When.....

.....did you become a Rams fan?

For myself it was 1970. I was just a kid in Northern California (we had moved up from Southern California 4 years earlier) and was just becoming interested in football.

I remember the Rams had just finished some good years in the 1960's and in 1970, '71, and '72 they had mediocre years.

Then the great defensive teams of the 1970's emerged, and the Rams got a steady if not explosive offense to go with it. Their offense was the original 'ground chuck' a trademark of then head coach Chuck Knox.


Well that's when I became a fan. How about you? When did you first become a Rams fan?

Let's hear it!!! :-)


:p

[RealRam]

When and then...

Ahhh!... it was back then... when I was in middle school in Mexico, circa 1966. I was about 14 years young. :rolleyes:

Two summers earlier I had been interested in the Tokyo Olympic games, maybe bacause of an early rumor that the following Olympic games were to be hosted by Mexico, i.e., for 1968. I thus became more and more interested in following a few international sports like bicycle racing, track and field, weight lifting, boxing and soccer.

Notice I said I was more and more interested in following these sports, not necessarily playing them! :p I was also truly passionate about chess and, yes, bullfighting :eek: ! Those were the days...

...when it was almost impossible, if one was interested in some "international" sport, not to be caught up in the excitement of the ever increasingly popular NBA, Formula 1 car racing, etc.

And the NFL. Enter the Los Angeles Rams, 1966. It must have been the white and blue uniforms that caught my eye, the blue and white helmets, an honest "w-o-w..." for me. I just thought they looked a-w-e-s-o-m-e!

From then until graduating from highschool, practically every single book I carried was covered with small and huge press pictures of the Rams. I'm telling you, it was beautiful!

Never imagined they would go through times so sad and turbulent. Never imagined they would move away from LA. I couldn't really see the business side to it, let alone understand it.

Jack Pardee, Jack Snow, Eddie Meador, Lamar Lundy, Billy Truax, Irv Cross, Dick Bass, Bernie Casie, Merlin Olsen, Roman Gabriel, Bruce Gosset, Deacon Jones, Charlie Cowan, Tom Mack, Joe Scibelli, Maxie Baughan, Ken Iman... Believe it or not, I knew every name and number in the roster until about 1970.

You're right Rambitious, there were some excellent years in the sixties but not until Coach George Allen arrived to kickoff the 1966 season. Outstanding teams in 67, 68, 69 (the MVP year for Roman Gabriel). Yes, it was g-r-e-a-t to be a Rams fan then. It was great, I remember it well.

2001. It still is, I can tell.

GO RAMS!!!

[MsWistRAM]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I have great envy for those who are long term Rams fans.

I'm a bandwagoner. I'll admit it. But I jumped on at the beginning of the '99 season, not the end. I've had my eye on them ever since they moved the team to St. Louis. Waited to see if they could do St. Louis proud, but they kept disappointing. I felt sorry for the growing pains they were going through, but couldn't bear the agony of trying to cheer for them. Right after Trent Green was taken out by Rodney Harrison (I'm ashamed to say, Western Illinois University here in Macomb, Illinois is his alma mater) I decided I was going to support this team no matter how bad they play. (I'm also a Bears fan, so I'm no stranger to adversity.) Little did I know what was to come.

I tend to attach myself to players, like Green, which is why I've jumped on the Chief's bandwagon. If Wistrom should ever leave the Rams, I'll remain a Rams fan, but I'll be jumping on the bandwagon of whatever team he plays for.

I've only truly gotten into football to a greater extent in the last few years because my life holds little appeal for me and football is the great escape. Gee, aren't you glad you asked? :p

[rampower]

The only thing that made me aware that football existed( i live in england) was the program Dallas. around 1984ish football started to take off overhere and it became mega popular for a while. The fridge was popular, but the guy who caught my eye was dickerson. The first game I saw live on t.v was the rams and the pats when Jim Everett made his debut. Been ram mad ever since. Never got to anaheim but been to 3 games in st louis, hopefully one more this year. I would go to every single one if I had the time and money. Get to see them on cable a few times but when they were poor in the nineties, we rareky got a game as only one or two are shown every week. Beleave me you guys stateside don't know how lucky you are!!!

Basically as long as I have liked football I have followed the rams.
I could never follow anyone else, it wouldn't feel right.
The rams are who I am.

[Aries51]

I became a Rams fan without realizing it around 1969.(let me explain.)My dad told me that we met Deacon Jones at a restaurant and he gave me an autographed mini-football.I dont remember it,but I had the football up until we moved to Washington in 1975.Somehow it was lost during the move.What I do remember is getting a Rams football helmet around 1971,and like Jorge I fell in love with the colors.Plus my parents lived in LA and are also Rams fans.My first heroes were John Hadl and Jack Youngblood.Like many other fans,following the Rams has been a rollercoaster ride from hell,but I wouldnt trade the memories for anything.The only other team I kind of follow is the Chargers,(since I grew up in Southern Cal)but ever since the Rodney Harrison incident they've lost favor with me.Anyway I'll be a Rams fan forever and the last three years have been great.This Rams team is making history.


GO RAMS!

