Photography courtesy of Jim Ricklefs
Longtime season-ticket holder Jim Ricklefs and retired Rams linebacker Mike Jones were on hand April 5 at the "Keep the Rams in St. Louis" rally.
Retired St. Louis Rams linebacker Mike Jones, best remembered for The Tackle at the 1-yard line to preserve a thrilling victory against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV, recently visited fans at a rally centered around keeping the Rams from relocating—should it come to it.
On April 5, the “Keep the Rams in St. Louis” group gathered at Laclede’s Landing to show support for the team, with about 175 people in attendance. They wanted to let owner Stan Kroenke and the Rams front office know that there are still plenty of fans dedicated to keeping the team here. Jones attended the rally because it was important to him that “football stays in our city, as a fan and as a [Lincoln University] head coach," explained Jim Ricklefs, a longtime PSL and season-ticket holder.
While Ricklefs does not worry about the team relocating after the 2015 season, "it’s hard not to have some doubt with no reassurances from any involved party," he said. "I currently feel that Kroenke is disrespecting the Rams’ fan base with his continued silence—give us a bone of assurance."
Ricklefs believes there is “no reason it can’t be worked out if [the region and the Rams] want the same result.” He predicted that talk of relocation would come to an end if the team's record improves. "A couple winning years, and the Rams will rule the city," Ricklefs said. "Everybody that bleeds blue for [the Blues] or red for the [Cardinals] is also a Rams fan."
While he was somewhat critical of Kroenke, Ricklefs said Rams executive vice president of football operations and COO Kevin Demoff “does a great job as the public face of the Rams.” Demoff is working to keep fan interest high in a time of uncertainty with the franchise. In 2013, the Rams finished 29th out of 32 teams based on percentage of seats sold (87.2 percent) and 31st in actual attendance average (at 56,957).
To spark more interest, the Rams announced Monday that any person who can guess the team’s 2014 schedule with 100 percent accuracy will win $100,000. This means a contestant must correctly predict each game's opponent, location, date, and the team's bye week.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
