[Elvis]

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... Xo.twitter

Bernie: Potential move is buzzkill at Rams camp

The Rams have opened their training camp, and they’re hard at work, preparing for the season, trying to improve and doing their best to block out the noise.

In some ways, this will be business as usual. Coaches teaching. Players learning. Team meetings. Polishing fundamentals in the summer heat. Going through repetitions, and fine-tuning their knowledge of the offense and defense.

In other ways, this is a most unusual training camp — a strange way to begin a strange season. No one knows where the Rams will be practicing and training a year from now. They could be in Los Angeles. They could set up, like normal, in Earth City.

And if Rams owner Stan Kroenke gets his way, this will be the team’s final training camp in St. Louis. And for many fans, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to embrace the team they love. When you aren’t sure if the team will run away from you, the natural reaction is to hold back, stay at a safe distance and try to minimize the pain inside.

When an emotional connection between a fan and team is being frayed and gradually severed by feelings of uncertainty, fear and betrayal, it’s excruciatingly difficult to put on a front, feign enthusiasm and pretend that everything is normal.

Is this any way to begin the ritual of getting ready for some football? Something already has been taken away — the happy anticipation of the coming season — and that stinks.

The fans deserve better. But I have empathy for the players, the coaches, and the Rams’ front office. Coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead don’t ask for pity, but I sympathize with them, too.

I feel bad for everyone, really, including the non-football employees who have to market the product, sell the tickets and generate a positive vibe.

And I feel lousy because none of these people is named Stan Kroenke. They just work for Kroenke, but he’s not around. The people who keep the Rams organization going are still here, wanting to do a great job. But they’ll endure the fallout, dealing with the inevitable repercussions that surface when a fan base is agitated and alienated.

The Rams just want what every NFL team has right now: a fired-up fan base, amped to support them, and filled with optimism. Training camp is supposed to a time of building. Precious weeks that not only strengthen a squad of football players but reinforce the bond between a franchise and a community.

The Rams haven’t posted a winning record since 2003, or made the playoffs since 2004. Now in their fourth year in charge of the Rams football operation, Snead and Fisher are setting out in search of their first winning season.

They’ve made significant progress, reconstructing the roster and positioning the Rams for a brighter future. But the problem is away from the field, with the future of the franchise placed on hold.

This is Camp Kroenke. He’s not here, but his presence will be felt.

[Hacksaw]

BM: The Rams have opened their training camp, and they’re hard at work, preparing for the season, trying to improve and doing their best to block out the noise.

Hack: Bernie, shut the hell up then !!

BM: Is this any way to begin the ritual of getting ready for some football? Something already has been taken away — the happy anticipation of the coming season — and that stinks.
I feel bad for everyone, really, including the non-football employees who have to market the product..... They just work for Kroenke, but he’s not around. The people who keep the Rams organization going are still here, wanting to do a great job.

Hack: That's sweet Bernie. But remember that their paychecks are around and they might even get lucky and get to move with the team to Los Angeles California.

BM: The Rams just want what every NFL team has right now: a fired-up fan base, amped to support them,......

Hack: They have one Bernie, we're out here on the West Coast in the sunshine. You just selectively can't hear us.

I get what Bernie is saying and you are right Elvis, he is clearly sad. He is of course always a bit emo so no surprise here huh?

[BuiltRamTough]

BM: The Rams have opened their training camp, and they’re hard at work, preparing for the season, trying to improve and doing their best to block out the noise.

Hack: Bernie, shut the hell up then !!

BM: Is this any way to begin the ritual of getting ready for some football? Something already has been taken away — the happy anticipation of the coming season — and that stinks.
I feel bad for everyone, really, including the non-football employees who have to market the product..... They just work for Kroenke, but he’s not around. The people who keep the Rams organization going are still here, wanting to do a great job.

Hack: That's sweet Bernie. But remember that their paychecks are around and they might even get lucky and get to move with the team to Los Angeles California.

BM: The Rams just want what every NFL team has right now: a fired-up fan base, amped to support them,......

Hack: They have one Bernie, we're out here on the West Coast in the sunshine. You just selectively can't hear us.

I get what Bernie is saying and you are right Elvis, he is clearly sad. He is of course always a bit emo so no surprise here huh?

Haha ya!

[kayfabe]

Here's Bernie's last column: basically a self-retrospective on about ten different St. Louis coaches,
including Martz and Vermeil. Out on a positive (if not exactly informative) note --

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... 60f67.html

On Vermeil --

DICK VERMEIL: The most optimistic and upbeat team leader I've encountered. A source of brightness and positive energy. DV was a refreshing alternative to the standard NFL-coach profile at the time. Unlike just about every other coach in the league, Vermeil wasn't a brooder, wasn't cold, wasn't paranoid and didn't think anyone outside his inner circle was an enemy, never to be trusted. DV is a happy warrior who truly loves people, and he showed that every day at work at Rams Park. When he won the Super Bowl as coach of the unforgettable 1999 Rams, DV was genuinely more happy for others than he was for himself. What I learned: Good guys can finish first, and thank God for that. And when you make it a priority to see the best in people — instead of obsessing on their worst traits — you give them confidence, inspire them, and draw out their finest qualities. And that will help them succeed. And your team will be better for it.

On Martz --

MIKE MARTZ: The Rams offensive coordinator and head coach was an innovator, a brilliant mind, and absolutely fearless in designing an offense that defied NFL convention, and broke all of the unwritten rules. Empty backfields, crazy formations, plays that have never been seen before. Martz just didn't care what others thought about him — especially other NFL coaches. Martz was the classic tortured artist, alone in a film room, mind swirling, seeing things in a game film that no one else could see. Half the building wondering if he's flipped out, but understanding that he would emerge from the darkness of that film room with a diabolical offensive game plan. (Not always, of course. But I'm not trying to make the case that Martz was perfect. Hell no. Super Bowl 36?). I don't think I'll ever cover a coach/manager who was so unusually gifted in finding the other team's weakness and exploiting it with strategies that were unpredictable and advanced. Martz was the brain behind the greatest offense in NFL history. He wasn't able to handle the extraneous aspects of coaching — like having to deal with office politics, media criticism, or being in the public eye. He was at his best when studying video, spotting an opponent's vulnerabilities, and devising a shrewd plan of attack. What I learned: A coach should never get consumed and distracted by worrying about things that have nothing to do with the overriding goal of winning games. Mike was easily disturbed by aspects of the coaching existence that he could not control personally, and this eventually led to his demise. Of all the leaders I've covered, he was the most creative. And of all the coaches/managers I've covered, none were as intriguing as Mad Mike.

[Elvis]

And now he's crying:



Seriously, i wonder if this move will change his persona. I think i may have noticed that his pieces for STL Today were better than the ones for the PD...

[BuiltRamTough]

I personally enjoyed most of his work. Sometimes he overreacted but he was also funny,raw and most importantly gave his honest opinion. He's a solid columnist.