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RamBill

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Can the Rams – and maybe the Chargers – reach a generation that's grown up without an NFL team?

By RYAN KARTJE

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fans-700209-team-nfl.html

LOS ANGELES – Two days before the NFL announced it will make its triumphant return to Los Angeles, ending a decades-long drought for professional football here, the view from inside the dark confines of Mom’s Bar seems to suggest that America’s most popular league is doing just fine in the nation’s second-largest city, even without a team attached.

It’s wild-card weekend in the NFL, and a sea of football fans has packed inside this Westside lounge for the final game of the playoffs’ first round. Wearing jerseys and tightly clutching their beer glasses, they stand shoulder to shoulder, front to back, with barely an inch to spare among them. It’s the kind of crowd that might give a fire marshal hives.

But the bar is electric anyway. Fans are buzzing with anticipation, whispering of Super Bowl runs. In a city often labeled as relentlessly uninterested in the NFL, the excitement here is undeniable.

The problem – for Los Angeles and its future NFL franchise(s) – is that the gathered fans at Mom’s are here to watch a team from Green Bay, Wis.

Since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season, a generation of fans in Los Angeles has grown up without an NFL team. The result is a city of complex, mishmashed allegiances, where, a few miles away at Joxer Daly’s in Culver City, one could find a similar bar equally filled to the brim with fans of the other team in this playoff game, Washington.

Even for those who grew up with Rams or Raiders loyalties, time – 21 years of it – has weathered ties. Most are happy to welcome the NFL back. But with the Rams – and, possibly, the Chargers – returning to Los Angeles next season, it’s fair to wonder: In a city of transplants and scattered sports loyalties, how exactly would an NFL team capture the hearts of fans – new and old?

HARD TO SWITCH

Near the bar at Mom’s, Corey Goldstein and Ben Cohen are debating the most fundamental tenet of this question. Each has parents who grew up die-hard Packers fans. Both are wearing Aaron Rodgers jerseys. But as NFL fans who live nearby, they wonder aloud whether they could ever add the Rams or Chargers to their short list of allegiances.

“I don’t know, I think you can be a fan of two teams,” Cohen, 26, says, eliciting a glare from Goldstein.

“I won’t be rooting for any other team, even an L.A. one,” Goldstein, 25, responds. “Packers only.”

Dan Wann, a professor at Murray State University who has studied the psychology of sports fandom, suggests that having allegiances to more than one team is not uncommon. Pinning down reasons behind why – or how – fans choose those allegiances, though, is far less conclusive. A study he conducted years ago on why fans bonded with certain teams produced wildly inconsistent results.

“It’s not near as simple a question as most people would think,” Wann said. “But as a species, in terms of our social identity, we are naturally more inclined to be a part of a community. If L.A. embraces a team, then people will want to be a part of that.”

Among Packers fans at Mom’s, sentiments about rooting for a Los Angeles team are split, though no one seems eager to jump on the bandwagon from Day 1. Fans allude to a desire to be wooed – by the product on the field, by the buzz around it. Still, most are shocked it took this long to bring the NFL back. Even Goldstein says he would pay to see the NFL here, especially when the new, multibillion-dollar stadium opens in Inglewood in 2019.

“There’s just one thing standing in their way,” Goldstein says. “They have to be good. That’s it. People aren’t going to waste their time otherwise.”

In selling an NFL team to Los Angeles, this is obviously the crux of any long-term success. But succeeding, in that sense, will take time. The Rams have missed the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons. The Chargers have one playoff appearance in their past six seasons. Combined, they finished last season 11-21.

‘TRENDY CITY’

“Neither figures to be in Super Bowl contention right away,” said Leigh Steinberg, a longtime sports agent and former head of “Save the Rams.” “So you can’t come here and just sell winning to the fans. You have to sell a unique experience. … There’s a misnomer in Southern California about fair-weather fans. It’s simply not true.

“This is just a trendy city. If they can create enough heat and excitement around the team, people will naturally gravitate towards it.”

Joe Baratelli is familiar with the challenges of marketing teams perceived as “second fiddles” in Los Angeles. As the chief marketing officer at Rubin Postaer and Associates, his company has worked on campaigns to rebrand both the Clippers and the Kings.

