Many fans root geographically. Many others do not.

This is the way I look at it.
If you called yourself a die hard Cardinal fan and followed the team and at one time believed that you could never root for any other team except the Cardinals then quite frankly no. No you should not be rooting for the Rams.

At least not as if the Rams are the only team you will ever follow and ever be loyal to. You should be loyal to the Cardinals; you should be following your Cardinals. Otherwise you’re not really a Cardinal fan or a Rams fan or any team fan, you are a St. Louis fan regardless of what team calls it home.

Now let’s extend the metaphor to Los Angeles. If you called yourself a die hard rams fan and you hate them for leaving and your goal is to see them lose while you await the expansion team that is going to make the Rams leaving all better then you were never really a Rams fan. You were a Los Angeles fan.

I do not owe Los Angeles a thing and I do not owe St. Louis a thing. I do appreciate the way St. Louis has supported the Rams however if the Rams pack up and move to say. The moon then I will be a moon rams fan.

Look at it this way. What about when a fan moves away from the team he loves? Does he root for the local or closest team to his new proximity or does he continue rooting for the original team he left behind? If I had done that when I moved from Southern California then I would be a whiner fan right now.

In sum, Geographic fans feel that the team is expendable where as the city is not. Of all the head aches the Rams have cost you, compare those to the heart aches and head aches the city has cost you. How many times has the city you lived in surprised you with say a check in the mail that you were not expecting? Hmmm thought so. How many times you’re your water bill been higher then expected? Hmmm thought so. How many times have you run into road construction compliments of the city when you were already late? Hmmm thought so. How many times have you complained about something the city has done or is about to do? Hmmm thought so. Sure the Rams cause me heart aches and head aches. The difference is, it is my choice. No one is forcing me to watch the Rams and Martz chisel away at the core of the team, make idiot play calls, lose a superbowl that they should have won, get rid of my favorite players and replace them with questionable ones. No one is forcing me to watch this team come unraveled but I want to see what goes on. So when it comes to sports entertainment I will choose what makes me happy and I will be loyal to that entity. I will not allow a city to dictate my likes and dislikes.

So which way is the right way to root? Geographically or by the laundry the team wears and the name they play under? There is no correct answer to this question (unless of course you are running for office) however when the subject comes up and your asked what kind of football fan you are then you need to understand that there is a difference between a Los Angeles fan and a Rams fan. There is a difference between a St. Louis fan and a Rams fan. I am a Rams fan and that is how I express it when asked. If a team moved to Sacramento CA. or Sacramento was awarded an expansion team, I would be happy. I would be elated. The first thing I would check on would be the division they play in and I would pray that division would be the NFC west. I will let you figure out why. If one were to take a look at history they would notice that history has not lost track of the Rams accomplishments further emphasizing that it is still the same football team. History says the Rams are the Rams. When they print the record books they do not separate the Los Angeles Rams from the St. Louis Rams as if they were two different teams.