time for the "how did you become a Rams fan" thread

[zn]

We’ve heard some of the stories, but not all. And, it’s fine to hear stories again we’ve heard before, too.

[sdram]

We moved to Los Angeles from South Dakota in 1967 when I was 10 years old. And, after a two year courtship with George and Roman and Merlin and Deacon and the boys I watched my hero, and Augustana graduate Les Josephson explode on the scene in 1969 with 461 yards rushing on 124 carries and was hooked like a wicked Tuna.

They broke my little 13 year old heart for the first time at the end of that season – fooking Viking scum made sure of that. Then, they did it again in the early and mid 70’s with those great teams that couldn’t win the big one – the fooking Viking scum won the mud bowl. Then, again in 79 with the SB loss, then again…..

I’d like to see them have a truly great 10 year franchise QB. They had that briefly with Warner and seemingly peed that down their leg. That was my hope with SB but because of injuries, front office upheaval, and economics it seems like he never had a legitimate shot to be that. Maybe Foles, maybe the new kid… well see.

[nittany ram]

Xmas 1971. That’s the day I became a Rams fan.

When I was 7 years old I wasn’t a big football fan at the time but I sorta followed the Packers – mainly because my older cousin who I idolized was a Packers fan. So for Xmas that year I was surprised with an electric football set. You know, the one with the piece of sheet metal painted like a football field and when you turned it on the players vibrated and generally ran in circles or fell down. Well the teams that came with the set were the Packers and Rams.

Pretty much as soon as I opened the box I was a Rams fan. The players were painted in the blue and white uniforms of the day but what set them apart from the Packers was that their helmets had these squiggly little white horns painted on them. The squiggly nature of the horns can attest to the fact that they were hand painted (probably by the tiny hands of children in Indionesia or somewhere) but they looked pretty cool nonetheless. So cool to our childish brains in fact that when my friends came over to play with the game most of the time was spent arguing over who got to “be the Rams”.

Anyway, for better or worse those squiggly little horns on those figurines turned me, my brother and my friends into Rams fans (although only my brother and myself remained so into adulthood).

[bnw]

I hated the Rams for hogging so much national air time when I was a kid. Lazy and cheap national sports reporting gets the rest of the nation saturated in unwanted NY and LA team exposure. I also hated them for beating the football Cardinals in the playoffs. When they moved to St. Louis I bit my lip and supported them. I’m glad I did.

The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.

Sprinkles are for winners.

[zn]

I’ve told this story before but not everyone has heard every story.

Been a fan since around 77. I am a prototypical Rams nomad fan. It’s interesting how many nomads there are…Rams fans come from all over.

Anyway, I played high school football but I didn’t even follow pro football until I went to college in St. Louis, and at that point I got interested in the Cards. Mostly what I got out of that was (1) liking Coryell style football, and (2) hating Dallas. But the Cards didn’t “stick.” I moved to southern California and starting watching the Rams. They DID stick. At the time what I loved most about them was of course the defense.

I lived several different places since then, and always kept up with the Rams. I even paid attention to the Air Coryell Chargers in San Diego when I lived there, going so far as to drop in on training camps. But the Rams were my team. That meant a long line of sports bars all over the country as I moved to different places (that is when there even WERE sports bars that showed all the games), plus greedily consuming any print there was on the Rams. I wouldn’t even buy things to read…I would go get coffee at a bookstore here or there, sit and read all the Rams stuff in Pro Football Weekly, and not pay for it, because it would be paying to read snippets and or an article here or there. I just read it and put it back. There were times when I would be the only Rams fan in a sports bar during games. Now I am in Maine with Sunday Ticket, the internet, and chat rooms.

[canadaram]

We used to get our American TV feed out of Duluth, MN. Lots of Vikings games every season. One time in ’77, the Vikings were playing the Rams. I saw the glorious horns the Rams had on their helmets, and I knew that it was good. Turns out it was the Mud Bowl. A learned how to handle disappointment right out of the gate.