In both cases, Baratelli said, RPA sought first to identify core fans who stuck with each team “through the thick and the thin.”

“You build the campaign around that passion,” he says. “What is it about the Rams or the Chargers that draws people in?”

From the perspective of several sports business experts, that initial galvanizing of fans around the NFL’s return isn’t expected be a problem. Most point to the sheer size of the market, with almost 10 million people in Los Angeles County alone, as reasoning enough that people will fill seats early on. But long-term plans to establish a fan base, they agree, are far more tenuous.

That’s why Steinberg suggests a marketing approach that, on one hand, plays to the star power of Los Angeles, by trotting out celebrities and creating a flashy spectacle, and, on the other, “markets the team like it’s from Des Moines, Iowa,” by slowly building a young fan base and establishing a presence with community groups. The squandering of community credibility, he believes, is what ultimately pushed Rams fans away before.

Two decades later, however, the landscape of the NFL – and live sports – has evolved in a significant way. Technology made it possible for fans to follow any team, in any city, from pretty much any medium. The rise of fantasy sports also increased demand for such accessibility, leaving fans to question whether the live product is worth the price of admission.

That could especially be a problem in Los Angeles, where, according to USC Sports Business Institute executive director David Carter, some fans are certain to experience serious “sticker shock.” Inevitably, any team based at the proposed $2.66 billion Inglewood stadium will cater to a windfall of corporate revenue streams, which could lead to a “more upscale product” that ups the awe factor of the experience, but shuts out certain fans.

“Once the novelty of the NFL wears off, the teams here better be about providing that all-in-one game-day experience, one that’s worth fans’ time and money,” Carter said.

This would be a tall task for one team. But should the Chargers follow the Rams to Los Angeles, establishing a foothold for two NFL teams in a city that, for 21 years, had none will be a marketing challenge otherwise unprecedented in American sports.

With local fans forced to choose between the two, experts agree that one will inevitably emerge as a stronger brand. “Which means,” Carter said, “distinguishing your product right away from the other team is going to be critical.”

“The Rams have the historic fan base in Los Angeles,” Carter added. “But the Chargers might be able to more quickly convert their regional fans and convince them to just drive up the 405. It just boils down to how strong these marketing teams are.”

CONFIDENT MARKETERS

The marketing team at RPA, like the NFL itself, doesn’t seem all that concerned with the challenge of finding untapped markets for two teams.

“You’re dealing with a huge population that can overcome any of these obstacles pretty quickly,” Baratelli said. “People are so much more passionate about the NFL these days that you could probably support three teams with the numbers we’re talking about here.”

Viktor Nehring, 51, is not so sure. He grew up a Rams fan, but in the NFL’s long absence, took up rooting for the Packers. With the Rams now set to return, he’s undecided whether to renew his loyalties.

“I mean, I’ve lived 20 years without an NFL team,” Nehring says. “I don’t really need one here.”

It’s a tone that some in Los Angeles have taken – and many elsewhere have clung to – in criticizing the Rams’ move. But for Nehring, talking about the team is bringing back old memories. Now a day trader living in El Segundo, he longingly recalls being in the Coliseum stands in 1977 for the Rams’ legendary “Mud Bowl” loss. The memory has him feeling nostalgic for the NFL’s last stint in Los Angeles.

Ultimately, it’ll be up to high-priced marketing teams of one – or both – franchises to persuade Los Angeles’ massive population to get behind an NFL team, or two. But here, as an old Rams fan rethinks whether to return to his childhood team, there is proof of how quickly sentiment in a region of mismatched but passionate fans could turn.

“Maybe I’ve just gotten used to not having (the Rams) around,” Nehring wonders, as a beat passes.

“What the heck,” he exclaims. “I probably will go back.”
 

RamBill

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Next moves belong to San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders
By Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/201...-belong-to-san-diego-chargers-oakland-raiders

With half of the NFL back to Los Angeles quest in place, two other dominos can fall at any moment. And they include the Chargers and Raiders.

Representatives from the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers will meet Monday to discuss the Chargers joining the Rams in Los Angeles, perhaps in time for the 2016 season.

