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If the Rams organization had any concerns about turnout going into their first home game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, September 18, those should have been immediately alleviated.
The fans showed up, all right, including yours truly.
It was great to see.
You could feel the energy in and around the stadium. The support for the team was undeniable.
It helped that the Rams as underdogs emerged victorious, miraculously, despite a second game in a row without scoring a single touchdown.
Their season opener on the road against the 49ers when they were shutout now seems the result of a St. Louis hangover, the reality not yet sinking in about the magnitude of their transition from small market to massive market, from blasé fans to fanatical ones.
The first home game in the Coliseum seemed like a complete eye-opener.
In Bill Plaschke‘s Los Angeles Times article, he quoted Rams linebacker, Alec Ogletree, who stated, “As long as I’ve been a Ram, we’ve never heard the crowd be like that, what it was today.”
Defensive end, William Hayes, said, “I haven’t ever experienced anything like that before.”
For the first time in the careers of many of these young players, they felt the will of the crowd, and a little of that L.A. magic, which inspired them and willed them to victory.
The city has been clearly ready, and is now making the most of the return of the Rams franchise to Los Angeles.
A football game in Los Angeles can’t properly begin, though, without pre-game tailgating . Hanging out on the Los Angeles Rams Fan Bus was an appropriate spot.
The bus was built and utilized by a die hard St. Louis Rams fan, who sold it to a similar die hard in Los Angeles worthy of the passing of the torch.
Every nook and cranny on the bus is maximized for the tailgate experience, from spots for the coolers, grills, and fold-out tables, to shade canopies, flagpoles for the American flag and Rams flag, and even a restroom to boot.
Memorabilia and trinkets decorate the bus in history. It’s a lot of fun.
Check out the Facebook page for the L.A. Rams Fan Bus and say hello when you come to the games!
https://www.facebook.com/LAramsfanbus/
There were tailgate festivities as far as the eye could see!
That sweet scent in the air – a mixture of hot dogs and burgers on the grill, lukewarm beer being consumed, the occasional splatter of yack on the pavement baking in the hot sun, and that natural L.A. smog. It was glorious.
Perhaps this particular fan said it best when he proclaimed, “Take me!!!!!!!!”
The Coliseum has never looked better. It was amusing hearing public address announcer, Sam Lagana, announce the lighting of the Olympic torch with a golly-gee whimsy. Just guessing he has never been to a USC game here. Nonetheless, the spirit was there, appreciated, and the fans were all about it.
Thank goodness Shia LaBeouf showed up on the jumbotron to fire everyone up.
The anger! The rage!
I’m just relieved he wasn’t so lost in the moment, thinking he was on the set for Nymphomaniac Volume I that he decided to whip out his pee pee on the jumbotron. That would have been intense!
It really was a fantastic day for a football game.
It was hot, though. Really hot. And crowded.
It’s so apparent why today’s professional football team requires a modern football stadium. The Inglewood project is going to be a welcome relief. The Coliseum simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the onslaught of fans converging on this location.
Walkways were packed, with fans sandwiched together like sardines. Restrooms were lined up. Concession stands ran out of food.
All of this in the baking heat that was trying on the patience of even the most passive of fans, let alone those who had gotten themselves just completely and utterly drunk before and during the game.
You had to sort of take a deep breath and go with the flow and hope the fan next to you didn’t decide to blow a gasket and start shoving everyone around him.
For the most part, the day felt extremely positive. There were arguments. There were fights. There were innocent people caught in the middle of it.
Power 106 F.M. posted a Facebook video of opposing fans getting into a skirmish with a father and his young son finding themselves in the middle of it accidentally. While attempting to protect his son, the father yelled at the top of his lungs, “Help! Help!” The post stated, “Damn! Already?? Today at the rams game ☹️ (that dad screaming tho 
??)”
What a terrifying moment for that father, who simply wanted to take his boy to a game to enjoy, then found himself in what potentially could have been a life and death situation. His was a justified reaction, not an overreaction. To make fun of this scary moment is a disgrace. This radio station should be ashamed.
It does bring up an unfortunate truth about going to professional football games, and since it has been years since we’ve had the opportunity in Los Angeles, this is probably a good reminder for us.
The fact of the matter is that a professional football game is not age appropriate for anyone under probably 13 years old. A parent should not subject their children, quite frankly, to the chaos that ensues at these games. The rampant profanity and aggressiveness by the fans alone should give a parent pause. It’s also the safety factor of a stadium so packed full of people that anything could happen. And then you have the extreme end of things – a fight that breaks out near your child, where you find yourself in an instinctive survival scenario.
This behavior occurred when I was a kid and went to an occasional Rams and Raiders game, and it seems that we haven’t evolved past this.
Take your young son or daughter to a baseball game, a NBA basketball game, heck, even a USC football game. But really consider the potential risks before you choose to take them to a professional football game.
A parent should be able to bring his son to a football game in America and not feel like they are at risk. But if these are the realities, you should have to be smart about things.
These incidents seemed to be few and far between, thank goodness, and really, credit where credit is due – bad eggs aside, the fans were wonderful. Security was fantastic! Fast and efficient, yet thorough. The stadium was as prepared as it could have been.
Outside the Coliseum, after the game, the surrounding area was practically shut down as the onslaught of people attempted to head home.
Check out the line for the Metro! So backed up! It was crazy!
The police presence on hand was incredible. Despite the crowds, everything felt surprisingly chill. People were calm, as if they were already prepared for the chaos.
And so while the crowds were relentless, the day overall was remarkably positive, fun, and really, just awesome.
The Rams are back. The fans are back.
It was great to experience.
For a team and a franchise that was down and out, they have returned home to a city that has instantly re-embraced them.
And what do you know? They are now 2-1 after a heroic road victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This season. This new chapter in the history books for the Rams. It’s all just beginning.
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