The Rams' return to L.A. on Saturday night after a two-decade absence "drew a near-capacity crowd" of 89,140 to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum for a preseason matchup against the Cowboys, according to Gary Klein of the L.A. TIMES. The scene was "more like an NFL playoff game, not an exhibition" (L.A. TIMES, 8/13). Rams Owner Stan Kroenke, who visited with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before kickoff, said, "It's very powerful, the way the city has embraced us. It’s a great feeling. Roger is excited for the same reason we are" (L.A. TIMES, 8/14). Also in L.A., Thomas Curwen wrote Saturday was "a fever, a swoon, a moment of truth." The celebrations for the city’s newest team "started promptly at noon," as soon as the parking lots around the Coliseum opened. The game opened "a new chapter in the life of this football-deprived city" (L.A. TIMES, 8/14).
RAM JAM: ESPN L.A.'s Arash Markazi wrote while he initially "had his doubts," the city has "completely and fully embraced the Rams and the NFL." Fans "packed every inch of the parking lots outside of the Coliseum on Saturday and tailgated." Fans young and old "wore jerseys that ranged" from former L.A. Rams like Vince Ferragamo, Eric Dickerson and Jack Youngblood to current Rams like QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley and DT Aaron Donald (ESPNLA.com, 8/13). But ESPN's Trent Dilfer said, "There's that sizzle that L.A. wants, but caution: if they don't build a winner early, this fan base has proven it will get bored." He added, "That was a great fan base in St. Louis and that organization did a lot of good there, too. So let's recognize those sad fans in St. Louis" ("Monday Night Countdown," ESPN, 8/13). USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell writes fans at the Coliseum "had a personal recollection to draw on while marking the most significant preseason game in these parts in decades." Kroenke said, "It's tremendous to be welcomed like this. A great buzz. You couldn't ask for more." But Bell writes it will be "interesting to see whether the support wanes if the team struggles" (USA TODAY, 8/15). ESPN Deportes' John Sutcliffe said, "This is as good as it gets." He noted the Rams "added credentials for three times more media than they usually would do in a regular game in St. Louis." Sutcliffe also noted Goodell said he wanted to "get that Hispanic market" in the U.S. Sutcliffe: "I'm from Mexico City, today in the (Coliseum), it feels like home" ("Cowboys-Rams," ESPN 8/13).
STAYING LOYAL: In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore wrote fans "weren't in any rush to kick the Rams to the curb, no matter how many times they cringed or turned away in the first half." After spending the last 22 years without the NFL, it seems "they’re so happy to have it back they’ll set aside their critical eye and let the Rams ease their way back into their hearts" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/14). The L.A. Times' Sam Farmer said, "This team has such a nostalgic relationship with this community, played here for so long. For these Rams' fans, this is not a relocation, it's a restoration, it's like the world is tilted back on its axis." Farmer: "It's a little bit like Charlie Brown and Lucy, (with) Lucy pulling away the football. This city has been burned so many times, so many false starts on stadiums that people got jaded about. But once this plan came together, people got behind it and it sort of galvanized the community." Farmer said the Rams have "sort of taken the oxygen out of the room right now, and I think it's a one-team town" ("Cowboys-Rams," ESPN, 8/13).
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: In Ft. Worth, Gil Lebreton wrote under the header, "Rams Ruin Iconic L.A. Coliseum Feel With Loud PA, Tacky Alterations." Speakers were "blaring, like a jacked-up Torino cruising the neighborhood." It "hardly seemed necessary to scream" about the Rams' return to L.A. all night, but the "new PA man did" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/14).
HORNS & STRIPES: ESPN L.A.'s Steve Dilbeck noted the uniforms the Rams wore Saturday featured "an old design [from the '60s], albeit probably not the one for which most locals remember them" (ESPNLA.com, 8/12). Dilbeck also noted the team will wear the '60s uniforms "in all but two home games," during which they will "wear the blue and yellow from the '80s." The team's '60s throwbacks on Saturday featured a "darker blue accent in their number and name." There was a "gold stripe down the pant legs, and they continued to wear the same gold-and-blue helmets from St. Louis" (ESPNLA.com, 8/13).