[RammStein]

as I first explained when I entered this forum and will explain now because I want to rack up my post total .. lol

at the tender age of 7 (1984) I went to a California Angels(now the Anahiem Angels) game upon looking around this enormous stadium I found the LA Rams logo on the side of the press box along with the California Angels logo .. being the young none contradicting kid I was .. I decided if the Rams are good enough to have their logo along side the Angels logo for which they are my favorite team .. then I will like the Rams as well .. hence that day forward I was a Rams fan .. loved the days of Everett and Dickerson .. hung my head in shame during the seasons for which the Niners whipped our hides .. but was estatic as hell when we beat them and punched THEIR OWN goal posts paddling .. OHHHHHHH :mad: that ticked me off when their(the Niners) defense did that .. but NOW life is grand and being a Rams fan is once again a great thing in others eyes .. not just my own!!!

GO RAMS:cool:

[txramsfan]

It was around 1970, I snuck into my brothers room (I was either 6 or 7) and put on his L.A. Rams sweatshirt. He was 12 years older than me. Hadl was the QB, and I loved that team. One of my favorite years still is 79, with the Vince Ferragamo show. What a team that was. If only Pat Thomas was 2 inches taller, he swats that ball from Stallworth. Or how about the win I think in 82, not sure, when the Rams beat the Cowboys at Dallas in the playoffs. ED went off that game. I am from Southeast Missouri (Poplar Bluff, hey J.D.) and went to every Rams home game the first year in St. Louis. Have gone to at least one game every year since the move, and flying back home in December for the Whiners game.

[RMFN]

I have been a football fan since 1960. I lived in Baltimore till 1972 and was a HUGE (Baltimore) Colt fan till they left in the middle of the night for IND.

Since I was living in St Louis I then stated to follow the St Louis Cards, then lo and behold they up and leave for Ariz. SOOOO I just gave up for a cople of years then I just wanted any Football to Root for.

In come the Rams and I have been a season ticket holder since they arrived and have been lucky enough to go to The Super Bowl in Atl. That was fun!!!!!!

So I have only been a Rams fan since 1995 but once I support a team I go All out. Soit on to New Orleans and another Super Bowl win for the Rams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RamWraith]

lets see...

As near as I can remember the moment I left the womb and sucked my first breath of air :-)


Honest....as long as I can remember....I think I was six when I started watching football and saw the horns and thought how cool the uniforms looked. I also thought the Chargers were awesome, THEN it hit....THE RAMS WENT TO THE SUPER BOWL and I was hooked forever!

[DaddoRam]

I've been on board since 1974. I liked the Los Angeles teams for some reason, even the Dodgers (I'm a 4th generation Cardinals fan, but for some reason also started liking the Dodgers, too, and went out for Halloween in 3rd grade as Steve Yeager...no one in Oklahoma knew who Steve Yeager was, of course)
My first favorite player was James "Shack" Harris.
It was never easy being a Rams fan deep in the heart of Cowboys country, but I always love em and always will.

[DODRAM]

I'm a bandwagon fan from 1979. I was hitching round the West Coast in late summer/autumn and started watching a game I didn't really understand. But after I gave up watching baseball
, i found a game that I could understand and love

I nearly became a Steeler fan :p because of Franco Harris ( wrong thread but that was a running back and a half) but decided to follow the home town team the Rams.

The next problem was following them across here because we didn't get TV coverage to 1982

[DaddoRam]

Well, George, thank GOD you found the right way..."DodSteeler" just sounds dumb. Might have become a baseball fan? "DodDodger?" Sounds like something from a Daffy Duck cartoon. "DodRam" just fits.

[RAMble On]

In 1976 I wanted a football jacket for Christmas, I was 9 at the time. I didn't know much about football so I picked a jacket out of the Sears catalog that I liked the best. (I almost picked the Chargers :eek: )

The Rams jacket arrived and I wore it constantly. I lived in Sacramento (Northern CA) among many 49er fans. They all would give me a hard time about the Rams when they saw my jacket but I didn't care, the Rams were my team. I wish I still had that jacket.

I was upset in '79 when they lost to the Steelers and couldn't win in the '90s :mad: , but the win in 2000 made up for it !!

Go Rams for number 2 SB win in 2002!

[masi]

I'm a Rams fan since the summer of 1980.
This is the year when football officially was first played in an organized league in Italy.
I was 17 at the time, and i was one of the "pioneers" founding a team in my town (actually, i joined a team who was formed a few months before).
The league was formed by only 4 teams at the beginning and each one of them was linked to an american team who sent some used helmets, shoulder pads and jerseys. Our team was linked to the Rams, and we were lucky enough to receive one complete set of uniforms from them. I proudly wore the #87 jersey in my first ever game (later i switched to #41, when i switched from WR to RB). My love for the Rams was born, and it's still here after 21 years

One funny thing: almost in the same period, another team was formed in my town, and we eventually became archrivals. They wore the same uniforms as the Pittsburgh Steelers... just a few months after Superbowl XIV in Italy there was a town rivalry between a Steelers-looking team and a Rams-looking team

[MsWistRAM]

That is so cool, Masi! I think it's great that the US teams would donate uniforms and equipment to help launch those teams. How lucky you were to get the Rams' castoffs.