[snowman]

I was seven or eight years old, laying on the living room floor watching the Vikings game with my Dad on a Sunday afternoon. We lived in a tiny town in northeast South Dakota. It was cold, grey and miserable outside, and everyone in the Viking game, including the fans, looked cold, grey and miserable. The players were blowing exhaust out of their mouths like dragons. The game ends at 3:00 pm and the second game comes on; always a west coast team. It’s the LA Rams hosting – I don’t remember. The LA Coliseum was brilliant white, the sky was blue, the field was green, the Hollywood Hills were brown – there was COLOR at this football game, by God! The Rams came on the field in the home white uniforms with the trademark horns, they looked big, fast and powerful and they played that way. I watched the game and before it ended, I chose them as my favorite team. That was 1968 or so.

[InvaderRam]

moved to st. louis in 1993 to go to college. a couple years later the rams moved to st. louis, and i finally found my first home football team. they also just happened to be going through one of the worst periods of futility in nfl history, but it didn’t matter. kinda felt like we almost moved to st. louis together and maybe that’s why i remain so loyal – some of the best years of my life were spent in st. louis. i’m a fan of the st. louis cardinals too, but it doesn’t quite compare to my love for the rams. interestingly enough the 3 states i’ve spent the majority of my life in are ohio, missouri, and california. just like the rams! i’ve moved around since then, but i’ve remained a fan for 20 years now.

[zn]

Still angling for more. You may have told your story before, but this is the definitive re-issued director’s cut anniversary christmas edition version.

[joemad]

I grew up and still live in the San Jose area.

I have 2 older brothers, 1 was and is a 49ers fan, the other was and is a Rams fan.

Growing up, I liked both teams because of my brothers….. the clincher for me to be a Rams fan was a game when I was in Jr High, we were at my cousins house and I was in a back room watching the Rams play the Vikings in Minnesota on national TV …..the game resulted in 10-10 tie, I think it was 1976….. That was such a great emotional game that it got me hooked on the Rams…..Then in HS I loved the Rams, another memorable game was a MNF game against the Steelers in LA where the Rams won 10-3, I was a sophomore in HS when that happened as I used to get badgered by Raider and Steeler fans for being a Rams fan… my biology teacher that year was from UCLA and was also a Rams fan during that season…..

I still had a soft spot for the 49ers, because when I was in HS I worked their training camp at Santa Clara University in the summer of 1979 and 1980 when NOBODY was a 49er fan… when SF won the Super Bowl in 1981 all these Raider fans and fans from other teams jumped on the 49er bandwagon and it made me SICK!!!! It fueled my deep dislike of the 49ers and their fair weather fans and it strengthen my loyalty to the LA Rams…. I really loved those John Robinson teams of the 80’s……

[zn]

joemad wrote:

when I was in HS I worked their training camp at Santa Clara University in the summer of 1979 and 1980

Any stories from that? Just curious.

[Herzog]

My story is unremarkable and bland, but I’ll tell it anyway.

I grew up in a small town in Missouri, which means we all followed the religion that was the St. Louis Cardinals….BASEBALL TEAM. Back then Whitey Herzog was taking them to the world series every other year, you can probably guess why it’s my name on here. I wanted that man to adopt me. I watched and/or listened to every game, even in school. Sometimes the teachers would notice, but they didn’t care, b/c they too loved the cardinals.

The st. louis football team at the time was the Cardinals. I was in Junior high school when Neil Lomax was doing his thing, and I was a fan, but hardly cared about football.

It wasn’t until they announced that they were leaving that the big void filled my heart. I couldn’t believe they left and I was just so sad about it. I have no idea why. I was just a kid so who knows.

Years went by and I got older, started watching more football and realized I love the game. When rumors started to fly around that St. Louis might get an expansion team called the Stallions, I was very interested and primed to be a lifetime fan. It broke my heart when we didn’t them.

Then it happened. The L.A. Rams were moving to St. Louis. I thought Rich Brooks was going to be the next great coach and I was simply in love. Chris Miller and Isaac Bruce…OH LORD it was fun to watch.

