the perception of the Chargers as the dog barking up the wrong tree is almost completely created by the media, and definitely blown out of proportion. Let's look at each individual case.

Shawne Merriman

In his post-game press conference after the divisional victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Merriman tripped over the name of the Patriots' Jabar Gaffney. Depending on who you talk to, this may mean that Merriman secretly hates Gaffney.

What a lot of people seem to overlook is the distinct possibility that, after playing a very difficult game against an entirely different team, Merriman may have simply forgotten Gaffney's name. He'd just come off the field after a hard-fought game against the Indianapolis Colts that his team wasn't expected to win, come through the locker room and the team's postgame meeting, and then had to go give a press conference. I doubt that he was thinking much about the Patriots. I applaud any player that can form complete sentences after that. There are a lot of players on a football team, even those loaded with great players. I bet that if you asked a player to name all the people on his own team, he'd probably miss or mangle one.

Here's another important question we should ask ourselves: does Jabar Gaffney really care?

To go back to the Tilghman scandal: she apologized to Tiger Woods. Tiger accepted her apology. Tiger's agent says it's a non-issue. Yet, people are still talking about it. Al Sharpton wanted her fired. Personally, it's my belief that if the person harmed (or in Merriman's case, sort of omitted) doesn't care, then why should we care? I have a really hard time believing that Gaffney got upset or even batted an eyelash at Merriman's press conference. And if it doesn't bother him, I don't think it needs to be an issue for us.

There is no ulterior motive. Sometimes, people just trip over people's names.

Igor Olshansky

The wonderfully named Chargers lineman got in trouble this week for saying that the Patriots were probably more nervous about the AFC Championship game because, quote, "they know what's up."

Someone please explain to me how this might be wrong. I'm pretty sure that the Patriots know exactly what's up on Sunday. And I'm pretty sure that if I were them, I might be more nervous too.

No disrespect to the Patriots, who are an excellent team (as I'm sure my fellow columnist Keith Hayes has enjoyed telling you about this year, and rightly so), but there is more weight on them than there is on the shoulders of the Chargers. As someone once said about college basketball, you have to win the games you are expected to win.

The Patriots are expected to win this game. They're expected to win the Super Bowl. They're expected to be perfect. Human beings, by nature, aren't perfect. Expectations of perfection can be hard to meet. Add that to the last lingering traces of Spy Gate and I'd say there's a lot asked of the Patriots.

The Chargers, on the other hand, are playing with house money. They were expected to be blown out by the Colts. Eighty-one percent of the country expected them to lose that game. They're expected to lose this game, too. And they're going back to a fan base that will grumble but shouldn't complain that much given that they've just won their first road playoff game in something like 20 years. Even if they lose, they've still had a better season than anyone expected them to. I won't say there isn't pressure on them to perform, but I think it's a lot less than being anointed “the team of destiny.”

He probably could have phrased it better, but I think Olshansky had a point.

LaDanian Tomlinson

Why I even have to put a section in this article about L.T. is beyond me. I don't think I would have much argument if I said that not only is he one of the best running backs in NFL history, but he's also one of the league's class acts. He conducts himself well on and off the field. The fact that I even have to bring this up irritates me to no end.

Mike Greenberg referred to Tomlinson as "facially demonstrative" and had to play back that sound bite from last year's divisional game, because, of course, there's nothing like beating a dead horse.

I'm not sure what he meant by the first part, but I think I'd want my players to be showing some emotion. Not Bobby Knight throwing a chair kind of emotion, but I'd be disturbed if L.T. and his buddies were sitting on the bench like a bunch of overgrown church mice. We as fans get emotional about games; that's what's great about it. We feel and we care. The players have more reason to do that than we do. I want my players to be happy when something goes their way and upset when it doesn't. After all, if they don't care about their team, then why should we?

Then let's go back to last year. Personally, I am done with last year. The only way last year's controversies matter to me is if last year's records matter too, and they don't. It is a new year, a new team, and a new game. Holding on to last year's comments is like my parents still being upset with me because I got a D in Physics in high school. It just doesn't make sense.

