This is for everyone that, as of this week, doesn’t have a NFL team to pull for anymore. It’s not like the Rams have been good at all in the past decade, but still, it was something.
I grew up with most of my extended family living in St. Louis. The first year that I was self-aware as a human, the Rams won the Super Bowl. Two years later, they were in the Super Bowl again. As far as I knew, this was just a regular occurrence that would continue into my future. I was very very wrong. There are so many things that can go wrong for a franchise over the course of 15 years, such as injuries, bad coaching and Sam Bradford. Still, it was always fun to talk about Kurt Warner, Aeneas Williams, Marshall Faulk and the other members of the Greatest Show on Turf.
I wasn’t as upset as I thought I would be when it was announced Tuesday that the St. Louis Rams would now be the Los Angeles Rams. The writing was on the wall. The owner, Stan Kroenke, had already bought land in Inglewood months before the deal was made. He had already alienated himself from the local fans so much that, by the time it was put up for a vote, there was no way they were coming back.
It wasn’t even close to as painful, for me, as when Albert Pujols decided to move to LA. But it really kicked in when I saw the image of construction workers lowering the World Championship banner to the ground at the dome.
The way I see it, there are a few options to consider for future football fandom.
Option one: This one is simple, you just stay a Rams fan. You already know the team. You know who their sixth string linebacker is, why waste your time educating yourself on some other team? The Rams were a young and upcoming team with an awesome defense and a ridiculous rookie running back. You can still watch them on TV anywhere you go, it doesn’t matter whether they’re in St. Louis or Los Angeles or London for that matter. Your team is your team, stay loyal.
Option two: Pick a different team, option one is stupid. Screw the Rams and that traitor of an owner. Your quarterbacks were Nick Foles and Case Keenum, get out while you can. I love promising offseasons as much as anyone, but going 7–9 or 8–8 year after year was starting to get really annoying. Jeff Fisher has as secure a contract as Bill Belichick, how does that make sense?
St. Louis Rams fans are in a unique position. They can pick any team they want without being labeled as a bandwagon fan. You want to be a Vikings, Cowboys or 49ers fan? Go ahead, your team’s gone, you can do what you want. If you pick a team that’s relatively closer like Arizona or Kansas City, congratulations, you already made the playoffs. Look how much easier that was. My recommendation would be to go with Arizona. They’re really good, they have Larry Fitzgerald who is awesome and if you’re from St. Louis, you probably already have Cardinals stuff.
Option three: Pro football is dumb, focus on your fantasy team or college football or something else. TU is good and getting better, Mizzou’s fine and OU and OSU are always up there. Imagine how much extra time you would have in your life if you hadn’t spent it worrying about the Rams’ offensive line. Focus more on your homework than who the Rams might get in the draft this year. They’re gone for good, and acceptance is the only option.