[AvengerRam]

I don't know about you all... but I'm feeling surprisingly chill right now.

In the week before the Dallas game, I was feeling anxious. I felt like the Rams were playing a good, but inferior, opponent and there really would have been no excuse had we lost at home and finished with a second "one and done" playoff appearance.

In the week before the Saints game, I wasn't feeling the same type of pressure, given that the Rams were the underdogs. Nonetheless, I felt a bit nervous about having to deal with a very good New Orleans team and hostile crowd in order to get back to the Super Bowl.

Now, we're on the cusp of just our fourth trip to the big game, and, as I said, I'm surprisingly relaxed.

Its not that I presume that the Rams will have an easy time on Sunday. To the contrary... I respect the Patriots and recognize that its a toss-up game.

Its not contentment, either. While I'm certainly proud of what the Rams have accomplished, I'm still greedy for more. I really want that championship.

I guess my best self-analysis is this... Neither team has the home field advantage. There are no recent injuries that will skew the outcome. There isn't a clearly superior team. So, rather than the anxiety that can come with being a heavy favorite, or the dread of being a significant underdog, I'm enjoying the even temperament that comes with a "anyone's game" situation.

Of course... come Sunday, that will all change. The butterflies will, no doubt, return.

Right now, though, I'm feeling pretty good.

[PARAM]

Maybe it's the finality of the game? Win or lose, either way, there's no game next week. There's nowhere to advance to, except the history books and they're already littered with 2017-18 Rams players and coaches.

[AvengerRam]

Maybe it's the finality of the game? Win or lose, either way, there's no game next week. There's nowhere to advance to, except the history books and they're already littered with 2017-18 Rams players and coaches.

Maybe so.

As an aside, I'm actually more anxious right now about Saturday night's HOF announcement. I REALLY want Isaac Bruce to finally get in!

[Hacksaw]

@AvengerRam, me too, , at first. I think it's because win or lose, we got the 3 extra games and advanced further than most probably expected. We definitely made that successful 'next step'.

Respect for our team though, not so much. So far this SB pre game is all about Brady, Brady, Bill and Brady.
Just this morning on GMA, they did a lead on media week that showed Brady doing interviews and then Goff was portrayed using an 11 year old kid. One overnight news anchor discussed the texting between BB and McV and snidely remarked that "BB has been working "the kid all year, , and he succeeded". McV is BB's lapdog talk.

I am personally not fully satisfied, but I can live with a losing outcome (for the reason stated above) as long as we play as well as we can. Then we just get better next year.

That said, with everyone discounting us, with the fun jabs like 'we don't even belong', with all this Tom Brady lust on display and the 'sick and tired of the Patriots' feeling I think most of the nation has, I totally want to witness the Rams rise to the occasion and prove them all wrong. Put an end to the lack of respect and to Tom F'n Brady.

So I realize now, as the game approaches, I find myself feeling just a little less comfortable and a lot more anxious for the game to begin so the Rams can show us what they've got.

[AvengerRam]

@AvengerRam, me too, , at first. I think it's because win or lose, we got the 3 extra games and advanced further than most probably expected. We definitely made that successful 'next step'.

Respect for our team though, not so much. So far this SB pre game is all about Brady, Brady, Bill and Brady.
Just this morning GMA did a lead on media week that showed Brady doing interviews and then Goff was portrayed by an 11 year old kid. On overnight one news anchor discussed the texting between BB and McV and snidely remarked that "BB has been working the kid all year, , and it worked". McV is BB's lapdog talk.

I am personally not fully satisfied, but I can live with a losing outcome (for the reason stated above) as long as we play as well as we can. Then we just get better next year.

That said, with everyone discounting us, with the fun jabs like 'we don't even belong', with all this Tom Brady lust on display and the 'sick and tired of the Patriots' feeling I think much of the nation has, I want to witness the Rams rise to the occasion and prove them all wrong. Put an end to the lack of respect and to Tom F'n Brady.

So I realize now, as the game approaches, I find myself feeling just a little less comfortable and a lot more anxious for the game to begin so the Rams can show us what they've got.

That's why I'm taking in the pregame hype in very small doses. I'm not a fan of those narratives, and the more I hear them, the more I want the Rams to not only win on Sunday, but to destroy the Patriots in a way that makes next week's narrative about the END of a dynasty (and, perhaps, the start of a new one).

[Hacksaw]

they might not be ready to consider us anything more than a team good enough to start a dynasty, but boston needs to die nasty for once and for all.

[ramsman34]

Hate to say it but, as the game gets closer and once it starts, I actually think a lot of people will be pulling for Brady to get his record 6th win. I mean, the guy himself is fairly likable. And even Bill seemed human during that opening night ceremony. And, a lot of people truly think we don't belong there. I just hope its a great game and the Rams win. If we blow them out (unlikely), we will become the potential darlings of the NFL, the new guard. But that wont mean squat if it isn't sustained.

[fletch59]

I'm starting to get the nerves. I don't watch much of the lead up, cause Bill and Brady, just the sight or sound of the cheaters make me feel the urge to puke. I hope we beat them down so bad. In the case we lose I'll have to be watched closely for an hour or so, serious stuff could be damaged beyond repair lol. After that life goes on!

[Elvis]

I'm sure i'll be nervous as the game approaches but right now it's all pretty surreal, all this media coverage, i mean i know the Ram are in the SB it's the week before the SB, who else are they gonna be talking about, but it still seems weird to hear everyone talking about the Rams 24/7, ESPN, NFL Net, Sirius, i no longer have to look for Rams coverage.

[ramsman34]

I'm starting to get the nerves. I don't watch much of the lead up, cause Bill and Brady, just the sight or sound of the cheaters make me feel the urge to puke. I hope we beat them down so bad. In the case we lose I'll have to be watched closely for an hour or so, serious stuff could be damaged beyond repair lol. After that life goes on!

I thought I would feel the same. But, the coverage last night was weird, surreal. This kinda respect/love fest between two teams who are going to war against each other in less than a week. As much as I can't stand the patsies, I watched with a bit of marvel and reverence. How ever it happened, the patsies are beyond an anomaly. I would LOVE for the Rams to approach that level of quality, success, and consistency.

I would love for everyone else to be hating on US.

Back to Avenger's OP - I too feel very little anxiousness, unlike '99 and even '01 when I was a wreck. In fact, my Gf - a newbie fan - is sooooooo worried what I will b like IF the Rams lose. I told her ye, I will be bummed. But I am not gonna break shit or go into a deep funk for days.

It a game and I a m not even playing in it.