I was never a real Rams fan. I rooted for them as part of civic pride, but I was never a real fan. In fact, before moving here I actively rooted against them as they beat my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC championship game back in the tail end of the 1999-2000 season.
Before that game occurred, the Rams got on my radar when they beat the 49ers shortly after my first son was born, and before that, when they were moved to Saint Louis. I had never heard much about the Rams before then. They weren't the colossal losers that Tampa was (so there weren't jokes about the Rams) Historically i knew of Eric Dickerson but I can't say I ever saw a Rams game on TV until that Superbowl season.
In 2003 my family and I moved to Saint Louis (my wife's hometown). After coming off of a Superbowl run in Tampa, and the Rams being recently good, I was hoping to be entertained by the local team and continue to have reason to hate on them. But a funny thing happened, they became terrible. Little did I know the first year I lived in Saint Louis would be the best the Rams would ever be during my 13 years here.
So enough of my personal Rams history. The Rams are now the LA Rams, back to where they came from. Personally I don't have issue with this in itself. But what I do have a problem with is how it went down, and the implications for the region racially.
The Rams moved here from LA over issues with public funding for a new stadium. St Louis had a stadium as they were trying for an expansion team to replace the Cardinals which had left 1987 over stadium issues. With that move the Rams who were very mediocre at the time came to live in the newly built domed stadium. The deal that was made for the Rams to come is the very deal that allowed them to move.
Whomever was on the committee to bring the Rams to St. Louis was smart in that they wrote it in such a way that the Rams would have an out. It was irresponsible, a tax-payer financed stadium, that built in promises to be among the top 25%. Who would agree to such a thing? Looking at the Edward Jones dome now, I have to wonder what NFL stadiums looked like in the 90s for someone to make such a deal. The stadium is extremely vanilla, has hard to see score boards. Its terrible. But in the same breath, it was new in 1995, it was what the Rams wanted and it brought the region something that was taken from them.
The Rams were stable in their losing ways until Georgia Frontierre (the owner) died. The team was passed on to her kids and they subsequently put the team for sale. People grew concerened, but then a buyer stepped up from Urbana, Illinois. Shad Khan, he was a fan of the team and wanted to purchase it. However that got blocked by the minority owner at the time Stan Kroenke. Stan made big promises of keeping the team in Saint Louis and doing great things. people around town were immediately leery.
I participate in a lot of civic events here in Saint Louis. I've met the CEOs of many billion dollar companies. But I've never seen Stan Kroenke. That's telling. Its also his prerogative. This relationship with Stan and St. Louis never appeared healthy. Also as a sports owner I feel he's terrible. All of his team are terrible, but they make money. So in the end, you have to understand that this guy counts wins only with dollars. No emotion here with him and his city. So, this end result should of been expected.
This comes to the illusion that the NFL is America's sport and that they care. Now this is the part that i take issue with. Here you have a community that centers itself around being a great sports town, supporting a losing team through thick and thin. And no cares given. Concussions, Domestic Violence more and more you see the NFL is a mix of cronyism and pure capitalism. Which leads more and more to it to being less about the sport and more about the dollar. So given that, LA is a no brainer. Just like the move to St. Louis in 1995 was a no brainer. But, if you factor in human emotion and "NFL Cares". You get something that doesn't add up.
St. Louis as a region is a hot mess right now when it comes to social issues. There is a very segregated mentality mixed with classicism here. The Rams were the only team here that featured African American players (as of now Since Heyward left the baseball Cardinals). Strange for a city which is predominantly black, the region is closer to the national average. The people who are quick to call black people thugs can be found here. The Rams I felt played a role in having some form of representation to the city youth. Representing successful athletes to those in this city. It made it real. Now i'm not the guy who advocates that kids should strive to be sports stars. but i do understand having representation and what it means to see someone like you (physical representation) on TV as a means to show that you can make it out of your situation. This region has had its turmoil with the Ferguson incident and the negative racial profiling by police in the fiefdoms of St. Louis County. If I had a heart and was already making millions (in the league) I can't see how I (Roger Goodell) could support moving a team from this region at this time. It just seems callous and heartless to support this move. Saint Louis needed the Rams not just for entertainment, but it helped with this racially fractured city. Even when some of the Rams players used their platform to show support for the Brown family during the Ferguson issues and the many in the city balked at that. It was needed. This city needs to have more minorities in the limelight who have influence. It pushes conversation and it keeps things balanced.
Now I say all the above and it might seem one sided, I'm not naive though. St. Louis the region set themselves up for failure with that terrible leasing deal with the dome they built. They set up expectations by financing the stadium with tax-payer dollars. They brought in a guy to help bring the team here who wasn't loyal, wasn't really known as a St. Louis guy either. Then when given a chance they punted on upgrading the stadium to the requirements of the owner. Now that might seem crazy, but the precedence had been set by how you got the team to being with. I'm sure now, the $700m to upgrade the dome sounds so much more palatable now as it probably means the team is still here. And it probably would of made more sense anyhow, if you are using tax payer money, to go ahead and fix what you got. Instead of building another tax payer financed building, while still paying for the original.
Stan is right about one thing, the Rams will never be as popular as the baseball Cardinals. But in the same breath the baseball Cardinals never held the city hostage . When they couldn't get public financing for the entire stadium. They got 80% of the money on their own. Which is how it should of always been.
I'll miss the Rams here for the sheer fact that all my St. Louis family and friends will miss them. I'm hurt by them moving because my family and friends are hurt. But personally, I couldn't care less.