WHY/HOW did YOU become a Rams fan?

[SinCityRam]

Grew up in Anaheim when the Rams were playing at the Big A but really became a big fan seeing the greatest show on turf. Nothing super unique or anything but those were some good days…

[NorCal RF]

Moved to Southern California(closer to central California) from the east coast when I was 10. Got the NYG on TV in our area when I lived back east but didn’t really follow. Arrived here and well Rams were on TV every Sunday. Dad huge sports fan. I quickly took an interest in the play of 85 named Youngblood and I was hooked. By freshman year in High School was staying up and watching every preseason game till it’s entirety on delay when they came on at 11:30pm Saturday night. Dad brought me to a few games in person at Coliseum and well the rest is history.

[Hacksaw]

In '67 I first saw Gabe on the tube and was mesmerized by the B&W horns. I fell into their spell. It was on !

1st heartbreak of any sports team I followed (Lakers, Dodgers, Rams) was when George Allen got canned and went to Washington. On top of that he took or traded for 7 Rams players over the next couple seasons. Maxie Baughan, Myron Pottios, Jack Pardee, Richie Pettibon and others (Bruce Anderson, Marlin McKeever, Diron Talbert, John Pergine) all split for the Ramskins. This was pre free agency and the team loyalty thing was strong in me so I'll never forget that.

It's been a rollercoaster ride with this team but I wouldn't want to ride on any other coaster.

[toast49]

I was kidnapped by aliens in the 70's and kept aboard their spaceship which kind of hovered over the Los Angeles and Orange County areas for a few months during Football season. They made me watch nothing but Rams games till I got hooked. Then they dropped me off in La Tuna Canyon and waved goodbye.

[Yorkshire Ram]

Some great stories. As a UK based Rams fan I started supporting in the late 80s, drawn in by the beautiful unis.

Supporting the Rams in the UK in the late 80s, early 90s was tough. No Internet, no games on the TV. If we played east coast I'd listen on Armed Forces radio if I could find it, if we were West Coast it was after my bedtime!

Had to wait until Monday morning to get the score, then wait until the Thursday to read about it in a paper called First Down I think? Then on a Saturday morning there was a TV show that gave a 60 second highlights package of each game!

However, stuck with it over the years as coverage improved and now I get to see every play of every season on Gamepass. How things have changed! Those early years were a serious commitment.

[99Balloons]

I started watching the Rams during the late 80s when the NFC West teams were Rams, Niners, Saints and Falcons. I got hooked watching this one particular Rams vs Saints game where Flipper Anderson shredded that vaunted Saints defense for 336 yards as the connection between Jim Everett to Anderson was amazingly awesome.

That was then sealed the Rams as my favorite NFL team.

[CierraRam]

First game on TV I ever watched was the Rams versus the Oilers in which the Rams won 10-7. I thought the Rams uniform looked really neat. At the time we lived in Michigan and all we got on the rotary dial TV were Lions games and sometimes whatever was the 4pm game. I was never interested in football until I saw the Rams. My dad watched the Lions religiously every Sunday. I was hooked on the Rams ever since. And I couldnt stand Pat Haden as the QB. When Ferragamo took over and did his magic it had to be him at QB or I was one upset kiddo. The only Ram QB I disliked more was Dieter Brock.

[CierraRam]

First game on TV I ever watched was the Rams versus the Oilers in which the Rams won 10-7. I thought the Rams uniform looked really neat. At the time we lived in Michigan and all we got on the rotary dial TV were Lions games and sometimes whatever was the 4pm game. I was never interested in football until I saw the Rams. My dad watched the Lions religiously every Sunday. I was hooked on the Rams ever since. And I couldnt stand Pat Haden as the QB. When Ferragamo took over and did his magic it had to be him at QB or I was one upset kiddo. The only Ram QB I disliked more was Dieter Brock.

So many people cite "the Uniforms" and they give us this monstrosity. F U Stan + Kevin!