I have to admit that I love this team more than my beloved Cardinals. Which is saying a lot. I will always be a Rams fan no matter where they go. Still, I will have a very heavy heart when they leave the Gateway City.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Herzog.

[joemad]

zn wrote:

joemad wrote:when I was in HS I worked their training camp at Santa Clara University in the summer of 1979 and 1980

Any stories from that? Just curious.

OK, I worked at the SCU cafeteria from HS and during my college years as one of my part time jobs……. it was one of best jobs a HS kid could have. I started off as a busboy, then beverage runner, dishwasher, food server, cook, and then the ultimate job, the door checker to scan and stamp student IDs to get into the cafeteria…. I met some students there as a kid in HS that have resulted a lifetime friendships… I have dozens of stories about working at that place…..it was an awesome place to work for a shy HS kid like me… I grew up pretty fast working there… I loved it.

anyway, the majority of SCU students leave for home during the summer, thus the camp kids take over for the summer. e.g, youth camps are held for young kids… basketball camp, baseball camp, football camp, science camp, ROTC camp that invade the SCU campus for 1 to 2 week intervals throughout the summer… which wasn’t as fun as working during the school year to support the college kids….. when word got out that the 49ers would be holding camp, all us HS kid employees wanted that 49er camp gig. It was unreal that an NFL team was holding training camp less than 1 mile from my house in the then small town Santa Clara…..

asking for the 49er gig: I was pretty well liked by the food service managers…too well liked, so well liked that the ROTC guy (Marvin) wanted me to stay and work the ROTC gig during the summer, and not the 49ers gig… nobody like Marvin, he was a complete dickhead…think of Neidermeyer from Animal House, only much much shorter….., but since I was too nice a kid to back-talk to Marvin, he wanted me to work for him in ROTC… I took my brother’s advice and went to Marvin’s boss and asked for the 49er gig and got it…. good bye Marvin!!!!!

Very,different atmosphere working the cafeteria for the 49ers. 1st the food was good, were not allowed to talk to any player or coach, but over time some of the players opened up to us and were pretty cool………this was the SF era of OJ Simpson, Hollywood Henderson, Randy Cross, and Steve DeBerg was the big cheese at QB and I don’t even remember Joe Montana at all…… The only coach who was open to me was linebacker coach Bob McPherson… a very nice man.. both of his daughters worked with me at camp… he was a great guy, always took time to talk to me, he was very cool.

a couple of quick non-football related stories:
1) OJ Simpson lost his car keys… that dude had a big friggin head.. I mean literally the size of his head was huge… he lost his keys to his car… he comes up to me asks for help finding his keys “They (keys) just don’t get up and walk away!”…..I helped OJ look all over the place for his keys, the dishroom, kitchen, dinning area… the next day he tells me that a teammate had them all along….

2) Charlie Young, I used to personally make and blend a power drink for this guy after each of his meals… 1 raw egg, 1 banana, milk, OJ (Orange Juice, not the running back), and Fruitcose powder……he would grade each batch that I made for him.. he was nice . I made a similar drink at home, only I used sugar instead of the fruitcose powder…..

[Eternal Ramnation]

I started out a Packers fan probably because when I was 7 yrs old I read “Throw the Long Bomb” and it had a forward by Bart Starr. I read everything I could get my hands on because Dad wouldn’t let us have a TV.Of course every monday I would ask all the kids about what was on TV. One friend said his Dad said the Rams were the greatest team in the world.That was all it took to complete the conversion.A little while later Dad began taking us to La Casita Mexican restaurant after church.The cook would take me over to the counter where he had the Rams game on TV! I saw the horns in action and this was still Fearsome Foursome days so there was no turning back.