From what I can gather, the meeting will be among team staff members only, which means Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Chargers owner Dean Spanos are not expected to attend. The first order of business for the Chargers is deciding whether it’s possible to come together on a deal with the Rams that would pave the way for the Chargers to play in Los Angeles next season. The two teams would then open their Inglewood stadium together in 2019.

For that to happen, the two sides would have to come to an agreement within the next two weeks.

The options for the Chargers are clear:

1. Make a deal with the Rams and decisively announce their intentions to move to Los Angeles for 2016.

2. Agree to the framework of a deal, then remain in San Diego for the 2016 season using the Rams deal as leverage to motivate San Diego to come up with — and approve — a stadium plan to keep the Chargers. If San Diego doesn’t deliver, the Chargers have a guaranteed spot in L.A. beginning in 2017.

3. Decide immediately no deal with the Rams is possible, back out entirely, go back to work in San Diego and open a spot in Los Angeles for the Raiders.

According to sources, Option 1 seems the most likely. It would eliminate any long-range uncertainty for the Chargers, who would simply turn the page on San Diego entirely and embrace their future as the Los Angeles Chargers. And it would send a decisive message to Los Angeles that the Chargers absolutely want to be there.

And while Option 2 seems reasonable, the Chargers simply aren’t convinced San Diego will deliver a stadium deal, and a year working on one there would simply be a year wasted. They want to begin their life as the Los Angeles Chargers ASAP, and every day they don’t is one day further they’ll fall behind the Rams in the marketing of L.A.

That doesn’t mean a deal will happen in the next two weeks. But the sense I get is, the Chargers are looking for every reason to make one happen.

While the Chargers work through their decision to join the Los Rams in L.A. or not, the Raiders sit patiently contemplating their next move.

At first glance, the Silver and Black emerged from Houston as the odd team out of a three-team race for Los Angeles and in a less than desirable position moving forward.

Nothing could be less accurate.

The Raiders are in a very strong position.

At some point in the near future, the Raiders will either be making the move to Los Angeles in a partnership with the Rams, or setting up shop as the lone free agent on the open market with San Diego, Oakland and perhaps San Antonio as their primary suitors.

According to sources, San Diego is a very real and viable option. It’s a market the NFL absolutely wants to be in, and one the league is comfortable the Raiders would dominate.

In fact, don’t be surprised if the NFL either waived any relocation fee to facilitate a possible Raiders move to San Diego or set one at a price extremely affordable. In addition, the additional $100 million the league promised to the Raiders to go toward a deal in Oakland is expected to be available to them in a move to San Diego.

As an NFL source told me today, waiving a relocation fee could be possible as the Raiders would be yielding a Bay Area market that is attractive to the NFL long term while filling a San Diego market the league wants to keep in the fold.

In other words, the NFL would have a strong presence in San Diego and be able to leverage the Bay Area to motivate current markets into securing stadium deals for their teams.

As for the Raiders, a move to San Diego is advantageous for a number of reasons.

The Silver and Black have a strong foothold in Southern California, and can count on support from nearby Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and even Ventura counties. In addition to San Diego, of course.

And that isn’t a bad selling point to San Diego leaders who can rely on Raiders fans from those nearby regions making weekend trips to San Diego, buying up hotel rooms, and eating and drinking at local restaurants and pubs.

More importantly, it would secure the Raiders’ long-range future, which is what this entire process has been about for the Raiders, Rams and Chargers.

The key is, can the Raiders do what the Chargers could not: agree on a stadium deal with San Diego and get it approved?

Obviously, that remains to be seen. But two things to consider: if San Diego loses the Chargers, the mindset shifts from keeping the NFL to attracting the NFL. So there will be ample motivation.

Meanwhile, the stadium needs and visions of Raiders owner Mark Davis and Chargers owner Dean Spanos — or 90 percent of NFL owners for that matter — are different.

Davis isn’t looking to build an extravagant $1.7 billion stadium. He wants a modest, contemporary venue that includes all the bells and whistles and revenue streams of new stadiums around the league.

But at a much smaller price tag.

In other words, he can approach San Diego with much more palatable and less expensive needs. For local leaders, that means a more doable stadium plan both economically and politically.

The first domino to fall is the Chargers.

After that, the Raiders can make their move.

