LOS ANGELES -- The Rams returned to Los Angeles with an understanding that this abundant market probably wouldn't be theirs alone for very long.

Now it won't be.

The Chargers announced on Thursday morning that they are moving to L.A. for the 2017 season, a development that was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday night. It brings a sad end to a 56-year run in San Diego and creates a scenario nobody really wants -- not either team, not either fan base. But maybe some day Rams fans will look back on this moment fondly, because maybe it will create the heightened sense of urgency that might ultimately push their team into contention.

L.A. went more than two decades without a professional football team, and when the Rams fell out of contention in 2016, the city didn't hesitate to tune them out. The general NFL fan in L.A., an overwhelming majority that dwarfs die-hard Rams fans, quickly reverted to old habits, intrigued only by fantasy football and first-place teams. The Rams know -- and the Chargers should, too -- this city will get behind the team that wins.

The Chargers' move to L.A. is now basically a race to see who can do that first.

"If we do our job correctly, a second team should only heighten the NFL excitement in the marketplace and build on it," Rams COO Kevin Demoff said a few days before the final game of his team's dispiriting 4-12 season. "I don’t think it takes away. I think it just enhances it. But it’s still dependent on -- you have to be playing winning football, you have to be exciting, you have to make your brand entertaining and relevant. I think that’s true whether you’re the only team in the market or whether there are two or three teams in the market."

The Chargers -- unlike the Rams, who received approval to move from St. Louis one year ago on Thursday -- don't have roots in Los Angeles. They spent their first year here, in 1960, while a member of the American Football League, then made the 120-mile trek south to San Diego the following season. The Rams should be happy it's the Chargers, because a potential alternative was the Raiders, who would've been given the option if the Chargers didn't take it.

The Raiders have history and loyalty in this market, and they're good, and they're fun. They would've quickly made the Rams an afterthought. They would've turned the Rams into, as Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson put it, "the Clippers of the '80s."

The Chargers will play out of the 27,000-seat StubHub Center in Carson over these next two years, then move into the Rams' $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood by 2019. The Chargers will be tenants there and won't take on the cost of construction. The teams will jointly share revenue such as naming rights, suites, sponsors and advertising, and they will each be on their own to sell season tickets and personal seat licenses.

Demoff sees the L.A. market from a much wider lens than the NFL. He sees eight other professional sports teams and two major universities.

He sees constant pressure to remain relevant, which should only intensify with another NFL team present.

"There’s a lot of competition in this marketplace, whether there’s another NFL team or not," Demoff said in late December. "And I actually think what you see in the market, what you’ve seen, is people here are really good NFL fans. Another team provides some competition, but you’ve always presumed this was going to be a two-team market."