[NERam]

Late 60’s, George Allen was in a TV commercial for either milk or the American Dairy Association. (I think I read somewhere that his idea of a celebration after a win was to go home to a bowl of ice cream. So there is a plausible tie to the white nectar.) At any rate, the commercial started off by Allen saying something like “Hello. I’m George Allen, Head Coach of the Los Angeles Rams. And these are the helmets of the Fearsome Foursome.” And then the camera panned down to 4 Rams helmets lined up in a row, in a beautiful display of the Blue & Whites . I can’t remember if there was, at that point, a video of the FF in action, coming off a snap and smashing helmets and shoulder pads. Or maybe that came later, toward the end of the commercial. Allen went on to say that he made sure that his players ate healthy during training camp, (with lots of milk) to be sure they played hard. I’m sure I probably have the sequence messed up, and maybe some of the dialogue. But I do remember the commercial, with the reference to the FF helmets, and that unforgettable sound of the helmet and shoulder pad impact, and the visual of them lined up together on a field. One look and an earful of that, and I bit. Thats all it took. Hook, line & sinker. Been that way ever since.

BTW, the pic that Jimi put up a couple of years ago, the one with Bradford handing off to SJ39, both in the Blue and Whites? Mon Dieu, that was a beautiful but cruel tease. Someday, I keep telling myself.

It’s funny, I have tried many times to find that commercial online, but no luck. I can find a stinking George Burns commercial made in 1951 for evaporated milk, but no George Allen, with the Fearsome Foursome and the Blue & White helmets.

[wv]

I became a Ram fan on the 8th day of December 1968.
(that was also the year i became a Roberto Clemente fan)
I was eleven years old and I’d never seen a pro football game on tv.
My family was visiting my grandmother and my dad turned on the tv
and it just happened to be the Brian Piccolo Bears versus the Los Angeles Rams.
When my dad turned the game on, i think it was already 17-0 Bears. But the
Rams fought back and….well….its the Rams.

——————————————–
“….Season Recap

Just as they had in 1967, the Rams and Colts staged a season long battle for the Coastal Division title. The Rams won their first six games, but lost to the Colts in Baltimore in week seven, 27-10, to fall into a tie with the Colts. Both teams won their next two games, but then the Rams had to rally from a 10-point 4th quarter deficit to tie the 49ers in San Francisco, 20-20.

Going into the second to the last game of the season against the Bears, the Rams trailed the Colts by 1/2 game, with a regular season finale vs. the Colts in Los Angeles looming the following week to decide the title. The Colts won a Saturday game in Green Bay (eliminating the Packers from playoff contention) 16-3. On Sunday, the Bears, the breaks, and the officials all played a role in the Bears 17-16 win that eliminated the Rams. The Bears played inspired defense, even knocking quarterback Roman Gabriel out of the game for a time. The Rams blocked a Bears punt, but it rolled out of the end zone for a safety just before the Rams were about to recover the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Finally, trailing by a point, Gabriel rallied the Rams and appeared to pass them into field goal range. But a late flag for clipping cost the Rams the gain and set them back 15 yards into their own territory. At the same time, the officials neglected to re-set the down marker back to 3rd down (the down is supposed to go over on a penalty), so when the next play was an incomplete pass, the officials awarded the Bears the ball. The Rams protested vehemently that it was still their ball down but to no avail. The NFL later acknowledged the officials’ mistake but said the result of the game could not be changed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Los_Angeles_Rams_season

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• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by wv.

[Pancake]

My dad was watching the Rams one night when I was about 4 years old. I remember walking in and watching it but I had no clue what was going on. I thought all the guys on the field were purposely laying down so that the guy with the ball could run across there body’s and not get dirty. Cause I knew I would always get in trouble for getting grass stains on my nice clothes too so it made sense in my little head.

But the more I sat there and watched the more interesting it was to me. Might even say I was mesmerized. My dad started naming players off and told me about the fearsome foursome. I remember thinking what a cool name the fearsome foursome was and that I wanted my friends and I to start a club named that.

The clincher for me though was when I saw the horns. I never wavered from being a Rams fan from that day I saw those horns. Actually I might have second guessed my commitment when the Rams went to St.Louis but my boycott lasted about a minute into game one.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Pancake.

[zn]

I want to keep bumping and pushing this thread. I think of it as an heirloom we’re creating for our grandchildren, for the time when the Rams have moved to the New London Base on Mars.

.