And more and more, San Diego is emerging as a viable landing spot.
 

RamBill

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Stan the Man. The Rams’ Owner sits down with Fred Roggin for a rare interview. They talk about Kroenke’s business acumen and the impact on LA and Inglewood. Plus, his relationship with Dean Spanos and the potential of the Chargers sharing the new stadium. Originally aired on Going Roggin, January 16, 2016.

Watch Roggin Interveiw Stan
 

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Magic Johnson first to put deposit on Rams tickets
By Nick Wagoner
ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14597021/magic-johnson-first-put-deposit-los-angeles-rams-tickets

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- According to their relocation agreement with the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams can't begin selling tickets or suites to the new Inglewood stadium scheduled to open in 2019 until they know if they'll share their palatial new digs with another team.

But less than a week after being approved to move from St. Louis to Los Angeles, the Rams began taking $100 deposits for 2016 season tickets on Monday morning. According to the team's official Twitter account, legendary Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson was the first to sign up for his seats at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.


The Rams' account went on to say that 5,000 deposits were paid for in the first five minutes after they became available at 1 p.m. ET and another 5,000 had been reserved in the first hour. The deposits are refundable and serve as a way to reserve the right to buy season tickets when they officially go on sale though it does not guarantee it. According to the team, each deposit allows for the person reserving the spot to purchase up to eight season tickets based on availability when they become available in the spring.

Fans who purchase season tickets now will also have the first opportunity to buy Personal Seat Licenses in the Inglewood stadium when those go on sale, which is expected to happen sometime in 2017.

Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff told reporters in Los Angeles on Friday that ticket prices for the Rams' temporary home will be similar to what they paid in St. Louis in 2015.

"The ticket prices starting off this year will be very comparable to what we had in St. Louis," Demoff said.

Those season ticket prices started at around $300 and went up to $1,750 per seat last season. Of course, the prices in the Inglewood stadium are sure to be far more costly when it opens.

As for Johnson, he was one of the first to welcome the Rams back in a series of tweets last week.

Earvin Magic Johnson @MagicJohnson
This is a very exciting day for the City of LA as the Rams are coming back home to Los Angeles!


And when the Rams move into their new stadium, Johnson is apparently thinking bigger than season tickets.

Earvin Magic Johnson@MagicJohnson
Next week I'll be calling Rams owner Stan Kroenke to ask him if I can buy a suite in the new stadium!
 

RamBill

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— Los Angeles Rams fans Monday were able to secure the opportunity to purchase season tickets online. Starting at 10 a.m., fans were granted access to the team’s official website, which allowed for their participation in the 2016 ticket deposit campaign, according to the Los Angeles Rams. To secure season tickets, each fan placed a $100 refundable deposit online. CBS2’s Kara Finnstrom reports from Pann's Restaurant in Ladera Heights where some Rams fans gathered to sign up for their season tickets.

Watch Season Ticket Story
 

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Dickerson, Everett see stars lining up for Rams in Los Angeles return

By GREG BEACHAM/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/s...cle_64e3c0a1-680f-57b1-971f-dbe9f59c3fc9.html

LOS ANGELES — Eric Dickerson can't wait to take his two youngest children to their first Los Angeles Rams game this fall alongside the same fans who cheered him to the greatest single-season rushing performance in NFL history.

And if the current Rams need advice on the tricky transition from Missouri to Southern California, the Hall of Fame running back has plenty.

"You're not in St. Louis anymore," Dickerson said with a laugh. "For all you young guys: It's different. This is Hollywood."

Dickerson and former quarterback Jim Everett know all about the challenges and opportunities presented to professional athletes in Los Angeles, and they say the attention will be magnified during the Rams' high-profile return season after 21 years away.

If the Rams handle it well — and if they win — they'll absolutely love LA.

"It's the best to play here," Everett said. "This is a sports mecca."

With Kobe Bryant retiring from a terrible Lakers team and the Dodgers lacking a true superstar beyond quiet Clayton Kershaw, Rams running back Todd Gurley, receiver Tavon Austin and defensive linemen Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn are about to become some of the most popular guys in a town that loves a celebrity.

Although the Rams played home games down the road in Anaheim when Dickerson and Everett starred, they dealt with the opportunities and temptations presented in the nation's entertainment capital and second-largest media market.

