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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

No Broadway Joe, Stan’s On A Dirt Road Chargers Say They’ll Show Up Even Though Experts Advise Against It

Paul Needell New York Daily News

In case anyone needed to be reminded, Stan Humphries is not Joe Namath. The Chargers’ quarterback may be leading a huge underdog into a Super Bowl in Miami, just like Namath did with the New York Jets 26 years ago, but San Diego Stan is not about to pull a Broadway Joe and guarantee a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

“You would never hear that out of me, that’s for sure,” Humphries said Monday in San Diego, where the Chargers received a raucous welcome home Sunday night after upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game at Three Rivers Stadium.

“I’m a guy who doesn’t say a lot. I mean, it takes a lot for me to just get up here and speak to y’all, because I’d rather kind of be in the background.”

The quiet man from Louisiana should know by now his anonymous days are long gone. For most of the next two weeks, until Super Bowl XXIX at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami has come and gone, Humphries and the Chargers will be dissected under the watchful eye of the national media.

Of course, Humphries has been here before. Well, sort of. In 1991, as Mark Rypien’s backup for the Redskins, Humphries didn’t take a single snap all season. He was just along for the ride during Washington’s Super Bowl run.

Humphries and his backup, former Buffalo quarterback Gale Gilbert, are the only two Chargers who have experienced the hoopla surrounding the Super Bowl. So while the rest of the Chargers were off Monday, coach Bobby Ross met with his quarterbacks and team captains.

The mighty 49ers may be favored by as many as 20 points in some places, but guess what? San Diego plans on showing up anyway.

“I told them we’re going down to win,” Ross said. “We aren’t just going down there for the enjoyment of Super Bowl participation. I feel we have a legitimate shot at winning this football game, I really do.”

Before anyone could snicker, Ross added: “I know that there’s going to be very few - and probably none of you - who think we have chance, but I really feel we have a good chance.”

There is no reason for the Chargers to stop believing now. Ross enjoys boasting that one columnist from Miami actually picked the Chargers to finish 28th among 28 NFL teams in one preseason poll. All they’ve done is go 13-5, with eight of the victories seeing them overcome deficits of six points or more.

“I don’t think anybody expected us to do what we’ve done so far, and they probably think that everything that’s happened so far has been luck anyway,” Humphries said. “So until an AFC team beats an NFC team in a Super Bowl, then the AFC team will probably never get any respect.”

The NFC has won the last 10 Super Bowls, something of a trend. What further adds to fears of another wipeout is the Dec. 11 meeting between the Niners and the Chargers in San Diego. Final score: 38-15, San Francisco. B “We’ve got ‘em on film, and they’re not invincible,” Chargers free safety Stanley Richard said. “We just have to play a perfect game. If we don’t … we don’t win.”

Simple enough. All the Chargers have to do to pull off the biggest upset since Namath is find the formula for perfection. Just don’t expect Humphries to guarantee it.