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'Greatest Show on Turf’ set for curtain call
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_4e247c84-58b7-5775-b527-ebac5e524f3d.html
Fifteen years have passed since coach Dick Vermeil made flowers bloom in a gridiron desert. Namely guiding the woebegone Rams from worst to first in the NFL, winning the first Super Bowl for the St. Louis.
“Oh it’s scary,” Vermeil said. “It really is scary how fast it goes.”
Except for a function the following summer in St. Louis in which players, coaches, and front office members received their Super Bowl rings, the 1999 Rams haven’t met since defeating Jeff Fisher’s Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV, in Atlanta.
Until now. Almost the entire team and many of the coaches have descended on St. Louis for a variety of events commemorating the 15th anniversary of the ’99 Rams. The highlights are a Greatest Show on Turf celebration at Union Station Hotel on Sunday night, and halftime ceremonies during the Rams’ Monday night game with San Francisco at the Edward Jones Dome.
Who knows. It could be the last time this group is together again as a team.
“It might be. Might be,” Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk said. “You never know.”
And if there’s a 20th or 25th reunion, it could be held in Los Angeles — what with the threat of the franchise moving back to the West Coast.
But for the next two days, it’s nothing but joy and warm memories for a team that didn’t just win — it won with style points.
The Rams were dazzling, they were dashing, they were dominant. After all, only the very best of the best earn a nickname that will last through the decades.
No disrespect to the reserves and specialists, because they were amazing players in their own right. Players such as the fearless Tony Horne on kickoff returns; the electrifying Az-Zahir Hakim; the kicker known as “Money” — Jeff Wilkins; the clutch Ricky Proehl; or the unlucky Trent Green.
But because of time and space limitations, we highlight the 22 starters from that Super Bowl XXXIV contest, what they’re up to now, and their memories from a magical season.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_4e247c84-58b7-5775-b527-ebac5e524f3d.html
Fifteen years have passed since coach Dick Vermeil made flowers bloom in a gridiron desert. Namely guiding the woebegone Rams from worst to first in the NFL, winning the first Super Bowl for the St. Louis.
“Oh it’s scary,” Vermeil said. “It really is scary how fast it goes.”
Except for a function the following summer in St. Louis in which players, coaches, and front office members received their Super Bowl rings, the 1999 Rams haven’t met since defeating Jeff Fisher’s Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV, in Atlanta.
Until now. Almost the entire team and many of the coaches have descended on St. Louis for a variety of events commemorating the 15th anniversary of the ’99 Rams. The highlights are a Greatest Show on Turf celebration at Union Station Hotel on Sunday night, and halftime ceremonies during the Rams’ Monday night game with San Francisco at the Edward Jones Dome.
Who knows. It could be the last time this group is together again as a team.
“It might be. Might be,” Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk said. “You never know.”
And if there’s a 20th or 25th reunion, it could be held in Los Angeles — what with the threat of the franchise moving back to the West Coast.
But for the next two days, it’s nothing but joy and warm memories for a team that didn’t just win — it won with style points.
The Rams were dazzling, they were dashing, they were dominant. After all, only the very best of the best earn a nickname that will last through the decades.
No disrespect to the reserves and specialists, because they were amazing players in their own right. Players such as the fearless Tony Horne on kickoff returns; the electrifying Az-Zahir Hakim; the kicker known as “Money” — Jeff Wilkins; the clutch Ricky Proehl; or the unlucky Trent Green.
But because of time and space limitations, we highlight the 22 starters from that Super Bowl XXXIV contest, what they’re up to now, and their memories from a magical season.