After 21 years of football in St. Louis, it is definitely an end of an era. The NFL team known as the St. Louis Rams is officially no more in Missouri, as it has relocated back to its place of origin in Los Angeles, California. The news of the change has come rather recently, as the NFL has settled a deal to construct a stadium right in Inglewood that will be ready rather quickly to play in. The Rams originally played in Los Angeles from 1946-1994 before moving to St. Louis in 1995. During that time the city of Los Angeles was without an NFL team, as the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders were the biggest teams California possessed. But now that the Rams are back in LA, what does this do for the NFL?
The first group of people I must acknowledge in all of this are the diehard St. Louis Rams fan that remain in and around the state of Missouri. I feel for you. For you guys, it seems like you probably got your hearts ripped out when you heard of the news. And although the Rams were in St. Louis for a relatively short time, you must feel for the fans of this team.
However St. Louis fans, you have to appreciate the fact that this change of location might be for a better cause. Anyway, the Rams were never any good there and the city is dominated by its better sports team of the Cardinals (baseball) and Blues (hockey).
Now, for the Californians, this homecoming feels pretty sweet. LA is the second biggest city in America and it seemed kind of strange to not have a team of one of the world's fastest growing leagues. As I said before, the team was originally stationed in Los Angeles, so now that they're back, it feels so good.
And for the league itself, it is strategically genius to bring back the Rams to the west coast (although St. Louis Rams fans might not think so). LA is such a huge market that bringing in a new team to the city could boost not only the fanship of the team but also the thought of Los Angeles being a sports town.
Usually when someone thinks of LA sports, the Lakers come to mind, and mostly even thoughts of Kobe. But it seems that dynamic is changing. The Lakers aren't the greatest anymore, their counterpart, the Clippers are becoming the better basketball team, and the city's NHL team, the Kings have brought home some Stanley Cups over recent years.
This means that bringing the Rams back to Los Angeles can continue to transition the city into a sports town. LA stereotypes often consist of celebrities and gossip, so if this Rams team can prove to be good, LA can become of the most exciting sports cities in the country.
Overall, bringing the Rams back to Los Angeles was a smart move by the NFL. By bringing this team to the west coast, the game of football will begin to get even more exposure than before. More fans will flock to the team, and more importantly the league and sport, so hey, good move NFL, you finally made a smart decision.
