With the Rams returning to L.A. next season, the question remains to be answered whether they can "triumph in making themselves an indispensable force in Southern California's sports scene," according to Bill Reiter of CBSSPORTS.com. As with Hollywood itself, there are "only so many leading roles to go around." And while the NFL "has big advantages, the Rams return and subsequent odds at domination are far from a sure thing." Reiter: "After a 20-year romp with St. Louis, does the NFL really think it's just going to march in here and expect a warm, welcome and lucrative embrace?" More than 3,000 people "gathered in downtown L.A. after the Rams drafted" No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. It was an "enthusiastic endorsement of the NFL's return, with many wearing authentic retro Rams jerseys from a generation ago, which "is the point, and a problem." The old may remember the Rams, but the young "have no similar connection." Love and loyalty "grow, like a family's bond, over time," and that bond "starts now for those here who are 25 and younger." L.A. is a place that "celebrates -- even obsesses over -- winning." The Rams "need to win, and in the NFC West this upcoming season that seems like a pretty daunting task." The NFL "got its prize," and now it "needs to earn that prize's love." Winning L.A. "isn't going to be easy." It will "take time, wins, and the kind of personalities that rise above the noise ... that despite their differences share the kind of greatness-meet-star-power this place understands" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/3).
