The news was released Friday, and Rams fans spent the weekend reacting—poorly—to it.
The St. Louis Rams announced on Friday that the team would be playing one “home” game in London for the next three seasons.
With some St. Louisans already worried that the Rams might return to Los Angeles once the lease at the Edward Jones Dome expires after the 2014 season, fan reaction was far from kind. Many online comments were full of anger and confusion. To the Rams’ credit, the team did not censor comments on its own website, and even subjected Kevin Demoff, executive vice president of football operations and chief operating officer, to some abuse in an online chat.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke's recent comments haven't reassured fans, either. Last Tuesday, at the press conference to introduce Jeff Fisher as the team’s new head coach, Kroenke was asked about keeping the team in St. Louis “for the next 20 years.” That question followed a cryptic response to a similar question, and Kroenke replied the second time by saying, “We’ll see how that process works out.”
When the Rams do play at London’s Wembley Stadium next October, the team will face the New England Patriots, who find themselves back in the Super Bowl following Sunday’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens. If the Patriots win—and quarterback Tom Brady gets his fourth ring—it will mark the third straight season that the Rams will play the defending Super Bowl champs; the Rams also played the Green Bay Packers in 2011 and the New Orleans Saints in 2010. Last season, in fact, the Rams played five of the seven teams that have played in the Super Bowl since the Patriots and New York Giants played in Super Bowl XLII. But hey, the Rams only have four playoff teams on the 2012 schedule, so things are looking up, right?
Well, except for that dome-lease thing that’s going to linger over everyone’s heads for the next three years.
Cheerio.
Commentary by Ronald Clements
