A question with no correct answer?

[Dan Poplawski]

Got to thinking what makes you/us a fan of a team, any team?
Let's use the Rams as an example.
Most of us are old enough to have been Ram fans in pre the 1995 LA era, when they moved to St. Louis we were still fans, so it's not the city. They have changed uniforms a few times, so it's not the look. We've seen dozens of head coaches, that's not it. Player turnover... Forget about it. We've been good, we've sucked, that's not it. So what the hell makes us a loyal fan of any team?
Maybe the best test would be, if the Rams and Colts swapped EVERYTHING, city, name, players, uniforms and coaches would you be a Colts fan or a Rams fan?

 

[DaveFan'51]

This sounds an awful lot like when the Cleveland Browns went to Baltimore and became the Ravens and left the Browns NAME behind!!
The Browns Fans stayed Browns Fans! So..........I've been a Rams Fan for, what, 67 Seasons. I'm not going to change for any reason!!

 

[OldSchool]

I'm a Rams fan because of Super Bowl XIV! My uncle was rooting for the Rams and he's only 7 years older than me and so I rooted for them. Even being in a family full of Whiner fans I stayed a Rams fan after that game.

 

[den-the-coach]

I'm a Rams fan because of Super Bowl XIV! My uncle was rooting for the Rams and he's only 7 years older than me and so I rooted for them. Even being in a family full of Whiner fans I stayed a Rams fan after that game.

WOW...I knew we were cut from a similar cloth, but wow...My Uncle was only 5 years older than me and more like a brother, he got me interested in Sports and use to refer to me as "den the deacon" but he was a Giant fan and so was everyone in my family...Giants, Yankees, Knicks & Rangers so at a young age I wanted to be as opposite as they were, which made me a Ram, Dodger, Laker & King fan through dissociation and I never looked back, but it was always the Horns and it has always been about the Horns no matter where they roam!

 

[Prime Time]

It's simple, you fall in love and you don't fall out of love just because things aren't going well. No matter what happens, good or bad, you're in it for the long haul. "Fan" is short for "fanatic" and that's what most of us are.

Some folks are not fans of teams but fans of cities and certain players. When their team moves or if the player goes to another team or retires, they lose interest and look elsewhere.

If the Rams moved to London or Timbuktu it wouldn't make any difference to me. Owners, coaches and players move on but the horns remain no matter who's wearing them. The thought of following another team with the same intensity as the Rams is unthinkable to me.

Doesn't make me any better than anyone else but it means I was smitten at a young age and that was it.

 

[A55VA6]

I was born in 1991, and didn't start getting real into football until around 1998-1999. I had family that lived in St.Louis and my grandfather loved the Rams. I watched the Rams play and fell in love with their colors and they were good (99') and have been a fan ever since and I always will be. The RAMS are my team. No matter the city, the players, coaches. I'm a Rams fan because I feel like it's in my blood.

 

[Loyal]

Who else could I be a fan of? I have most of my life being a Rams fan (since abt 1968). I have taken a "break" from football at times, but I never could switch my team.......It's part of who I am now....

 

[tempests]

Got to thinking what makes you/us a fan of a team, any team?
Let's use the Rams as an example.

If you believe the social identity theory, affiliating and association with a sports team can improve a person's self esteem. The fan identifies with the team by going to the games, wearing the colors, etc. When the team wins, it's a shot in the arm for the fans self-worth too.

As to why I picked the Rams, there was aspects about the way they played the game that appealed to me. (They were blowing everyone out of the water). There was plenty of positive experiences rooting for the Rams growing up; I loved the feeling of seeing them win. Now that I know what that's like, I stick it out losing season after losing season because I want to experience that feeling again. It wouldn't be the same with any other team.

 

[Dan Poplawski]

You've all missed my point, I never questioned your faithfulness or ask why you became a Rams fan.
I asked what it we are fans of, the name? The city? The look? Again, if the Rams and Colts swapped everything, which team would you be a fan of?

 

[Memento]

I'd say that I'm a fan of the players on here. The players that already played. The players who will play.

That's my opinion, anyway.

 

[Prime Time]

I asked what it we are fans of, the name? The city? The look?

Then why start a thread with the title "A question with no correct answer" if you're looking for an answer?

One day when I was a boy I watched my first Rams game on TV and that was it. There is no definitive answer.

If I followed this team because of the city they played in, their coaches, players, owners, or their win/loss record, I would have bailed out long ago.

 

[Dan Poplawski]

I'd say that I'm a fan of the players on here. The players that already played. The players who will play.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Interesting, I honestly think with me it's the name Rams and the horns, they could be in any city with any coach and any players and I would be a Rams fan. My other favorite teams are the Yankees and the Spurs, neither has ever changed anything but players and coaches. I think it's the identity that we are addicted to.

 

[den-the-coach]

Who else could I be a fan of? I have most of my life being a Rams fan (since abt 1968). .

I'm sure they got you through some laboring times in the Navy? I know anytime even in the off season when things were not going well personally the Rams were a way to escape and to this day when I go to sleep at night I go through the new coaching staff and after the draft I will go through each draft choice and then the depth chart and so on.

 

[XXXIVwin]

The answer to your post:

We are all fans of that swooshy thing on the helmet.

That's it.

The horn logo.

Everything else can change – players, Coaches, city, colors, uniform design, you name it.

But as long as there is a team with that horn logo on the helmet, I'm rooting for 'em.

 

[-X-]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZfpwfQ58Ds

 

[99Balloons]

It's the Horns and History of the franchise that make me a Rams fan.

 

[bnw]

For me its the city as in St. Louis, MO. I like the colors but the horns suck. No bighorn sheep has a swoosh or swirl horns like on the Rams helmet. Its like an abstract "art" representation of horns and I can't stand abstract "art". I do like the Rams head logo (though I still hate those same horns) and wish that was on the helmet instead. If another NFL team moved to St. Louis or if a new pro league had a team there I would spend less time with the Rams. Thats simply because everyone else I know in St. Louis has already flipped off he who has not enough billions as he spit in the face of a very generous city and can't understand why I still give a shit about his team. So city and creature of habit I suppose.

 

[Zodi]

I was a big Drew Bennett fan back in the day, so naturally...

I've been a Rams fan since I was a teenager. I was a Bills fan growing up, too. But it's all about them horns.

 

[Zero]

You've all missed my point, I never questioned your faithfulness or ask why you became a Rams fan.
I asked what it we are fans of, the name? The city? The look? Again, if the Rams and Colts swapped everything, which team would you be a fan of?

For a lot of people,it is the look.Me included.
When i started watching football,I picked the team with the coolest helmets.
That usually has at least some of your favorite colors.
You say it can't be the look because helmets,uniforms change.
This is not true because,once you pick your team,that's your team.
If they change uniforms after the fact,then so be it.Already your team.
And to answer your question.If the Colts and Rams switched unis,
I am going with the Horns.

 

[threesox84]

For me its the city as in St. Louis, MO. I like the colors but the horns suck. No bighorn sheep has a swoosh or swirl horns like on the Rams helmet.

FWIW the horns on a fully grown bighorn sheep are actually often the same shape as the horns on the Rams' helmets.

As a somewhat strange aside, part of the reason I've bought so much into the Rams after their return is because I'm an avid hiker and camper in the Angeles NF, which is home to a large population of actual rams. In all my years up there I've only seen wild rams three times, and each time from a distance - and each before the Rams football team came home, so it was somewhat bittersweet. But each time was still awesome (they mostly retreat to higher ground and then stare at you until you leave) and made me miss the NFL Rams a tiny bit more each time.