Bernie: How long can Rams fans wait?

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News Bot

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Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_bf860c36-f551-5497-a85c-f2ec467e42ac.html

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When the Rams last played a home game, Nov. 24, the place was overrun with fans of the visiting-team Chicago Bears. After the Rams’ rollicking 42-21 victory, defensive end Chris Long referred to the setting as a “neutral field.”

That’s about right.

What should we expect?

I believe fans have been exceedingly patient with the Rams. I believe fans understand that GM Les Snead and coach Jeff Fisher are in their second year of a massive project to build a winner.

The best marketing is winning. And the Rams still come up short in the most important area of all. At 5-7, the Rams must win their final four games to post their first winning season since 2003.

And though progress has been made in upgrading the roster, the Rams are probably headed to a last-place finish after finishing third in the NFC West last season. The Rams went 2-1-1 versus San Francisco and Seattle in 2012 but are 0-3 against their rivals so far this year.

After going an encouraging 7-8-1 in 2012, the Rams haven’t narrowed the gap in the NFC West. If anything, the gap is wider now.

Yes, the Rams are better under the leadership of Fisher and Snead. But that progress must be converted into wins, because that’s how you’re judged in this league.

And since 2004, the Rams are 49-106-1 for a .317 winning percentage that ranks 31st among the 32 NFL franchises.

So again: What should we expect at the Edward Jones Dome? At some point, enthusiasm and loyalty must be earned.

The Rams’ losing is even more maddening when you look around and see the Cardinals going on postseason runs and winning NL pennants. And see the Blues getting off to another terrific start. And see Mizzou’s football team ranked fifth in the nation and set to play Auburn in Saturday’s SEC championship.

It makes you want to holler: Yo, Rams … what’s your excuse? When are you going to do your part to join in on the success, and the fun? When will the latest rebuilding project end?

I don’t think fans want to read stories about how the Rams were frustrated but not embarrassed in Sunday’s one-sided loss at San Francisco.

Are we supposed to give them credit for that?

A team should always feel some embarrassment after getting thumped by a division rival for the second time this year. The Rams had a win and a tie against the 49ers last season but were outscored 58-24 in two losses to the Niners this year. Hey, but at least they weren’t embarrassed. Good grief.

I’ll say it again: The standards must be raised at Rams Park. They’re too low. The Rams should take notes from the town’s baseball team.

It’s no surprise to see the Rams averaging 57,132 fans per home game, which ranks 31st. Their percentage of playing to stadium capacity (87.5) ranks 29th.

That’s better than I would have guessed. For the most part, the fans are hanging in there. I don’t know how many NFL markets would still average nearly 60,000 per home game for a team that’s lost close to 70 percent of its games over a 10-year period.

That’s not all; other factors chip away at the enthusiasm.

Owner Stan Kroenke remains aloof. No one knows what he’s thinking about his team. No one knows if he plans to make a commitment to stay in St. Louis.

Kroenke has certainly spent a lot of money on the Rams; his financial commitment to Fisher and free-agent signings is strong. And Kroenke isn’t obligated to be a chatterbox; he’s a low-key guy and that’s fine. But if Kroenke would at least try to connect with the public, he could generate a lot of goodwill for his franchise.

Fans — customers — just like to know that the big boss cares, and that he’s right there with them. Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. lives in Cincinnati, but he’s frequently on the ground in St. Louis, a visible presence. And the team’s fans know that DeWitt is fully engaged with his baseball team. Blues fans know that owner Tom Stillman is passionate about his team, and that he bleeds blue along with them.

As I’ve written before, I don’t blame any fan for holding back. Why should they make a full investment — finances and emotions — when they can’t be certain that Kroenke plans to keep his team here?

The same dynamic applies to the stadium quandary. Obviously, the Rams want a better facility. I think many fans want one, too. The dome is a dreary venue.

OK, so how do we proceed? How can the Rams and local entities begin the process of partnering up to find a long-term solution?

The Rams aren’t going anywhere. The Los Angeles market is still is a mess, lacking a viable stadium plan that would meet the NFL standards. The NFL recently strengthened the grip on its control of the LA market.

According to the dependable Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams in October, reminding the owners that the league owns the Los Angeles market, and only the league will decide when and if a team can relocate there.

In the memo, the NFL also advised 32 owners to resist the temptation to buy real estate in the LA area for the goal of building a stadium. The NFL insists on playing an active role in structuring a stadium deal in Los Angeles, and the agreement must be on the league’s terms.

(As I’ve written before, based on my conversations with multiple NFL owners, the league wants to keep LA open for an expansion team, perhaps even two — and collect enormous fees to be divided among the 32 owners.)

