Rams fans over the weekend posted a strong turnout for their Super Bowl sendoff in InglewoodRAMS
Stereotypes about how L.A. "remains apathetic about the Rams and their participation" in Super Bowl LIII might be a story for some national media outlets, but the city has a "real passion" for the team, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. TIMES. Rams Exec VP/Football Operations & COO Kevin Demoff said that the team's "promising television ratings," including the NFC Championship, have been "unbelievably positive." The Rams also had an average home attendance during the regular season of over 72,000 fans per game. Demoff said that the Rams have sold more than $3M in merchandise "online in the last week." A Rams pop-up shop in the Century City neighborhood "sold out of jerseys." Demoff: "We are well on our way, but I don't think we ever thought we would open our doors and it would be permanent euphoria. There was a sugar high in 2016, when the NFL came back. The difference now in 2018 is that we have Rams fans." Hernandez notes Demoff was "especially proud" of how the team "became a symbol of strength for Southern California in the wake of the Borderline shooting and Woosley Fire." In terms of "rebuilding their brand" in L.A. following the move from St. Louis, the Rams are "ahead of schedule" (L.A. TIMES, 1/29). Rams DT Aaron Donald said L.A. is a "football town now." NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman wrote it appears L.A. fans have been "welcoming the winning," as thousands of Rams fans in "all shades of blue, white and gold sent the team off at a rally" in Inglewood Sunday (NFL.com, 1/28).
WINNING WITH DIVERSITY: Data released today by Nielsen Sports Sponsorlink shows that the Rams have developed a fan base that is more ethnically diverse than their NFL counterparts. The Rams are among NFL teams with the highest percentages of fans of Hispanic origin, and the team can also claim greater concentrations of African-American and Asian fans than the Patriots. Rams fans skew younger than Patriots fans -- 33% are age 18-34 compared to 29% for the Pats. Rams fans can boast about brain power as well, as 58% of their fans are college grads with a bachelor’s degree or higher (compared with 52% of Patriots fans). But Patriots fans are more geographically diverse, with 46% coming from the Northeast and 28% from the south. By contrast, 78% of Rams fans are concentrated in the West (Nielsen).
LEAGUE ENVY: USA TODAY's Brent Schrotenboer writes the Rams are the "envy of the league in nearly everything NFL franchises hold dear -- a Super Bowl, a cool young coach, a rising star at quarterback and that futuristic pro football mecca sprouting up at Hollywood Park in Inglewood." After making the playoffs in '17, the Rams "launched sales of premium seats and seat licenses at the new stadium and sold all 500 of their most expensive premium seat licenses at $100,0000 each by September." However, the project "still involves considerable risk." On one hand, L.A. is the second-biggest media market in the U.S., "full of rich corporations and sponsors that can fuel the stadium's revenue streams." On the other hand, L.A. is a "fair weather market with countless entertainment options, and nothing is guaranteed." Demoff: "Taking calculated risks has been the approach this organization has taken, and hopefully over the long term they'll all pay off" (USA TODAY, 1/29).
LOSS STILL STINGS: In L.A., Andy McCullough in a front-page piece writes three years after the Rams left St. Louis to move to L.A., the "outbursts of rage have morphed into pangs of melancholy." Former Rams fans in St. Louis "harbor more emptiness than anger." The majority of the anger had been "directed toward the management team" of Rams Owner Stan Kroenke and Demoff. Local media members "accuse the pair of conspiring to leave without giving the city a fair chance to keep the team." They "blame the NFL for facilitating the move," and they "curse Kroenke for denigrating the market on his way out by saying it could not support pro football." ESPN Radio 101 St. Louis host Randy Karraker said, "In St. Louis history, sports or otherwise, the two most reviled people are Stan Kroenke and Kevin Demoff" (L.A. TIMES, 1/29).
