So, as it turns out, you can go home again. After their 20-year sojourn to St. Louis, the Los Angeles Rams have been reborn. The NFL has wanted to get back to LA ever since the Rams and Raiders left in 1995, and now that has happened. And it's only fitting that the team bringing the NFL back to LA is the one that probably never should've left in the first place.
Ironically, all three teams that wanted to move to LA used to play there. The Chargers started off in LA before moving south to San Diego, while everyone knows about the Al Davis vs. the NFL thing in the early 80s when he wanted to move the Raiders to LA, only to move them back to Oakland 15 years later. But it's the Rams who have the history in LA. And, frankly, that's where they belong. It was always weird to have a team that has so much history in a place like LA representing St. Louis, which was a baseball town 20 years ago and is even more of a baseball town now.
They accomplished plenty during their time in St. Louis. They won a Super Bowl. They almost won another two years later. Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner became Hall of Famers as members of the St. Louis Rams. And who'll ever forget watching the "Greatest Show On Turf," one of the most dynamic offenses we've ever seen?
But when you think of the Rams, you think Los Angeles. Eric Dickerson played in LA. So did Jack Youngblood. And Jackie Slater. And Merlin Olsen. And Deacon Jones. And the rest of the Fearsome Foursome. Jerome Bettis began his Hall of Fame career in LA. Pete Rozelle was their general manager way back when! They were the first NFL team to put a logo on their helmets, and those ram horns have become their trademark. They played in a Super Bowl and, at their height, were in the NFC Championship Game seemingly every year.
Sure, things got bad towards the end, which is how Georgia Frontiere was able to move the team without much of a fight, but the Rams played in LA for 50 years. They were the first Major League professional team in Southern California. When people think of the Rams, they think of Los Angeles. The Dodgers and Lakers are probably the only teams that are more associated with the city than the Rams. Stan Kroenke's wanted to bring them home for a few years. Now he's finally succeeded.
The Rams don't need to build a fan base. There are plenty of Rams fans in St. Louis who are justifiably upset with the team's relocation. But that's the same feeling Rams fans in LA had 20 years ago. Those same LA Rams fans are elated about the news. It was the Rams fans who showed up at the owners meetings wearing their jerseys and carrying their "Los Angeles" Rams signs. These are the same fans that showed up in droves to a practice in the LA area during training camp a few years ago. They wanted their team back. Badly. The owners took note.
It's obviously a dark day for football fans in St. Louis. This is the second time they've lost a team (the Cardinals packed up and moved to Phoenix in 1988). Whether or not they'll ever get another is incredibly doubtful, although you know St. Louis will be used as leverage for any team that's looking for a new stadium.
Fans in San Diego and Oakland are relieved (for now), but they still have to wonder about their teams' futures. The Chargers have the first option to join the Rams in Los Angeles, or they can stay in San Diego. The Raiders, who left LA a few months after the Rams 20 years ago, know that a Hollywood reunion is unlikely (owner Mark Davis called it a "loss" for the Raiders). But that doesn't mean they're staying in Oakland, either. (And there are plenty of LA football fans who would've preferred a Raiders return to a Rams return.)
Ultimately, this it what feels right, though. When the Rams first moved to LA (from Cleveland) in 1946, it was the start of a new era. They became the first Major League pro franchise based on the West Coast. Now, they usher in another one. The NFL is back in the second-largest media market in the country, and the Rams will play in a state-of-the-art stadium that will, inevitably, host a Super Bowl (and likely help the LA 2024 Olympic bid's chances). And if the Chargers or Raiders do exercise their option to move, it'll host two NFL teams.
That stadium won't be ready until the 2019 season, which means the Rams will need to find a temporary home for the next three years. You'd have to figure they'll likely play at the L.A. Coliseum until then, and they've agreed to play one London game each season until then, too. They'll work it out. The bottom line is that the return to LA will be great for the Rams and great for the NFL.
After 20 years, the Rams are coming home. Whether the Chargers or Raiders (or neither) joins them is irrelevant. LA is an NFL city once again.
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