NFL STRIKE : Chargers Try Striking Funny Bones of Replacements

SAN DIEGO —  Strikes are a serious business, but Wednesday, the striking Charger players tried to make it a comedy hour.

While 38 non-union players practiced on the team’s field adjacent to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, about 30 striking Chargers sat on benches they set up on the hill overlooking the field.

Led by linebacker and chief comedian Gary Plummer, the striking Chargers, many of whom were wearing picket signs, taunted and laughed at the non-union players during their 1-hour practice.

The primary target was Levi Esene, who played defensive tackle at San Diego State last season.

Esene never looked up at the hill or acknowledged the players, but he heard their taunts.

“Calling me names doesn’t bother me,” Esene said. “I hear it, but I try not to listen to it. This is a great opportunity for me to be out here and be part of the Chargers.”

The coach working with Esene and the rest of the defensive line was Gunther Cunningham.

“Comments? What comments?” deadpanned Cunningham after the practice. “I love an audience.”

And the striking players love to taunt.

“We don’t want to come out here and be all moping,” said running back Gary Anderson. “This keeps things exciting.”

“Don’t worry about crowd noise--this is probably bigger than you’ll get Sunday.”

Lots of chuckles.

“Where’s Barnum and Bailey? This looks like a three-ring circus.”

The four non-union offensive linemen and assistant coach Ed White became the next targets because they were within easy shouting distance of the hill.

After taunting White about one of the players, a chorus of “ Ed, Ed, Ed “ followed.

“I heard it, but I was trying not to key into it,” said White, who had been a Charger player until last season. “I sort of tuned it out.”

Not even punter Joe Prokop, who was on injured reserve before being cut, was to be spared.

“Hey, Joe, take it easy, you’ll pull your quad.”

“Joe Prokop, from IR to scab.”

There were lots of jokes directed at short players or players who looked short from the hill. But those jokes ended when 6-foot 2-inch center Don Macek, who has heard his share of kidding about being small, proclaimed: “No more short-people jokes.”

As the practice drew to a close, a group of smiling striking players headed down the hill back to the parking lot, where the non-union Chargers would board the bus.

Some of the strikers stood in a pickup truck so they could peer over the fence and see the end of practice. A group of four strikers stood on one garbage can in the parking lot and continued yelling and jeering as the non-union players boarded the buses.

What was the overall impression of Wednesday’s practice?

“If that’s USFL caliber, I’m sorry to say I played in the USFL,” Plummer said.

Coach Al Saunders said it would make “concentration on the field” easier if the striking Chargers weren’t yelling from the hill, but he viewed the taunting in a positive manner.

“I’d rather have an atmosphere like that than a somber one,” Saunders said. “It was good-natured jesting. Not a hostile environment by any means.”

After practice ended, Cunningham tossed a throat lozenge to Plummer.

“Gary, you’re the best,” Cunningham said.