[Hacksaw]

It's also a question of ease of being a fan and attending games.

-The Chicago Bears are a single team for the 3rd largest metro area in the US but have one of the smallest stadiums in the NFL. Even a late season bad game with bad weather means spending $200+ for a single ticket. Plus the tailgating options at Soldier Field are limited.
-St. Louis hates Kansas City and Kansas City hates St. Louis. It's like asking a LA Rams fan to become a 49ers fan.
-The Indianapolis Colts bandwagon is full already. Plus the city is boring.

We'll see what teams Fox and CBS try to force on us in St. Louis this fall.

I get the KC thing totally though and that close proximity allows one to attend more easily.
So I sit a bit corrected then, it's more than simply proximity. It's the choice of the team in the closest proximity that doesn't have something undesirable about it. So other than proximity, what do the Titans have that is desirable?

I can't speak for them. Check out their Twitter account or ask them.

I guess after you put it that way, I don't really care enough to bother.

GO RAMS !!

[dieterbrock]

Just be thankful St. Louis embraced the RAMS while they were there. The home field advantage was tremendous, especially, when the RAMS were hitting the playoffs on a regular, albeit short, basis. Those home playoff victories were key to getting two Super Bowl entries. I don't think the RAMS beat Tampa if they are not at home.

So bid a fond farewell to the St. Louis crowd. Think of it as a long term relationship that just didn't work out...nevertheless, there were lots of good memories that will never be forgotten.

No doubt

The dome rocked during the GSOT

I don't think some wannabe sports writer putting together about some Rams Fandom exodus holds any weight.

I am incredibly psyched for the LA guys who have stuck by the team and are getting the team back
Consequently, I feel horrible for the St Louis guys/gals who fully supported the team and feel betrayed by how it went down

[St. Loser Fan]

I am incredibly psyched for the LA guys who have stuck by the team and are getting the team back
Consequently, I feel horrible for the St Louis guys/gals who fully supported the team and feel betrayed by how it went down

I'm glad Los Angeles Rams fans get the team back from their youth and that their dads/grandads rooted for.

I'm pissed at how St. Louis politicians screwed up as well as how Kroenke shit all over us on the way out of town.

[RamHard]

I am incredibly psyched for the LA guys who have stuck by the team and are getting the team back
Consequently, I feel horrible for the St Louis guys/gals who fully supported the team and feel betrayed by how it went down

I'm glad Los Angeles Rams fans get the team back from their youth and that their dads/grandads rooted for.

I'm pissed at how St. Louis politicians screwed up as well as how Kroenke shit all over us on the way out of town.

I agree with you 100% that your lousy politicians screwed you over especially the CVC. But that entire anti-Kroenke narrative was spewed daily by your lousy local sports writers. He did not shit all over you. He kept quiet. As far as the NFL marketing report I did not read anything in there that wasn't true. Get over it.

Go Rams!!!

[Hacksaw]

RamHard, I think StLoser Fan was referring to the quotes like "StLouis isn't a 3 team sports town" and that "no team could make a go of it there'. Of course much of what was said or written could easily have been taken out of context due to the natural ESK hate filter they were getting / perceiving their info / situation through. Still I remember being surprised by the tone of the goodbye letter.

"In the final section of that document, which was filed to the NFL on Monday, the Rams indicate St. Louis has fallen so far behind economically that it can no longer support three professional sports teams. Also, the Rams say the stadium proposal put forth by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s task force and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (RSA) does not appeal to them, let alone any NFL team.

“No NFL club would be interested in the RSA’s New St. Louis Stadium,” the application reads. “Any NFL Club that signs on to this proposal in St. Louis will be well on the road to financial ruin, and the League will be harmed.”

According to a study cited by the Rams, St. Louis, which also is home to MLB’s Cardinals and the NHL’s Blues, ranks 61st out of 64 major cities in recent economic growth and has the lowest population growth of any major U.S. city since 2008. In bold letters, the application says San Diego and Oakland are “substantially stronger markets than the St. Louis market.”

The governing bodies and authorities were definitely a huge part of the blame there... Had they save their money for the improvements they agreed to, this would have never happened. They got a gift and then got cocky.
OK, GF definitely had a different agenda than ESK and may have confused the city about the motives of the team. ESK's about money more than she was.... or at least better and insistent on making it.

Still the tone of his letter couldn't be taken well by even the most understanding individual, filters or otherwise.

[dieterbrock]

I am incredibly psyched for the LA guys who have stuck by the team and are getting the team back
Consequently, I feel horrible for the St Louis guys/gals who fully supported the team and feel betrayed by how it went down

I'm glad Los Angeles Rams fans get the team back from their youth and that their dads/grandads rooted for.

I'm pissed at how St. Louis politicians screwed up as well as how Kroenke shit all over us on the way out of town.

I like to think I was pretty unbiased during the whole thing, my Rams were getting a new stadium either way, but one thing never sat well for me.
I never felt that Peacock best interest was in keeping the Rams in St Louis, I always felt he was all about looking the hero. And remarkably, he hasn't taken the fall. Its a shame that fans like you have to rely on power players who "appear" to be acting on your behalf, but they don't

[Elvis]

There's no denying the document submitted by the Rams with the reasons St. Louis wasn't a satisfactory long term option for them was a gut punch to the city.

But it was a legal document, written by lawyers intended for the NFL committee on relocation to establish the Rams had met the requirements for relocation.

Though it was probably inevitable the document would go public, it wasn't intended or written as a public document.

And yeah it sucked for St. Louis, but it made the case and the Rams were approved for relocation...

