:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60133703/usa_today_10239534.0.jpg)
Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came,
And Norm and Cliff are wearing throwback Jack Youngblood jerseys.
An undeniable part of following sports teams is celebrating their triumphs and enduring their failures with friends. From a personal perspective, after the Los Angeles Rams left California and became the St. Louis Rams, a mix of sports bars and nationally televised games up through the Martz era made things fairly workable for a while until the team eventually bottomed out. After that, puttering around LA in the post-Greatest Show on Turf era was a mostly depressing experience.
The games slowly stopped being televised which relegated scattered Rams fans to the corner televisions in random dark bars with no volume. Unless you were already internet-savvy, it was pretty tough to be totally dialed in. It kind of felt like your ex from way back was now on drugs, had died her hair, and changed her number. But hey, they still had those horns on their helmets so all was not lost, yet the experience of being a fan had become a shadow of what it once had been.
After about five seasons in this abyss, I finally stumbled across a game at the SoCal Rams Booster Club in Whittier, and it felt like I was home again. Jack Youngblood, Marshall Faulk and Eric Dickerson jerseys filled the room. There were three projectors exclusively showing the Rams game, with the volume blasting every player’s name loud and clear. I had finally found Rams heaven. While the team continued to struggle, at least I was no longer sitting solo with nobody to vent to, listening to Cowboys and Packers fans high five each other at the other end of the bar.
Depending on where you reside, there is likely a similar Rams heaven nearby.
Here is a list of some of them:
SoCal Rams Booster Club (@SoCalRamsBC)
Santa Fe Springs, California
Founded by Ralph Valdez in 2004, the SoCal Rams has long been known to pack banquet halls and shake the walls with that familiar chant: “Whose house?!? “RAMS HOUSE!!!”
If you’re attending a home game, they throw a serious pregame tailgate in Lot 6 next to Martin Luther King Blvd. When the Rams are on the road, the club has a spacious room at Maggie’s Pub in Santa Fe Springs (Google Maps location) where every screen is dedicated to the Rams game.
SoCal Rams events are family-friendly environments where generations of Rams fans proudly sit shoulder-to-shoulder on Sundays. The club also takes great pride in its charity work that includes feeding the homeless at Downtown’s skid row and raising money to assist cancer patients.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11575203/unnamed.jpg)
Rams Central
Southern California
Email: moreno7291@yahoo.com
When the Rams packed up and moved to St Louis following the 1994 season, the team’s original Rams Booster Club evaporated. Led by masked superfan Manuel “Suspect” Moreno, former core members of the RBC then formed Rams Central for fans that simply couldn’t root for other teams regardless of the Rams new location.
For the Rams’ last two seasons, Rams Central combined forces with the Rams World Order (RWO), World Tour Rams, and Rams Forever Booster Club to throw one of the livest tailgate parties outside the Coliseum on Sundays. Due to the construction of the new Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art, this season they will be forced to relocate from lot 2 to the South Lawn.
It’s not all fun and games though, Rams Central is a family-friendly club that is deeply rooted in charity work. Several of Rams Central’s members are part of the Pro Football Ultimate Fans Association and join with other booster clubs to help underprivileged children. Rams Central also works for the Deacon Jones Foundation.
Golden Rams Booster Club (@GoldenRamBarber)
Westminster, California
Phone: (714) 894-RAMS
Sal Martinez opened the Golden Rams Barber Shop in Westminster way back in 1994, the Rams final season in Anaheim. The shop, a shrine of Rams memorabilia, lent its name to Sal’s new booster club in 2009, which became known The Golden Rams Booster Club. Many of the members, who had previously met at the National Sports Bar in West Covina, started meeting in the Rams Room at Out Of The Park Pizza in Buena Park (Google Maps location). This season the club plans on changing locations, but hasn’t decided where to plant their flag as of yet.
If you’re attending a game at the Coliseum just follow the Rambros’ blue/yellow fatigues to the Golden Rams Booster Club tailgate in Lot 6.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11575231/902063938.jpg.jpg)
Rams Forever (@RamsForeverCV)
Coachella Valley
Email: tonyramfan@yahoo.com
Covering the entire Coachella Valley, Rams Forever meets at several locations, including: Laser Oasis in La Quinta (Google Maps location), Los Pablos in Indio (Google Maps location), and Nicolino’s in Palm Springs (Google Maps location). Originally founded in 1995 by Adam Rivera, and currently spearheaded by Tony Hernandez III, this charitable club has been recognized by the Rams organization as far back as 1998 and 1999 when they were invited to attend a game at the TWA Dome.