I'd have been merely ok with this current uniform if 1) this didnt mess with the horns 2) Since they did mess with the horns, then Madden 21 made them much thicker and therefore they looked a lot better. If they did the the Madden model, it's merely ok. They still look more like the horns than crescent moons in their model.

[CierraRam]

I'd have been merely ok with this current uniform if 1) this didnt mess with the horns 2) Since they did mess with the horns, then Madden 21 made them much thicker and therefore they looked a lot better. If they did the the Madden model, it's merely ok. They still look more like the horns than crescent moons in their model.

Well yeah, THICKER is what's needed. Why the Organization cant grasp this? I guess we'll never know. Glad we got "geniuses" in charge. I HATE our Uniforms.

Not sure if you seen or played Madden 21... but here is a youtube video..and, yeah, the thicker horns are way better, even the crescent moon one's.

[larams84]

Well it was 1965 and I grew up in Iowa and was 9 years old... In the neighborhood I grew up in there were a bunch of kids around my age. Since Iowa is centrally located to alot of cities some were Packers, Vikings, Chiefs, Bears and Cardinals and a few Colts fans. I was the youngest and needed a team. I remember looking at a Topps bubble gum card that had Dick Bass on an end around. Plus, they played on the West Coast so in Iowa and they were broadcast on the later game. Also, being in Iowa especially later in the year the weather was deary outside but watching the Rams I remember the weather in LA looked pretty nice. Harland Svare was the coach and for some reason i liked that name. I know he got fired before the next season. I needed a team that no one else liked and the Rams were it. The next year in 1966, they started winning finishing the season 8-6 and a winning record. I think their first one in the 60's. Then 67 they started winning weekly and I was hooked. But the big hook happened in December of 67 on that miracle comeback game against the Colts!! Still one of the coolest moments as a Rams fan!!!

I've had alot of great Rams experiences over the years and that's with living in Iowa. My hobby is/was collecting actual Rams TV/radio broadcasts of games... If I told you how many games i have you'd have me put away!! That being said, If you know of anyone who did collect Rams games back in the day on radio or TV I'd be interested to email them.

[Claremontram]

My stepfather turned me on to the Rams back in 1963 while growing up in Altadena, CA.

I have always followed them where ever I lived: Sacramento, Fayetteville, AR, Decatur, IL, San Jose, CA, Abingdon, VA, and of course, Claremont, CA.

All I care about is the Rams--never waivered.

[StlRams99]

As a kid I lived on 16369 Filbert St, FV. Two streets over was Thistle St were Jack Youngblood and Larry brooks (lived across the street from each other). Larry had a big bronco with a license plate RAMS 90 and it was the coolest thing ever (custom plate). Never met Larry but met Jack once. He was washing his car in the driveway and I asked for an autograph. The fuckstick asked me if I had a pen. His garage was open, clearly he had a pen in the garage, right? What 7 year old has a pen in his pocket (tagging wasn’t a thing back then).The 2 block walk to my house would take 10 minutes and another 10 to come back. I chose to be disgruntled and never came back. Not what made me a Rams fan but it’s still a cool story for a kid who wouldn’t realize how special these guys were till many years later.

Grew up in OC and heading to the big A as a young adult it was so easy to do. I was a huge Everett fan.

[Commish]

In '67 I first saw Gabe on the tube and was mesmerized by the B&W horns. I fell into their spell. It was on !

1st heartbreak of any sports team I followed (Lakers, Dodgers, Rams) was when George Allen got canned and went to Washington. On top of that he took or traded for 7 Rams players over the next couple seasons. Maxie Baughan, Myron Pottios, Jack Pardee, Richie Pettibon and others (Bruce Anderson, Marlin McKeever, Diron Talbert, John Pergine) all split for the Ramskins. This was pre free agency and the team loyalty thing was strong in me so I'll never forget that.

It's been a rollercoaster ride with this team but I wouldn't want to ride on any other coaster.