Besides, I have to agree with L.T. on that whole situation anyway. If I had a player in the middle of my field, mocking one of my teammates (and by extension the fans), I would be upset. I don't think that showed class. What happened to "act like you've been there before?" I would be very upset over that, and L.T. was. What he went on to say was, I believe, that the head coach is responsible for the conduct of his players. I don't think he ever meant to say it was Bill Belichick's fault, hence the "maybe" and "I don't know" that surrounded that statement. His point was that a coach needs to make sure his players don't act like idiots, like Ellis Hobbs did that day. L.T. had a problem with Ellis Hobbs and not with Belichick.

I'll be the first one to admit that the "Lights Out" dance is pretty strange to me. I could live without it. I'm also pretty sure that Belichick didn't notice what an idiot his corner was being. He was probably busy trying to get through the throng of media people and deal with interviews, as most coaches do post-game. It's a big field. However, I'm sure that once he found out, he probably gave Hobbs a nice talking-to.

Even if L.T. had a problem with Belichick, as far as I can remember, they spoke and settled things during the last Pro Bowl weekend. So let's let the horse die in peace on this one.

That brings us to everyone's favorite hot-button quarterback…

Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers has been taking a lot of flak for talking just about as loud as he plays. What people don't seem to understand is that it's simply who he is, and has been since he was a kid in his parents' backyard. And that for all the talking he does, he plays just as hard. No one questions that he brings his best to the game. He is still inexperienced, I won't lie about that. But I think that if he was putting up bigger numbers, his mouth wouldn't be nearly as big an issue, because people would say he'd earned the right to be vocal. Rivers earned the right to be vocal by showing up and pouring his heart out, not because of his passer rating.

The important thing to remember is that there is a distinction between talking, and trash talking. There's also a distinction between talking and being a bonehead. Rivers is a great teammate, husband, father and a devoted Christian. You're not going to see him insulting someone's mother.

He's also not being an idiot; you'll never see him guarantee a victory, unlike Pittsburgh's Anthony Smith. (And why doesn't anyone bring up that Tom Brady was talking at Smith during that Pittsburgh game, anyway?) Rivers just gets fired up.

As a Chargers fan, I like a quarterback with heart, and I like one that doesn't take anything from anyone. I've never seen Philip back down, and that means something to me, because I know that I wouldn't have the courage that he does.

Rivers quieting the crowd at a Denver game this year? If he hadn't earned it with the fact that they handed the Broncos their worst home loss in however long, he can't be blamed for it. It's a rivalry game. We don't know what the crowd could have been saying to him or his teammates all night long. It's a game that matters a lot and gets people fired up.

As far as Rivers barking at Jay Cutler for complaining about contact? First, this is the NFL. Contact happens. Second, if you watch that tape, Rivers is actually cheering on Shaun Phillips, and it's Matt Wilhelm that's waving at Cutler. Beyond that, again, it's a rivalry game. I don't think Cutler sits up at night crying because the Chargers' O-line got on him. If my quarterback were complaining, I'd want one of my own players to get on him, but that's just me.

Let's go back to the divisional game against Indianapolis. We have no idea what those fans were saying to the Charger players all game long. As fans, we rarely say anything positive, to the visiting team or to our own. Sometimes, we are often drunk or angry. Sometimes, it can get personal and mean – look at the Philadelphia fans. Not exactly a warm crowd. Or does anyone remember the baseball game where some people threw D-cell batteries?

Here's my personal opinion: if you can say it, and you're going to insult somebody, then you'd better be prepared to take it. I'm not saying that makes it legal to jump in the stands and hit somebody, and I understand that players are supposed to have self control. But I can understand how, in a heated game, when it gets personal, it might get hard to hold onto that. I think that it still doesn't excuse us from taking responsibility for the words that come out of our mouths just like we have to every day of the week. Turning up at a sporting event does not excuse us from behaving like adults.

Until someone can show me proof that Rivers said or did something honestly mean-spirited and upsetting – and I'm talking of the Michael Vick double bird to the crowd variety – I'm not going to call him immature. I'm not going to insult him like that. Would it probably be easier if he didn't say anything? Yes. But I can understand why he did.

I don't think it's fair to be questioning the maturity of a man who obviously cares so deeply for his team and his game, a man who has not done time in prison, who has not done anything illegal. He's a mature person by the way he conducts himself. He simply doesn't stand quietly by in the heat of battle.

I, for one, am proud to see a Charger team that's willing to put up a good fight. And, I know that against the Patriots, that's exactly what we're going to get. Bring on the conference championship. Leave the talking to the people who are in the game, and leave well enough alone.