[cgsuddeath]

Back in 1976 watching the game where the Rams battled the Vikings to 10-10 tie

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by cgsuddeath.

[zn]

cgsuddeath wrote:

Back in 1976 watching the game where the Rams battled the Vikings to 10-10 tie

Okay, why did that game transform you into a Rams fan? And not, say, a Vikings fan?

[waterfield]

This story has been written before -but here goes: After my father was lost in WW2 my mother had to go to work. One of her bosses somehow became involved with the Rams as their statistician when they arrived here (L.A.) from Cleveland in 1946. Knowing I was fatherless he introduced me to some of the all time greats including Hirsch, Fears, Waterfield (hence my board name), etc. As they say: the rest is history.

[wv]

waterfield wrote:

This story has been written before -but here goes: After my father was lost in WW2 my mother had to go to work. One of her bosses somehow became involved with the Rams as their statistician when they arrived here (L.A.) from Cleveland in 1946. Knowing I was fatherless he introduced me to some of the all time greats including Hirsch, Fears, Waterfield (hence my board name), etc. As they say: the rest is history.

Why dont you tell us a story from those
early times. A memory.

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[waterfield]

Just so many WV. One that stands out is because it was one of my first memories. 1949 in the rain-Coliseum-Rams playing the Eagles for the NFL Championship. Pouring, pouring rain. Mom was afraid I would die soaking wet. So she kept giving me a flask with bourbon-I think Jim Beam-so I would stay warm. On the Eagle side of the Coliseum. Rams could not do anything in the mud but the Eagles HOF fullback Steve Van Buren could. Eagles 14-Rams 0.

Another: was at the 51 NFL Championship game against the Browns in the Coliseum. Van Brocklin to Fears -71 yards for winning TD. We (mom and I again) were on the 20 yd line Ram side right where Van Brocklin let the pass go.

Lucky enough to be at most if not all the significant Ram games at the Coliseum when they were there including the Tony Guillory blocked punt and Gabriel to Casey in the corner!

Was there when Marchetti tore off Les Richter’s helmet and beat him over the head with it. Directly in front of where I was sitting. Terrible scene.

Lots more including the initial game played in St. Louis at Edward Jones. The real story there is staying in a bed and breakfast in East St. Louis-that’s right East St. Louis if you catch my drift.

[nittany ram]

waterfield wrote:

Just so many WV. One that stands out is because it was one of my first memories. 1949 in the rain-Coliseum-Rams playing the Eagles for the NFL Championship. Pouring, pouring rain. Mom was afraid I would die soaking wet. So she kept giving me a flask with bourbon-I think Jim Beam-so I would stay warm. On the Eagle side of the Coliseum. Rams could not do anything in the mud but the Eagles HOF fullback Steve Van Buren could. Eagles 14-Rams 0.

Another: was at the 51 NFL Championship game against the Browns in the Coliseum. Van Brocklin to Fears -71 yards for winning TD. We (mom and I again) were on the 20 yd line Ram side right where Van Brocklin let the pass go.

Lucky enough to be at most if not all the significant Ram games at the Coliseum when they were there including the Tony Guillory blocked punt and Gabriel to Casey in the corner!

Was there when Marchetti tore off Les Richter’s helmet and beat him over the head with it. Directly in front of where I was sitting. Terrible scene.

Lots more including the initial game played in St. Louis at Edward Jones. The real story there is staying in a bed and breakfast in East St. Louis-that’s right East St. Louis if you catch my drift.

Very cool. I envy you your memories.

[wv]

waterfield wrote:

Just so many WV. One that stands out is because it was one of my first memories. 1949 in the rain-Coliseum-Rams playing the Eagles for the NFL Championship. Pouring, pouring rain. Mom was afraid I would die soaking wet. So she kept giving me a flask with bourbon-I think Jim Beam-so I would stay warm. On the Eagle side of the Coliseum. Rams could not do anything in the mud but the Eagles HOF fullback Steve Van Buren could. Eagles 14-Rams 0.

Another: was at the 51 NFL Championship game against the Browns in the Coliseum. Van Brocklin to Fears -71 yards for winning TD. We (mom and I again) were on the 20 yd line Ram side right where Van Brocklin let the pass go.