Actually, Marlin McKeever went in the opposite direction, from the Redskins back to the Rams, in that major 1971 trade. Playing at MLB (he'd earlier been a TE for our team), McKeever managed to keep Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds in a backup role during the '71 and '72 seasons... :idea:

ram pathos...

--The Commish

[Hacksaw]

In '67 I first saw Gabe on the tube and was mesmerized by the B&W horns. I fell into their spell. It was on !

1st heartbreak of any sports team I followed (Lakers, Dodgers, Rams) was when George Allen got canned and went to Washington. On top of that he took or traded for 7 Rams players over the next couple seasons. Maxie Baughan, Myron Pottios, Jack Pardee, Richie Pettibon and others (Bruce Anderson, Marlin McKeever, Diron Talbert, John Pergine) all split for the Ramskins. This was pre free agency and the team loyalty thing was strong in me so I'll never forget that.

It's been a rollercoaster ride with this team but I wouldn't want to ride on any other coaster.

Actually, Marlin McKeever went in the opposite direction, from the Redskins back to the Rams, in that major 1971 trade. Playing at MLB (he'd earlier been a TE for our team), McKeever managed to keep Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds in a backup role during the '71 and '72 seasons... :idea:

ram pathos...

--The Commish

Your recall is better than mine.
Loved those teams. The Redskins became my 2nd favorite team back then, , , , which quickly faded..

[unclesams]

Growing up is Savannah Georgia in the mid to late 70's, the only NFL team we were able to see on TV was the Atlanta Falcons. Fortunately for me the Falcons were in the NFC West so I got to see the Rams twice a year on TV. I really loved the Rams uniforms and that's how I started to like them. And then in 1977 the made for television movie "Something for Joey" came on TV and even as a 12 year old kid that movie made me cry at the end and some 44 years later I'm still a Rams fan and the ending of that movie still brings a tear to my eyes...That's how I became a Rams fan.

[sanbagger]

As a young man of 8 years old in 1974 we had just arrived back in the States from living in Australia and I discovered football. My dad was a diehard sports nut but he was a Bills fan....I knew I iked football but wasn't drawn to the Bills...so Sundays I would watch whatever games were on TV and found the Rams.

I don't want to perpetuate the uniform Hi-jacking but it WAS the uniform colors that sucked me in. All I wanted was that blue and yellow football jacket...Santa eventually brought one to me and I wore it all the time...had it well into my 20's.

During the dark ages of terrible Ram football I had to go to the bars to watch the games and there would be zero Ram fans so I always got the lone crappy TV in the corner and this one 49er fan would fuck with me....until the GSOT arrived and then he took years load of crap rolled into that year.

Also...I hate Ferragamo, or as I call him Feerashithead, to this day....that team gave the dynastic Steelers all they could handle.....what a great game.

Anyway...that's my story in a nutshell....not as cool as being abducted by Aliens but it is what it is.

[Hari rama]

In the 60s as a Dodgers/Lakers fan I was lukewarm towards football. I had just completed 7 years of military service all but 6 months overseas. Never been married or engaged. Rented a cottage in La Crescenta and the neighbor invited me over for a barbecue and to meet his daughter. He was a Rams fan but his two sons had no interest in sports whatsoever. So to ingratiate myself..........
She was 17, still in high school. One month to the day later we got married. Next month will be 54 years with children, grand children and great grandchildren.
In Santa Barbara we were able to see all of the Rams home games being outside of the 100 mile exclusion zone. On Sundays all of the motels used to fill up with Angelenos watching the game.
Have followed the Rams ever since, though not as fanatically as some on here.
The new unis suck especially the helmets. That' s just my opinion.

[Hacksaw]

So I'm gleaning a uniform attraction connection here. And the new brass thought they should fix it? Doubt as many new / becoming Rams fans are doing it because of the uni's these days.

[EastBayRamsFan]

The guy working the gate at the LA Coliseum worked for my dad during the week and said he would let us in free to pre-season games.

