Best Rams story ever

know, i'm bored and can't wait till free agency. I was thinking, what is your best Rams story ever involving you.

Here's mine. I live in Ohio and have loved the Rams since 1979. But i could never go to a game unless they played the Browns, Bengals or Lions. Then when they moved to St. Louis in 1995, i couldn't wait to go to Rams park.

In april of 1996, i set off to St.Louis with my X-wife and stepdaughter. The team had just drafted Lawrence Phillips, Eddie Kennison and Tony Banks. They were coming off a 7-9 season and things were looking up.

I got to st. louis very late and went to a hotel to get a room only to learn i had lost my wallet somewhere along the way. So i found a parking lot in the rich area of St. Louis and slept in my car.

Saturday came and i called Kirk Reynolds, who i spoke with pretty much every day on the phone in public relations. He told me to come over to Rams park, which was still at the YMCA.

Although outsiders were not allowed to watch practice, they let me anyway. They also served me lunch, which i got to eat with the players and coaches. I sat at the table with John Oswald, Coach Rich Brooks and GM Steve Ortmeyer.

When they heard i slept in my car because i lost my wallet, they rented me a room at the red roof inn for 2 days and gave me $40 to eat on.

Sunday came and Reynolds took me over to where they were building the new Ram offices. It was only a shell and we went inside to check it out. Security showed up and would have gotten arrested, but they called the Rams to verify Reynolds worked there.

We got back to the YMCA, and Reynolds introduced me to Isaac Bruce, Kevin Carter, Tony Banks and Chip Lohmiller. Bernie Miklasz was there and wrote a story about me and my family sleeping in the car. He called me "Dave from Ohio" in the story. It was really cool.

That is not only my greatest Rams moment involing myself, but it was my best vacation ever.

Cool story... thanks for posting. :)

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Originally Posted by Rams4life1

know, i'm bored and can't wait till free agency. I was thinking, what is your best Rams story ever involving you.

Here's mine. I live in Ohio and have loved the Rams since 1979. But i could never go to a game unless they played the Browns, Bengals or Lions. Then when they moved to St. Louis in 1995, i couldn't wait to go to Rams park.

In april of 1996, i set off to St.Louis with my X-wife and stepdaughter. The team had just drafted Lawrence Phillips, Eddie Kennison and Tony Banks. They were coming off a 7-9 season and things were looking up.

I got to st. louis very late and went to a hotel to get a room only to learn i had lost my wallet somewhere along the way. So i found a parking lot in the rich area of St. Louis and slept in my car.

Saturday came and i called Kirk Reynolds, who i spoke with pretty much every day on the phone in public relations. He told me to come over to Rams park, which was still at the YMCA.

Although outsiders were not allowed to watch practice, they let me anyway. They also served me lunch, which i got to eat with the players and coaches. I sat at the table with John Oswald, Coach Rich Brooks and GM Steve Ortmeyer.

When they heard i slept in my car because i lost my wallet, they rented me a room at the red roof inn for 2 days and gave me $40 to eat on.

Sunday came and Reynolds took me over to where they were building the new Ram offices. It was only a shell and we went inside to check it out. Security showed up and would have gotten arrested, but they called the Rams to verify Reynolds worked there.

We got back to the YMCA, and Reynolds introduced me to Isaac Bruce, Kevin Carter, Tony Banks and Chip Lohmiller. Bernie Miklasz was there and wrote a story about me and my family sleeping in the car. He called me "Dave from Ohio" in the story. It was really cool.

That is not only my greatest Rams moment involing myself, but it was my best vacation ever.

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What's Isaac like? He a cool guy? He seems very layed back, very down to Earth, what did you think of him?

He was great. Alot of guys [tony banks] were standoffish, but Bruce acted like i was his friend since high school. Very cool dude.

2 days at the Red Roof in and only $40.00 to pay for meals. You must have lost some weight that weekend?:)

$40.00 would cover 1 breakfast for this guy.:)

My story is not nearly as cool as Rams4life, but it was kinda neat.

I'm a avid golfer, and after playing a round of golf at a local course a few years back, I stopped by the course bar for an adult beverage or two. I took a seat at the bar and who's sittin' next to me? The "Secretary of Defense", Deacon Jones.

Yep, Deacon Jones is sitting there drinking a cold one and chattin' with other golfers. It seems he plays this course quite often and had played earlier that day. He's a really nice guy. Funny, witty, and has so many stories that you could sit and listen to them forever. I sat and talked with him for awhile, and you'd think when I left that he and I were the best of buddies. Absolutely a great guy. Just don't get him started on the sack thing. :) He was (IS) the sack king and was famous for his "head slap". Unfortunately, they didn't keep track of sacks in the "old" days, so he doesn't get the credit he deserves. But he'll talk about it!!