On home Sundays, you can find Rams Forever tailgating on the South Lawn.
The club does wonderful charity work including clothing drives for the homeless, food drives, and even had members drive out clothing, toiletries and cash donations to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief in Texas. Be sure to link up with Tony and Rams Forever if you’re spending the weekend out in Coachella Valley.
World Tour Rams
North Hollywood, and various locations around Los Angeles
They ride luxury charters from The Valley to the Coliseum on Sundays. They have tailgate parties with live DJs. They fill opposing team’s bars with Rams fans to watch road games. If any of this strikes you as a quality way to spend gameday, and it should, then you need to meet up with the World Tour Rams crew.
If you can’t make it to the Coliseum on Sunday, their home base is Big Wang’s in North Hollywood (Google Maps location). If you are at the Coliseum, find their tailgate, it’ll be worth your while.
Rams World Order (RWO) (@ramsworldorder)
Lake Elsinore, Antelope Valley, San Diego, O’ahu, New Mexico, El Paso, New Jersey
The RWO, or “Ar, Dubya, Ohhhh ya!”as member/superfan Macho Ram might say, throws one of the best pregame tailgate parties in all of Exposition Park. Follow the banners, the smell of bbq, and the music to the South Lawn, and enjoy.
One of the unique things about this club is that they have chapters across the map, in places like: Hawaii, New Mexico, Texas, San Diego, and New Jersey. Reach them through social media, or contact Michael Martinez at the tailgate to find out more, or simply to cop a must-have RWO shirt.
Rams Empire (@RamsEmpire)
Norco and Santa Clarita
If you like a proper pregame feast, the Rams Empire might be your tailgate party of choice. When you hang with the Empire, expect cheesesteaks for the Philly game, po’ boys and jambalaya for the New Orleans game, pulled pork for the Houston game, and so on. The Rams Empire also helped spearhead efforts to create that enormous “Rams House” Tifo banner that the waves by the peristyle end of the Coliseum before games. Founded in 2016 by Vincent Delgado, Angel Fabela and Paul Fabela, Rams Empire does not charge dues but they do ask members to sign a code of conduct to help maintain a family friendly atmosphere.
If you want to link up with the Rams Empire to watch road games, they rotate between Sports Nut Pizza in Norco (Google Maps location) and Vincenzo’s Newhall Pizza in Santa Clarita (Google Maps location).
626 Rams Club and 702 Rams Club (facebook- 702lv 626sgv Rams Club)
San Gabriel Valley and Las Vegas
This club of Rams fans developed organically from a group of fans that loved to travel to St. Louis and beyond to see their team play. Eventually Donald Jimenez and Mike Ramos decided to become an official club that meets at Zendejas Mexican Restaurant in San Dimas (Google Maps location). They also have a Las Vegas chapter, the 702 Rams Club, run by President Benny Avitea and VP Noe Alvizo. This club can be found on the South Lawn before home games.
Die Hard Rams Booster Club (@DieHardRamsBC)
Ontario, California
This group of fans linked up in section 2H at the Coliseum and decided to start meeting up to watch road games at Yeast N’ Flour Pizza in Ontario (Google Maps location), which members refer to as The Ledge. Before home games, they can be found grilling in Lot 6, you can’t miss the Diehard banners. Founders Gary “The Ram” Young and Shawn Young will make sure you have a great time if you make it to The Ledge; they even allow members to bring their “misguided relatives” who root for other teams.
Los Angeles Rams Club
Fresno
Email: nora_ledesma@comcast.com
Throwback Joe Verdugo, David and Nora Ledesma started the first Rams club in the Central Valley back in 2002, and it’s still going strong. The club represents the entire Central Valley, from Kern County to San Joaquin County; but its epicenter is at the Club One Casino in Downtown Fresno (Google Maps location) where they meet every Sunday. Although they’re a stone’s throw from Niner Country, the club has hung tough over the years and has been visited by ex-Rams including like Eric Dickerson, Roman Gabriel, and Duval Love. They work in the community and have spearheaded coat and blanket drives over the years. If you’re in the Central Valley, be sure to catch a game at The Club One Casino.
A couple other great clubs to check out are the Silicon Valley Rams Boosters, who defiantly meet in the shadow of Levi Stadium, and the Conejo Valley Rams Club (@CVRamsClub) who meet near the Rams practice facility.
Deepest apologies to any clubs that were not included here. Please let us know so we can add your info.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11575239/607551138.jpg.jpg)