Saw 70’s QB’s Ron “Jaws” , James Harris, Pat Haden who was from my area in LA. Then moved to NoCal the year the Raiders beat the Vikings coupled with Joe Montana a few years later and the 49’ers winning teams so I really became a die hard Rams fan-living in enemy territory will do that and I still hate the Raiders and 49’ers to this day. Moved back to LA 20 years later and bought season tickets with my young son.

[ramfanman21]

Grew up in L.A huge lakers rams Dodgers fan dad took me to see rams and colts in Coliseum in 1966 loved the rams blue and white uniforms. Loved jack snow roman gabriel and the fearsome foursome alco loved eddie meador and clancy Williams been hooked ever since

[Hangtime]

Grew up in San Fernando Valley and watched the Dodgers and Rams on TV. Bought a Ram Helmet and played in parks beginning at age 11. Put a Roman Gabriel poster in my bedroom. Listened to games on radio broadcast by great Enberg. Became a lifer from then on. Wasn't a fan of Allen who couldn't create a passing game that could win it all. Attended games at the Coliseum, Anaheim, and STL.

[Ants]

Grew up in San Fernando Valley and watched the Dodgers and Rams on TV. Bought a Ram Helmet and played in parks beginning at age 11. Put a Roman Gabriel poster in my bedroom. Listened to games on radio broadcast by great Enberg. Became a lifer from then on. Wasn't a fan of Allen who couldn't create a passing game that could win it all. Attended games at the Coliseum, Anaheim, and STL.

I still have that Roman Gabriel poster! 8-)

Me?...I recall sitting with my dad, watching a game - I was probably about 6 years old. I asked my dad, "Who's that team with the swirly thing on their helmet?"

He responded, "The Rams"

Me: "That's the team I like."

...and the rest, as they say, is history.
It's my understanding that Mel Kiper started liking the Rams for the same reason - the helmet. 8-)

[Bulldawg]

Okay. I have been avoiding this thread since some of you will not consider me a true Rams fan. Probably a fair point but still doesn’t make me feel good. :-)

This is my FIRST year as a Ram fan. As most of you know I am a converted Lions fan thanks to Stafford. I personally have always hated LA sports going back to my days of Atlanta Braves vs Tommy Lasorda. Always a thorn in my side...in a respectful way. I have cheered for the Rams in the past but only certain games. I now consider my self 100% Rams fan. I know this because if/when they play the Falcons I will be pulling for the Rams. Haha.

I am really excited about this season. I check for “La Rams News” 3-4 times a day. Can’t get enough.

[rammingspeed]

This is going to sound really strange, but my parents bought me a watch where I could take the face plate off and put different NFL team helmets inside. I almost always switched back and forth between the Bengals and the Rams. This was in the late 80s and then I really started watching football at age 9 or so, and in the 1989 season I watched the Rams make the playoffs. I remember watching that game against the Giants when Flipper Anderson caught the touchdown in OT and just kept running into the tunnel...what an amazing play, and drove my fandom ever higher. Then of course the championship against the hated 49'ers...watching them smack us around sealed my hate for them for all time. That watch, the teams of the 80s, their amazing uniforms (best in the NFL to me), and specifically that 89 team are really what made me a Rams fan.

[Ramsfan08ny]

Pretty simple for me. It was around 66-67, growing up in NY. The adult men had football on, and as a 7 year old kid, I saw the uniforms, and loved them. Earliest players I remember were Gabe, Sniw, and Josephson. Like every other diehard, went through some bad, make that , horrible years. Stuck with them. Every year "this year" was going to be the year they turned it around for me.

[Ants]

Pretty simple for me. It was around 66-67, growing up in NY. The adult men had football on, and as a 7 year old kid, I saw the uniforms, and loved them. Earliest players I remember were Gabe, Sniw, and Josephson. Like every other diehard, went through some bad, make that , horrible years. Stuck with them. Every year "this year" was going to be the year they turned it around for me.

Yeah, that's about the timeframe I saw "the helmet".
Your (and my) early teens were some great years to be a Rams fan - they were playoff-bound pretty much every year. Some great teams in the 70's.
Unfortunately, the Steelers and Cowboys also had great teams then. :?

