Regardless of what St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Bernie Miklasz writes or says—as at the end of this column with the Post-Dispatch's Bill McClellan—I do not think it is a done deal that the St. Louis Rams will be moving back to Los Angeles.
Shortly before Christmas, Charlie “Tuna” Edwards informed his nighttime listeners at 590 The Man that he had first-hand information that “this team is gone.” That’s a pretty definitive statement, but it’s anyone’s guess if it is true.
A band of never-say-die Los Angeles Rams fans cling to the hope that the team that bolted to the east in 1995 will soon return to the West Coast. The Bring Back the Los Angeles Rams posse has a Facebook page where members and “friends” monitor anything written or spoken about the future of St. Louis’ NFL franchise. The page registered its 22,000th “like” on New Year’s Eve, triple the number that it had on January 1, 2013.
Any news—especially bad—about the Rams quickly appears on the page. After Dan Caesar of the Post-Dispatch recently wrote that Rams’ TV viewership this season tumbled to one of its lowest rating marks since the franchise arrived, the story sparked a flurry of comments. One person wrote “not only are fans in STL not attending games, they aren't even watching them on TV...” The Rams’ effort to recover some state sales-tax money also caught the eye of Bring Back the Rams.
Many St. Louis Rams fans are aware of the site, and there is sparring between the two factions. One fan reminded people why the Rams left Los Angeles in the first place: “People in St. Louis paid too much money in PSL fees when the LA Rams fans wouldn't sell out the games in the early '90s. Now you want a second chance. Sorry.”
The Bring Back the Rams group will hold its first tailgate party on Saturday, January 18, before the 2014 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, an all-star game that features college players from small college and university football programs. Members and supporters are being asked to purchase tickets in Section 142 in the south end zone section of StubHub Center in Carson, California. They promise to be decked out in “L.A. Ram Blue and Gold,” and they hope to make their presence felt. Former Rams coach Dick Vermeil will coach one of the squads, and he will take on former Vikings and Cardinals coach Dennis Green. (Tom Bateman, who helped launch the campaign in 2012 and assists with the Facebook page, posed with Vermeil in one photo after last year’s game.)
St. Louis isn’t the only NFL team that could consider relocation in the near future; Buffalo and Tampa Bay might be included on that list. But the Rams’ lease deal makes the franchise a prime candidate. Earlier this season, Bateman said, “No other team would be as genuinely L.A.”
Commentary by Alvin Reid
