I think for those of us who post on this board (I myself post irregularly butread frequently), this is a pretty amazing time for us. I don't put the Rams up on a podium above my personal life and I don't spend hours a week reading about the Rams, but I do watch the games, I do pay attention, and I can name every player, starters and reserves. ;-
I love the Rams. I'm 26, I grew up in LA, and my dad had a serious anger problem. Every time the Rams lost he would punch a hole through the wall or kick a cupboard door. The worst of it all was when the ***** came to town - I knew as a little kid that the ***** meant a grumpy dad later in the day. I didn't know Joe Montana or Jerry Rice as a 5 year old, but I grew up to know them well. As my dad's football expertise and attention level faded, my attention level rose to incredible heights. As an 8 year old I would get the team address from Beckett Magazine and would mail playing cards in for autographs. Jim Everett wrote me back and signed. Bettis, Bruce, Flipper Anderson, Kevin Greene. I have many other teams, but those Rams were important to me.
The point of this note is that the past 7 or 8 years have sucked. My best friend is a Seahawks fan, and I live in Dallas, Texas.
But something has changed. My girlfriend got back in town last night and smiled and said "The Rams won!". My neighbor stopped me to yell "YOUR TEAM WON DUDE!". My dad called to talk about how we beat the Seahawks - and that is important to me.
People know I'm a Rams fun. They didn't typically rub it in my face when we won 1 or 2 games a year but they share my pleasure and satisfaction that my team is (so far) competetive. That is what sports is about - that is what being a Rams fan means to me.