[London Ram]

They used to have an NFL highlights show here in the UK on Sunday afternoon on Channel 4 back in the 80’s. The highlights were a week late but it’s where I got into watching the NFL. My bro was already a 9ers fan as one of my uncles bought him a cap back from a trip to the Bay Area.

I had to pick a team and one Sunday I remember watching highlights of a game where Dickerson rushed for over 100 years & Henry Ellard returned a punt back to the house. Been a Rams fan ever since.

I was lucky enough to see them in a preseason game in 86 against the Broncos at Wembley.

[Rams since '66]

I'm waiting for this- I became a Rams' fan last year, not because I like football, it's too violent so I don't. I became a fan of the logo, the L.A. one. AT first I had no idea ,when I first saw the logo, that it was a football logo. But I dug the logo because it reflects my sand, sea and sunshine lifestyle. So I bought some t-shirts and a hat, with just the logo. My friends don't even know it's a Rams logo. They think it's just an L.A. logo, like I heart N.Y. But even though I hate football, I guess you could say I'm a Rams fan. I do love the SpongeBob yellow and Bikini Bottom blue colors of their uniforms. Whatever that thingy is on their helmet , it looks so Japanese, I like that, too. Let me know if it is Japanese, OK ? I'm going to a casual bar in West Hollywood tomorrow, I'll wear my logo t-shirt and see if anyone knows it's a Rams shirt.

I totally get where you are coming from '57. I never was a football fan either. Mostly because the uniforms were so ugly and dated. Then one day in I think in early 1983 I stopped into a sports bar for a sandwich. They had football on the TV and I fell in LOVE. The most beautiful logo on a football helmet. It felt so '80's. The bartender told me the team was the LA Express and it was a new, modern league, the USFL. Well I still never watched football but I drew pictures of that logo and hung them around my apartment. They were beautiful. A few years later I had a young lady visit my apartment. She recognized the logos and told me the the USFL had folded. Donald Trump killed it. He kills everything good. :cry: :cry: I took down the pictures that night and put them in an envelope my hope chest where they remained, all but forgotten. Then last year what did my eyes see? A new logo! Not quite the same. But just as evocative of the amazing early '80's era. The blue color even perfectly matches the crushed velvet of my leisure suit and sofa at the time. You know, I let the Express get away but now I've become a Ram for life.

[Commish]

Pretty simple for me. It was around 66-67, growing up in NY. The adult men had football on, and as a 7 year old kid, I saw the uniforms, and loved them. Earliest players I remember were Gabe, Sniw, and Josephson. Like every other diehard, went through some bad, make that , horrible years. Stuck with them. Every year "this year" was going to be the year they turned it around for me.

Yeah, that's about the timeframe I saw "the helmet".
Your (and my) early teens were some great years to be a Rams fan - they were playoff-bound pretty much every year. Some great teams in the 70's.
Unfortunately, the Steelers and Cowboys also had great teams then. :?

Actually, the Rams defeated two championship-bound Steelers teams (1975 & '78) during that decade. They were 3-0 vs. the Steelers in the regular season during the '70s, however the Good Guys fell short against them in Super Bowl XIV, following the '79 season.

Within the NFC, our team's problem was that the other two dominant teams of that decade, the Cowboys and Vikings, had superior QBs in Roger Staubach and Fran Tarkenton respectively, and that edge tended to show up during playoff games. The Rams were 2-3 vs. the Cowboys and 1-3 vs. the Vikings in postseason matchups during the 70s, although ironically both Staubach and Tarkenton ended their NFL careers with playoff losses to the Good Guys.

Each year of that decade I went into the season hoping for a postseason winning streak, then our team finally managed a short one in '79, which was unexpected at that time.

Still, back then very few pro football fans would snicker when I informed them (verbally or visually, via my clothing) that I was a Rams fan, our team was seriously respected... 8-) :geek:

ram pathos...

--The Commish