Chargers Players React to Their Old Social Media Photos
The 7th Annual Awards
- Best Short-Form Video
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
The Chargers have redefined sports social media by creating trendsetting, culture-driven content that feels more like a creator’s work than a traditional team’s. This video exemplifies that approach—turning a simple trend into a viral, personality-driven moment that resonated beyond football, proving that fan engagement thrives on authenticity, humor, and cultural relevance.
How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?
This video is a perfect example of how the Chargers have redefined what fan engagement looks like in sports. Rather than only relying on game highlights or traditional team content, we create moments that feel personal, relatable, and native to the platforms our fans use every day.
What sets this video apart is how it turns a simple trend into a full-blown cultural moment. By digging into players’ old Facebook photos, we tapped into the universal experience of cringing at your past self, making the content instantly relatable to any viewer. The genuine reactions from our players made the moment feel authentic, which is key to engagement in today’s digital landscape. Fans weren’t just watching; they were commenting, tagging friends, and sharing it across platforms.
This work sets a new benchmark by proving that sports teams don’t have to just participate in trends—they can amplify them, shape them, and even start them. It challenges the industry to think beyond highlights and lean into personality-driven, fan-first content.
Objective
The Chargers’ social media has built a reputation as a trendsetting, culture-driven page with videos that feel more like they were published by a popular creator than a traditional sports team. With a fun, humorous tone and exclusive behind-the-scenes moments, our content taps into internet culture to make the team feel approachable, entertaining, and always ahead of the curve.
This video perfectly embodied that spirit. By blending a viral trend with our players’ personalities, we created a moment that felt organic to the platform and something fans would truly enjoy. The goal was to entertain, drive engagement, and reinforce the Chargers’ position as a leader in digital sports content.
Strategy & Execution
Our fans have come to expect a certain standard with our video content on social media; they want personality, authenticity, and content that feels native to their feeds. Our content team doesn’t just follow trends, we recognize when a moment has the potential to go beyond niche popularity and reach true virality.
For this video, we saw an opportunity to jump a trend and really blow it up. We immediately started scrubbing through players’ old Facebook pages, searching for the funniest and most embarrassing old profile photos to print out and use for the reveal. The concept played into internet culture’s love for nostalgia and secondhand embarrassment, but what really made it stand out was the way our players embraced the moment. Their genuine reactions and the absurdity of the photos made this more than just another trend—it became something people wanted to send to friends, comment on, and rewatch.
This approach to short-form video is what defines the Chargers’ social presence. We don’t just follow what's popular. We know how to take a spark and turn it into something everyone is talking about.
Organizations
- Los Angeles Chargers
Links
Credits
Jason Lavine
Senior Vice President - Brand Creative & Content
Los Angeles Chargers
Megan Julian
Senior Director - Digital & Social Media
Los Angeles Chargers
Allie Raymond
Director - Organic Social Media
Los Angeles Chargers
Lorren Walker
Programming Manager - Organic Social Media
Los Angeles Chargers
Jaemin Cho
Senior Vertical Video Coordinator - Organic Social Media
Los Angeles Chargers
Hannah Johnson
Coordinator - Organic Social Media
Los Angeles Chargers
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 7th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 24, 2025 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