I had the pleasure of meeting him again shortly after, along with Jack Youngblood and Jackie Slater at an autograph/charity thing and they were all great guys. Very personable, and humble guys. Also, three of my all-time favorite players from the Rams.

Not a great story, but mine, nonetheless.

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Originally Posted by RAMFANRAIDERHATER

My story is not nearly as cool as Rams4life, but it was kinda neat.

I'm a avid golfer, and after playing a round of golf at a local course a few years back, I stopped by the course bar for an adult beverage or two. I took a seat at the bar and who's sittin' next to me? The "Secretary of Defense", Deacon Jones.

Yep, Deacon Jones is sitting there drinking a cold one and chattin' with other golfers. It seems he plays this course quite often and had played earlier that day. He's a really nice guy. Funny, witty, and has so many stories that you could sit and listen to them forever. I sat and talked with him for awhile, and you'd think when I left that he and I were the best of buddies. Absolutely a great guy. Just don't get him started on the sack thing. :) He was (IS) the sack king and was famous for his "head slap". Unfortunately, they didn't keep track of sacks in the "old" days, so he doesn't get the credit he deserves. But he'll talk about it!!

I had the pleasure of meeting him again shortly after, along with Jack Youngblood and Jackie Slater at an autograph/charity thing and they were all great guys. Very personable, and humble guys. Also, three of my all-time favorite players from the Rams.

Not a great story, but mine, nonetheless.

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What did the Secretary of Defense shoot that day?

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What did the Secretary of Defense shoot that day?

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Ya know, I don't think I even asked.... :)

I just wanted to talk about the Rams.

Many years ago when the Rams were still in California and had their practice facilities in Anaheim, I decided to drop in on the Rams training camp during the time I was visiting my mother in Westlake Village with my then 8 year old son Chris. Chris was hoping to meet some Ram players while obtaining any and all autographs he possibly could. It was quite a drive from Westlake Village to Anaheim as it had been years since I negotiated a freeway. (The only experiece rivaling it would be that of trying to keep up with Dez on the freeways in St Louis last year -- but that's another story). When we finally arrived the drive ended up being worth it. We were escorted by a Rams PR guy right to the edge of the practice field and had a really good view of the action. There were some small portable bleachers at midfield and we sat down to watch. There was only one other person sitting there watching and that person turned out to be none other than Jack Youngblood. My son Chris lost no time in getting his autograph after which we chatted for a while. Jack had an easy drawl and was still a very impressive physical specimen, in fact it looked as if he could have suited up and joined in on the field had he so desired. When the scrimmage ended the players moved to an adjacent field and began doing individual drills overseen by their position coaches. One thing I will never forget was watching Dale Hatcher the Rams punter at the time off in the distance booming punts sky high one after another. And I mean BOOMING! Every time he hit one it sounded like a cannon being fired!!

Once organized practice was over the players straggled into a large single story building adjacent to the practice field. They were closely followed by a gaggle of autograph seeking kids my young son among them. Jim Everett, Tom Newberry and Kevin Greene were the last guys to go in -- all of them signed for the kids. At that point it looked as if the show was over and the kids began going their separate ways. My son Chris wanted to wait a little longer with the hope of seeing more players, so we hung around a bit with 3 or 4 other kids. Suddenly the door the players had entered upon exiting the field swung open a crack, and then wide enough to allow a man's head to emerge which we soon realized belonged to Kevin Greene. For a moment Kevin peered out at the kids through the door then beckoned to come closer. Kevin told the kids he would let them come in and watch the players lift weights/train, but that they had to stay put -- no more autographs -- while in the weightroom. It was obvious Greene liked kids and had not forgotten what it was like to be one. As he ushered us in he pointed out an area where we could watch the goings on without bothering anyone. I was the only one with a camera and was asked not to take pictures. I was truly amazed at all the equipment in that room. I saw stuff in there I had never seen before --machines just for your neck -- one for just about every muscle in your body let alone all the free weights. I still frequent the local 24 hr Fitness here on Maui and it doesn't compare to what I saw that day 20 years ago. Finally my son had his fill and we left to go grab something to eat. On the way out we saw one of the Rams' young PR guys and got directions to a nearby restaurant. We found the place easily, slipped into a booth and ordered. As we were eating I kept hearing a voice from the booth in back of us that sounded vaguely familiar. I was curious but decided not to make a scene by standing up, turning around and peering over to see who it was. When we finished eating and got up to leave, I immediately recognized John Robinson the then current Rams coach as the faimiliar voice, apparently enjoying a meal with his family. We didn't bother him, we had half the teams' autographs by then and were just grateful for the day's experience ...

I still have a scrapbook of great photos from that memorable trip -- too bad I am so computer illiterate -- otherwise I would share them with Ram fan old timers like me ...