Lucky enough to be at most if not all the significant Ram games at the Coliseum when they were there including the Tony Guillory blocked punt and Gabriel to Casey in the corner!

Was there when Marchetti tore off Les Richter’s helmet and beat him over the head with it. Directly in front of where I was sitting. Terrible scene.

Lots more including the initial game played in St. Louis at Edward Jones. The real story there is staying in a bed and breakfast in East St. Louis-that’s right East St. Louis if you catch my drift.

You should write them all down someday, and then post them.

You know i wrote a letter to the LA Times way back in the 80’s and it got
published. You probably read it, many years ago. They titled it “A View from Afar”.
I was complaining about the LA fans booing the Rams after a playoff loss or somethin.
I’ve tried to find a copy of that letter but i cant seem to find it.

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[PA Ram]

This is the culprit:

Collecting stickers for the book with a friend. He was a Vikes fan so I was a somewhat fan cause I didn’t know any better. Then I got the Rams stickers and fell in love with the horns. Bought Pro Football preview mags. Taped the players to my wall and was hooked. Rams were my team.

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. " Philip K. Dick

[waterfield]

WV: “You know i wrote a letter to the LA Times way back in the 80’s and it got
published. You probably read it, many years ago. They titled it “A View from Afar”.
I was complaining about the LA fans booing the Rams after a playoff loss or somethin.
I’ve tried to find a copy of that letter but i cant seem to find it.”

That was probably the Giant/Ram playoff game in Anaheim. I was there with my son and Robinson took out Dickerson to put in Crutchfield with 2d and goal from the 4 yd line. He had done that at least a million times during the season even though Dickerson was having the best rooking running season of any back ever. Anyway, sitting behind us was a family of Giant fans. One of the mothers had a 3 month old baby. When Crutchfield came in the baby-believe it or not-says “watch they’re gonna give it to Crutchfield” Sure enough.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-07-31/sports/8501310740_1_camp-fullback-dwayne-crutchfield

[nittany ram]

PA Ram wrote:

This is the culprit:

Collecting stickers for the book with a friend. He was a Vikes fan so I was a somewhat fan cause I didn’t know any better. Then I got the Rams stickers and fell in love with the horns. Bought Pro Football preview mags. Taped the players to my wall and was hooked. Rams were my team.

I still have that book and thanks to my dad and his friends it’s completely full.

[wv]

waterfield wrote:

WV: “You know i wrote a letter to the LA Times way back in the 80’s and it got
published. You probably read it, many years ago. They titled it “A View from Afar”.
I was complaining about the LA fans booing the Rams after a playoff loss or somethin.
I’ve tried to find a copy of that letter but i cant seem to find it.”

That was probably the Giant/Ram playoff game in Anaheim. I was there with my son and Robinson took out Dickerson to put in Crutchfield with 2d and goal from the 4 yd line. He had done that at least a million times during the season even though Dickerson was having the best rooking running season of any back ever. Anyway, sitting behind us was a family of Giant fans. One of the mothers had a 3 month old baby. When Crutchfield came in the baby-believe it or not-says “watch they’re gonna give it to Crutchfield” Sure enough.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-07-31/sports/8501310740_1_camp-fullback-dwayne-crutchfield

I have never heard the Prima-teen-Mist excuse,
before:

…Disappointed, he left the Dolphins` camp. It was his fiancee, Carol Macri, who came to his rescue.
When I had tried out with the Dolphins, I had been dieting for two days, Crutchfield said. I had been taking Lasix 40 (a form of the diuretic used to prevent bleeding in racehorses), and my weight had gone from 250 to about 239. When I came here to try out, I took some Primateen Mist to help clear my head. I took one hit, then I felt stuffed so I took another. I read the label and it said only take two hits at the most. By the time I read it, I had already taken four.
My fiancee told me to call Coach Shula and explain what happened. He told me he would give me another chance.…

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[zn]

This is going well. But it would be fun to hear more.

[Author]

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