FanPost

Why do we stick with the Rams?


The answer is probably different for everyone. However, many of us will have some of the same reasons in common.

My father was a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. By default, this made me a Cowboys fan. I was a teenager when the Cowboys drafted Troy and Emmitt, and then built a dynasty around the once great franchise. Before that though, the Cowboys had been stinking up the NFL. As a small child, I remember my father yelling at the TV as the Boys would blow another lead or look at me in disbelief when they drafted another sure to be bust. Through it all, up until his death in 1996 He was a true Cowboys fan, getting to see his Boys win another Super Bowl. I remember the elation on his face when Troy hoisted that trophy during the Lombardi presentation ceremony. Hell, one of my first memories was of my Mom and I picking my father up at Cowboys Stadium after a win and him putting a child size cap on my head with the big blue star on it.

It was the winter of 1995 when I first started paying attention to the newly relocated Rams. My father and I were in that awkward teenage son vs father phase. I was looking for ways to rebel and looking to become my own man. The Rams were a way for me to stick it to the old man. From that moment forward I became a Rams fan. I watched as they struggled for their own identity, much as I was struggling for mine. As with all struggles, when coupled with hard work, determination, and a little lady luck, the Rams reached through to the other side of adversity and pulled victory from the jaws of a season ending injury to our star QB. Those hard times and the seeming ineptitude of management forged within me the blue and gold blood that pumps through my veins to this day.

Today our beloved franchise faces the same sort of adversity we faced back then when my Rams journey began. We have management who seems to have their head up their collective ass. We have a bunch of players who seem to either not have the skill set to succeed or are lacking the direction and motivation to do so. We also have a coaching staff who seems to be learning as they go, and who cannot grasp the concept of running the ball on first and goal!

Point being, we are invested in the Rams. All the time spent watching mock draft boards, all the hours spent at the venue or in front of the TV cheering on our team, the money spent on trips to see them play, jerseys bought and worn until they are virtually see-through, time spent ignoring our families while we eagerly scroll through TST looking for a glimmer of good news, faith invested in the team, faith that the kick will stay true and sail through the uprights, faith that on 4th and 1 SJax can punch through the line and get a 1st, faith that the coach will have the balls to call the right play instead of bootlegging with a one legged QB, faith that our team will start a new season each and every year and have a chance to go to the playoffs and be in the biggest of shows.

Loyalty to our team, faith in our team, and personal investments in the team. Those are the reasons that I will stay a Ram for life. Much like my father 's Cowboys, I know that if I give my team my full support, eventually they will come around to being champions again. And who knows, maybe I can pass that tradition onto my 4 month old son. One day he could wear the blue and gold as a fan or player(That would be awesome). But, like me, he will most likely go off and find his own team to root for, but you can bet your ass it will be til the day he dies!