Kroenke’s leverage is weak as long as the NFL continues to keep Los Angeles cordoned off, and out of play. Like it or not, Kroenke and St. Louis are going to have to figure out a way to make this relationship last.

And as much as I’d like to see Kroenke do himself and his team a favor by showing more warmth to his fans, the best thing the Rams can do is put a winning product on the field. Losing has been their most damaging problem.

Consistent success is the one way to create momentum that will result in full-house crowds and jump-start an earnest attempt to resolve the stadium issue.

As long as they keep losing, the Rams and Kroenke will remain stuck in neutral.
 

Ram Quixote

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I'm tired. Tired of losing. But what I'm really tired of is the as long as they keep losing argument concerning fan attendance. When I finally realized the chant coming through my TV was "Let's Go Bears!" I was appalled. Not that Bears' fans were chanting, but that Rams fans didn't shout them down. Or at least boo it away. I live in Seattle, and my only way to see the Rams is via TV.

Disclaimer: this is not a bash at St Louis fans; the die hard fans deserve respect. I am bashing the eventual bandwagoners, who'll soon flock to the ED and consider themselves Ram fans.:meh:
 

A55VA6

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Yeah, tired of losing.. that's for sure.

I just don't know if the dome will ever consistently be packed full of loud Rams fans.. It's almost as if the majority of the Rams fans live somewhere other than St. Louis, including myself. I wonder if the Rams move elsewhere at some point in the future. I like the Rams being in St. Louis but is it best for the organization? I'm not sure.
 

V3

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I'm tired. Tired of losing. But what I'm really tired of is the as long as they keep losing argument concerning fan attendance. When I finally realized the chant coming through my TV was "Let's Go Bears!" I was appalled. Not that Bears' fans were chanting, but that Rams fans didn't shout them down. Or at least boo it away. I live in Seattle, and my only way to see the Rams is via TV.

Disclaimer: this is not a bash at St Louis fans; the die hard fans deserve respect. I am bashing the eventual bandwagoners, who'll soon flock to the ED and consider themselves Ram fans.:meh:

I find it hard to call fans bandwagoners when the product has been so bad for so long. They shouldn't be forced to spend their time and money supporting the garbage the Rams have been putting out there just to prove they're "real fans". Like Bernie said, loyalty is EARNED. If you want to get rid of the bandwagon fans, start building a tradition the fans can be proud of. The franchise could start by not alienating the fan base with veiled threats of relocation. EARN your fans, Rams.
 

-X-

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The Dude
Good article, thanks for posting.. Errr just noticed this is a bot...
I find it hard to call fans bandwagoners when the product has been so bad for so long. They shouldn't be forced to spend their time and money supporting the garbage the Rams have been putting out there just to prove they're "real fans". Like Bernie said, loyalty is EARNED. If you want to get rid of the bandwagon fans, start building a tradition the fans can be proud of. The franchise could start by not alienating the fan base with veiled threats of relocation. EARN your fans, Rams.
He said "eventual" bandwagoners. The ones who will show up when they're good (and they will be), but couldn't give a shit about them when they're not. And there are plenty of those types of fans out there. No doubt about it.
 

mr.stlouis

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They can complain about attendance after they put a product on the field that actually equals the fans's expectations. This year mine were Playoffs or failure...

Of course my disclaimer of injuries is always there to temper my dissappointment, Bradford on IR, BUT STILL!!!

It wasn't a total loss like in 2011, but it's pretty dang dissappointing. This team rips your guts out and then the media complains about fan attendance? Faulk this article! Get us a winning record for the first time in a decade and THEN complain. I swear they get it but they don't.
 

BigHornRAMM

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Yeah, tired of losing.. that's for sure.

I just don't know if the dome will ever consistently be packed full of loud Rams fans.. It's almost as if the majority of the Rams fans live somewhere other than St. Louis, including myself. I wonder if the Rams move elsewhere at some point in the future. I like the Rams being in St. Louis but is it best for the organization? I'm not sure.

St. Louis is a "baseball" town because the Cardinals win. What attracts bandwagon fans, fan who don't really care about football or sports in general is to win. If the Rams put together 2 seasons of 10+ wins and the town was a buzz, attendance would sky rocket. Looking at location tags on the forum it does feel like most of the fans are out of Mizzu but this forum and all forums are a very small sample. 80% of their fans are in St. Louis, 15% LA and 5% elsewhere.

Everyone is tired of losing. When they finally win it will make it so much sweeter. My buddy has been a Lions fan since we were 11. He is so glad he didn't jump ship.. I'll ride with the Rams until my last breath.
 

mr.stlouis

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(^holy smoke I didn't know you posted a similiar post. I didn't do it on purpose.)

