Is this Rams team likable?

[DCH]

Teams have certain personalities, and those personalities often dictate whether they're "likable" or not. Belichick's Pats have the personality of uber-workmanlike cheating shitbirds, and thus are not likable to non-Pats fans. Rex Ryan's teams have a goofy swagger, and tend to be somewhat entertaining with a weird sort of foot-fetishy charm.

But the Rams, what's our team's personality? The "trolling" of the Redskins by Fisher, the taunting, the penalties, the egos... it seems like the Rams' personality is juvenile and combative. I know we want to have swagger, whatever that really means, but we haven't earned the right to be arrogant.

I sometimes find it hard to like this team. I root for them - hard - but they're like... like the Cincinnati Reds under Dusty Baker. Even as a fan, you have to recognize that there's just a dickhead streak running through that I'd like to see gone - or at least evolved into an accomplished confidence rather than childish arrogance.

Am I the only one who sees them like this? Or who cares about it?

Edit to add: The players in Oakland during the preseason holding up the "52-0" sign to the crowd while losing the game. That's pathetic.

 

[Ram_Rally]

My friends hate the Rams. (But I live near dc).

 

[Athos]

Mmmm. Good qustion.

Even when winning they're frustrating to watch and when good plays happen, you have stupid garbage like that Britt penalty and Cookies tantrum.

I miss the class of the GSOt. They let their play speak for themselves.

I've noticed this team does a hole lot of talking and showing off.... When they haven't won shit yet.

 

[DCH]

Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce were classy players who proved themselves with their play, not their mouths. How much did we used to make fun of '9ers fans for having Terrell Owens on their team? Are we not more TO than Faulk at this point?

 

[12intheBox]

The GSOT chirped like crazy. More AZ Hakim and Tre Bly than Marshall and Isaac of course - but a team is often defined by the loudest of them.

I like this team but I see what you mean.

 

[HometownBoy]

have stupid garbage like that Britt penalty

To be fair, that was a tick tacky call and we all know it. Everyone was the first to violently jerk off Bailey for doing the same to Sherman and he didn't even score and he stood over him. Staring shouldn't be a damn 15 yard penalty, the guy was trying to find something to flag so hard he tripped over himself doing it.

 

[jjab360]

...I like them enough, at least when they're winning. Don't really care if other teams or fans of other teams like them, tbh.

 

[Athos]

The GSOT chirped like crazy. More AZ Hakim and Tre Bly than Marshall and Isaac of course - but a team is often defined by the loudest of them.

I like this team but I see what you mean.

The counter argument would be that team earned it. This one hasn't.

 

[fancents86]

This team is like that bully that talks a lot of sh!t, and then when they turn around to walk away they trip over their own feet.

 

[SteezyEndo]

Football in general has kind of evolved into the bad boy attitude. There are only a handful of players that still have that classy demeanor in which one could look up to. Someone needs to whip our team into shape and straighten them out. Maybe it's time for someone with an old school mindset to lead that charge.

 

[Penguin.]

This team has sort of a trash talk and dirty vibe to it. Especially Ogletree. He is the most obnoxious player I have seen in recent years.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I have never believed in sacrificing character for talent. Fisher and Snead are all about it though. They want the best talent available regardless of character. So we end up with a lot of woulda coulda shoulda types. They are good and have undeniable skill but they have their shar of gaffes in every game that keeps them from being great. Aaron Donald is a true pro, a la JJ Watt. Those are the types that are consistently successful. The focus on their craft and aren't spewing crap on twitter or making statements on social issues.

Jenkins, and Cook are the first two I would want to replace because of the many mistakes they make. This team needs more Longs, Brockers and Donald's to set examples of working hard and not worrying about trash talking, instead of making plays.

 

[HeiseNBerg]

This team has sort of a trash talk and dirty vibe to it. Especially Ogletree. He is the most obnoxious player I have seen in recent years.

Actually, I'd give that trophy to Jenkins -- the 2013 game against Carolina leaps to mind.

Personally, I wish these guys would just STFU and play football. At very least, master the art of walking the walk before talking the talk.

 

[blue4]

I don't think we are any worse behaved than any other team. The difference is the timing. Other teams draw taunting when they are ahead by 2 scores. We do it when we are down by two scores. It was a BS call against Britt. Of course had he just scored and turned around and slapped some hands on the way back to the sidelines everything would have been fine. But instead he stood there posing. And we don't know what or if he said anything. You can't drop the F bomb or slurs if I'm not mistaken. Other teams push the boundaries of cheap hits too. Problem is we wait till we are down 2 scores and then do it and it makes us looked childish. Even though other teams are just as bad.

Point is, teams with situational awareness don't do that stuff. We have the situational awareness of your average pee wee league team.

 

[V3]

If I wasn't a St. Louis Rams fan already, I probably wouldn't like this team. They talk a lot of shit and rarely back it up. I hate trash talk even when you can back it up. When you can't even do that, it drives me crazy.

Maturity and class are extremely rare, it seems, in pro sports today. I don't get why people like to praise that kind of behavior- even for the great players that can talk shit.

 

[HeiseNBerg]

They talk a lot of crap and rarely back it up. I hate trash talk even when you can back it up. When you can't even do that, it drives me crazy.

Amen to that!

 

[snackdaddy]

Who wouldn't love the Rams. They're the lovable losers.

 

[Prime Time]

I don't want the Rams to be liked by opposing teams and fans. I want them to be respected and feared. That said, I want the players to shut up before, during, and after a game, and just do their damn jobs.

 

[MTRamsFan]

To me it's simple. The player's reflect their coaches. Fisher has been known to be a "Player's Coach." So, he allows them to act looser than maybe other coaches in the league. IMO, until this team wins on a consistent basis, they shouldn't trash talk, shouldn't throw tantrums, and basically act like an asses at certain times. When they start winning on a consistent basis, then they can talk smack.

I'm ol' school, and I want my play to do my talking, not my jaw. More times than not, smack talk always comes back to bite you in the ass. There's nothing greater than putting someone on their ass, going back to the huddle and doing it again, and again, and again. To me, that is the best smack talk. But we live in a different world, where you can't tell someone to shut their "pie hole," even if they look like an ass. We are dealing with the "Me" Generation where everyone wants to be recognized for every little thing they do. Sorry, if I insult some, but it's how I see things these days. No different in everyday life or every weekend during a sporting event.

 

[12intheBox]

Which NFL team is it that doesn't talk trash, taunt, spar after the whistle, and have a coordinated celebration for even pedestrian plays?

This is NFL culture - this is just how it is these days. Like many of you, I don't like it - but its league wide.