[dieterbrock]

Well, I guess its safe to say that there were Los Angeles Rams fans who didn't stay with the team when they left, and likely there are St Louis Rams fans who wont stay with them either.
I guess the "Rams Fan" is a completely different animal. Goes where they go

Where I get confused is that I have 3 NFL teams that play 40 minutes from where I live and hate 1 of them (The Eagles) have a love/hate with another (The Jets) and have had season tickets over the years to the 3rd team (The Giants) who have been my "2nd favorite" team over the years
None of them touch my affection for the Rams who I probably have only seen play in person live maybe 6 or 7 times

[BuiltRamTough]

I am incredibly psyched for the LA guys who have stuck by the team and are getting the team back
Consequently, I feel horrible for the St Louis guys/gals who fully supported the team and feel betrayed by how it went down

I'm glad Los Angeles Rams fans get the team back from their youth and that their dads/grandads rooted for.

I'm pissed at how St. Louis politicians screwed up as well as how Kroenke shit all over us on the way out of town.

I like to think I was pretty unbiased during the whole thing, my Rams were getting a new stadium either way, but one thing never sat well for me.
I never felt that Peacock best interest was in keeping the Rams in St Louis, I always felt he was all about looking the hero. And remarkably, he hasn't taken the fall. Its a shame that fans like you have to rely on power players who "appear" to be acting on your behalf, but they don't

Peacock wanted an MLS team in STL and that was one of his goals.

He would have a share in the team.

Sneaky bastard.

[Snow Man]

ONLY 25,705 ATTEND GAME AS RAMS FALL TO REDSKINS - PLAYERS WONDER IF 24-21 LOSS IS THEIR LAST AS LA TEAM

December 25, 1994

By Jim Thomas

It ends like so many games this season for the Los Angeles Rams. A narrow defeat characterized by missed opportunities, might-have-beens, and just enough botched plays to make a difference.

A scrambling Chris Miller is stopped on fourth down at the Washington 41, well short of a first down, with 16 seconds to play. Final score: Redskins 24, Rams 21.

Only 25,705 spectators showed up Saturday at Anaheim Stadium for what could be the last Rams home game in Southern California. The crowd was the smallest to watch the franchise of Bob Waterfield, Crazylegs Hirsch, Deacon Jones since Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House - 1953.

But the diehards were standing in the closing minutes. Chanting "LA Rams" and "St. Louis (bleeps!)" in the end zone by the players' tunnel. Holding signs that read "Georgia Is The Grinch" and "Merry Xmas John & Georgia - Not!"

One of the Melon Heads, a group of zanies who wear carved out watermelons on their heads during games, hoists a sign which reads: "Bye Rams. See You In St. Louis" as the team trots off the field at the end of the game.

"For their bad decisions, the fans here are paying," Roland from Manhattan Beach says, referring to owner Georgia Frontiere and team President John Shaw.

"She doesn't care. She's worried about her makeup," Rich from Santa Ana says.

Without prompting, another fan volunteers: "St. Louis is a baseball town."

The Rams players slowly make their way off the field, tossing caps, gloves, wrist bands, hand towels, chin straps into the stands. Finally, they all disappear into the tunnel leading to the locker room.

And now they wait.

Do they stay or do they go?

Will it be the Los Angeles Rams or the St. Louis Rams next year?

"Just not knowing - not knowing, if this is the last time you're going to be running around Anaheim Stadium," cornerback Darryl Henley said. "You're going to have 53 players, plus maybe 50 other people on the staff that have decisions to make based on if we move."

Running back Jerome Bettis wonders, too, about the future.

"We're in limbo," he said. "We've got people that live here, and if they could have any kind of notice, they could maybe put their house for sale or something like that."

But they have heard nothing from Frontiere, who watched the game in seclusion from reporters in a luxury suite in a rare Anaheim Stadium appearance. Nothing from Shaw, who watched the game from another suite, only to leave late in the first half without speaking to reporters.

"We're the last people who're going to find out," Bettis said. "When we find out, the moving vans are going to already be here."

Offensive tackle Jackie Slater, a 19-year veteran, wonders if he'll play next year - and where he'll play. He's the only player on the current roster to have made the move with the team from the Los Angeles Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in 1980.

"I'm curious about what's going to happen with our organization, just like you guys are," Slater, 40, said to reporters. "I'm going to reflect on this season, and where I am in my career - my age and all that. And I'm going to decide what I think is best for me and my family in a short period of time."

Chuck Knox, 15-33 in his second tour of duty with the Rams, wonders if he'll have a job next season after this 4-12 campaign.

"We just didn't get it done. That says it all," Knox said. "When I say `we,' I'm talking about the coaches, players."

He's talking about the game. But he could just as well be talking about the season, the last three years, or the Rams franchise in Anaheim.

The Rams led 21-17 Saturday on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Chris Miller to rookie Jermaine Ross with 4 seconds left in the first half.

The catch was the first of Ross' NFL career. Maybe the gods of football would smile on the Rams in their possible farewell performance.

Nope. Rookie Heath Shuler completed a 1-yard TD pass to tight end James Jenkins late in the third quarter for a 24-21 Washington lead. A lead that stood despite 304 passing yards from Miller. Place-kicker Tony Zendejas missed a 33-yard field goal with 4 minutes 14 seconds to play that would have tied the game.

Instead the Redskins left town with a 3-13 record. Will the Rams' leave town, too?

The Rams coaching staff is off until Jan. 10. The players already are scattering for home. They don't have to report until the offseason conditioning program begins Feb. 1.

They all must wait - and wonder - about St. Louis.

"If we move maybe it would help us out, because maybe more people on the team will be focused," cornerback Todd Lyght said. "There's not a lot to do out in St. Louis. So maybe the focus will be on work, and the things that need to be done instead of what you're going to do after the game."