Sorry, I have another point.

They call it a baseball town because they're taking the shallow view point... dig deeper.

The STL Cards rule because they WIN. Compare their past decade to the Rams past decade. Cards have been to 3 or four World Series, had a winning record every year, have excellent management, new stadium, and then they have the Rams to fuel their fire. If it was the the other way around then you'd have a packed house every week at The Ed game and Busch Stadium would look more like the Royal's stadium. It's not complicated and yet some just like to stir the pot!
 

Pancake

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St. Louis has had a baseball team for over a hundred years. The Rams have been their for 20. There isn't generations of people born and raised on Ram football like there is Cardinal baseball.

Besides with the product the Rams have put on the field over the last ten years they are lucky they have anyone at all showing up to the games.
 

moklerman

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An owner who spends, they got the biggest name coach, big name free agents, aggressive and active in the draft, re-signed team leaders, the city lost one team already and the Rams are out of their lease after next year. Seems pretty obvious that the fans should be showing up but the attendance hasn't spiked in a long time.
 

HE WITH HORNS

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There does need to be a thread about this. Not a bashing St. Louis Fans thread, but a realistic thread contemplating the future of the team there. I'm not from St. Louis or LA, but I think the team needs a better local following, or it might lose the team.
 

Username

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The reason there was so many Bears fans there was because it was Chicago guys. You should see how many Cubs fans there are at Cards games, and how many Cards fans there are at Cubs games even.

The Bears and Rams play once in a blue moon. When they do, Bears fans buy the tickets before the season even starts. Lets just say there was plenty to be had this year. Also, the fact that they bought so many tickets pushed the price for tickets way up. So the non diehards didn't feel like paying to watch a team that has slim playoff chances, no starting QB, and that hasn't had a winning record in a decade. Not when they can just watch them on TV. Sorry, but football tickets are expensive. Trust me I know, and I'm sure you all do too.

It's hard to contemplate because we on this site love the Rams so much, but it's not that surprising really. The team hasn't been just bad over the past decade, it's been historically terrible. St. Louis is an incredible SPORTS town. Once the team starts winning again the seats will be full again.
 

theramsruleUK

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The NFC West is the hardest division by a mile.... The 49ers and the seahawks are the yardstick...
It certainly wont be easy, but nothing worth having ever is
 

iBruce

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An owner who spends, they got the biggest name coach, big name free agents, aggressive and active in the draft, re-signed team leaders, the city lost one team already and the Rams are out of their lease after next year. Seems pretty obvious that the fans should be showing up but the attendance hasn't spiked in a long time.

If Kroenke would at least make some public announcement that he wants the Rams to stay in St. Louis, I think it'd go a long way towards raising attendance.
 

Ram Quixote

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If Kroenke would at least make some public announcement that he wants the Rams to stay in St. Louis, I think it'd go a long way towards raising attendance.
But we all know that he won't. As soon as he commits to staying in St. Louis, he loses all his bargaining power. Same goes for word of the Rams moving. Kroenke is too savvy a business man to show his cards now, even if his plan is to stay in St. Louis. Btw, his fence sitting is a positive. Too many fans in St. Louis see him as Bill Bidwell to notice.
 

rhinobean

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But we all know that he won't. As soon as he commits to staying in St. Louis, he loses all his bargaining power. Same goes for word of the Rams moving. Kroenke is too savvy a business man to show his cards now, even if his plan is to stay in St. Louis. Btw, his fence sitting is a positive. Too many fans in St. Louis see him as Bill Bidwell to notice.
I've never looked t Stan like he's a Bidwill! I expect he'll build new stadium in STL and the fans will go to the games in droves! Rams ain't moving!
 

Thordaddy

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Well that article took some real research.
PART of why the Cards do so well is that they had the central midwestern corridor all the way to Nawlins as home territory ,still no pro basbal in Ark, Tenn, Kentucky, Alabama Miss. and those fans come to the Lou for weekend series all the time.

When we win St.L will support.

The reason the Cubs suck is thie fans will support a loser, Rams DO NEED to start winning ,but ya don't need Bernie to wake you up to that.
 

V3

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He said "eventual" bandwagoners. The ones who will show up when they're good (and they will be), but couldn't give a shyte about them when they're not. And there are plenty of those types of fans out there. No doubt about it.

I know. I'm saying even those "eventual" bandwagoners should be cut some slack because of the historic feces the Rams have been presenting the fans for years and years now. The Rams' level of bad has made many of the fans bandwagoners. Just like success earns loyalty, chronic failure earns apathy.