I'll start by saying that my personal opinion of the Rams' relocation to Los Angeles isn't quite as harsh as the title suggests. The bitterness seen in the headline comes from everyone I have talked to about the move. When I first thought about writing about this major event in sports, I was basing my prediction on the usual sentiments of St. Louis sports fans, which are known to have some of the best sportsmanship in the country. However, bitter is the nicest way to put into words how Rams fans, or now ex fans, feel about the switch. Never before have I unleashed such passive-aggressiveness in residents of the metro area. Truly a different kind of anger comes out. Now this isn't the loud, rowdy angst that would come with a Cubs beat-down of the Cardinals (which rarely happens) or if the ref or ump in any St. Louis sport blows a game-losing call. This is subtle, but powerful, and is usually accompanied by an unsavory phrase telling Walter Kroenke what he can go do to himself. There are a few reasons why this is so, and also reasons why, after the pain wears off, St. Louis will be better off without the Rams.

Let's all be honest with ourselves to begin: How many of you reading this, or anyone in the St. Louis area, are true Rams fans? To further that point, who has the same passion for the Rams that they do for the Blues or the Cardinals? I would make the claim that the number of people who fit this criteria is very small. One would think that if this is so, that very few would care about the Rams moving, but as I have spoken to over a hundred people about the issue that isn't the truth. With a sample size that is rather small, this isn't a concrete representation of everyone, but it does lend a wonderful insight: the average person isn't upset about the lack of a team, but they feel as though Walter Kroenke personally jabbed the city of St. Louis and its sporting culture. The Edward Jones Dome ranked in the bottom three in attendance four of the last five seasons and the team itself hasn't even hit the .500 mark since 2006. It's not an unknown idea that St. Louis loves it's sports, as I mentioned before, but it didn't love the Rams. The only analogy that fits is that the Rams were more of an adopted team instead of one that had a home in St. Louis. It's as though we, as the people were watching over the team for a period of time. The main reason we all are a little miffed is that something was taken from us. The keyword here is something. It didn't matter that it was the Rams, or football as a sport. All that mattered to us is that Kroenke is taking back what he originally gave us in 1995. I would even dare to call this a theft, rather than a relocation.

Now that it has been decided there's no use for us to all hold grudges and linger on the bitter taste that this whole situation left. We can focus on what we really love. The fan base for the Blues is noteworthy and most definitely cannot be ignored. Year after year they pull off records well above .500 and make playoff runs whilst getting almost 20,000 fans a night. The true heart of St. Louis, however, is the Cardinals. Almost all major online outlets like Bleacher Report and ESPN have done polls for "Best Baseball City" and "Best Fans in Baseball". Each time the Cardinals came in first or a very close second. With 11 World Series rings it's difficult to deny the dominance they have on the field, and the support they have is tremendous. Even on weeknights during baseball season, the Cardinals can pack in upwards of 40,000 people, about one-ninth of the entire population of St. Louis. Now with the Rams absent, all fans have more time to focus on our awesome hockey team, and we can continue to be the best baseball city in the country.

To bring this endeavor to a close, I'll make two bold claims. 1. Nobody honestly cares all that much about the Rams leaving. Of course, the overall feeling is that they shouldn't leave, but only a handful are passionate enough to be heartbroken. 2. We, as the St. Louis metro area, will be much better off without the Rams. It's one less thing that taxpayers would have to sustain, and provides room to focus on the sports that make St. Louis what it is.

One final note to Mr. Kroenke: It was an excellent choice for you to move the team back to LA. They can be the team they were in the days of Eric Dickerson, and they will have much better support, in a much better stadium. We here in St. Louis will be over it soon enough and will be better off without you. Cheers!