"This is a different animal, being in Los Angeles," Dickerson said. "It just feels different, and I know what it's like to put that uniform on. Being in LA, there's nothing like it. It's the glitz. It's the glamour. It's the beautiful girls. It's the weather. But you've got to take your job serious, first of all. You're a football player first, and all that other stuff comes secondary."

Everett settled in Southern California after his NFL career, and the Rams' starting quarterback from 1986-93 greeted Rams executives at their official return last week in Inglewood. He has never stopped signing autographs with an "LA Rams" postscript.

"When I was playing, we had the Lakers with Magic Johnson, we had the Dodgers, and LA loves champions," Everett said. "There's high standards, and the Rams are taking a big bite of the pie by moving here. They understand that level of expectation is going to go way up for all of us."

Dickerson spent the Rams' return week in Orlando playing in the inaugural Diamond Resorts Invitational celebrity golf tournament, a $500,000 event supporting Florida Hospital for Children. Dickerson finished just behind former Raiders running back Marcus Allen and well behind winner Mardy Fish, the former tennis pro.

But Dickerson's thoughts were never far from the Rams. Although he made frequent appearances in St. Louis to support the franchise, he firmly believes the Rams never should have left — and he can only shake his head at what might have been.

"Imagine the Rams playing in LA when they were the 'Greatest Show on Turf,'" Dickerson said, referring to the Super Bowl-winning St. Louis team.

"They would have had to go from practice to the studios to do movies. Everybody loves athletes. Actors want to be athletes, and athletes want to be actors. I hope it becomes like that again."

The Rams have some work to do first: They haven't made the playoffs since the 2004 season, and they haven't had a winning record since 2003.

Although they've shaken off the worst five-year stretch in NFL history with just 15 wins from 2007-11, they've had nine straight losing seasons heading back to Los Angeles.

Although Warren Beatty played a Rams quarterback in the famed 1978 comedy "Heaven Can Wait," the Rams' popularity in Hollywood during their first 49 years in town was limited by their relatively modest success, reaching the Super Bowl just once.

"You've got to win," said Dickerson, whose Rams made the playoffs in each of his four full seasons. "Coming back is one thing, but you've got to put a winner on the field."

Dickerson sees elements of a winner in the current Rams, including one of the NFL's best defenses. He already knows all about Gurley, who electrified the NFL with 1,106 yards rushing in just 13 games as a rookie.

Dickerson's 2,105 yards in 1984 still stands as the NFL record, and he expects Gurley to take the mantle.

"I saw him play about a quarter, and I said, 'Man, this guy can play,'" Dickerson said. "I like the way he cuts. I like the way his first step is."

Dickerson plans to be around the Rams whenever possible this year. He lives in upscale Calabasas, California, and is excited about passing down his Rams devotion to the next generation — particularly his 10-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.

"My son looks at my uniform on the wall and says, 'Daddy, I want to do that,'" Dickerson said with a laugh. "I say, 'We'll see about that.'"
 

CGI_Ram

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"This is a different animal, being in Los Angeles," Dickerson said. "It just feels different, and I know what it's like to put that uniform on. Being in LA, there's nothing like it. It's the glitz. It's the glamour. It's the beautiful girls. It's the weather. But you've got to take your job serious, first of all. You're a football player first, and all that other stuff comes secondary."

"They would have had to go from practice to the studios to do movies. Everybody loves athletes. Actors want to be athletes, and athletes want to be actors. I hope it becomes like that again."

You're not helping the argument, here, Eric.
 

8to12

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For 20 years, “Golden Ram” barber shop owner Sal Martinez had his fingers crossed that the rams would return to Los Angeles. John Cádiz Klemack reports for the NBC4 News.

Watch Golden Ram Barber Shop Story

Sal is my barber. We've also made a few trips together to St Louis to see the Rams. His Barber Shop is a special place for Rams memorabilia. I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the Orange County area.
 

RamBill

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Long-time NFL reporter and St. Louisan Howard Balzer joined The Hollywood Casino Press Box to discuss the Rams leaving St. Louis for Los Angeles.

Listen to Balzer Talk Rams to LA

==============

On if the Rams should be forced to give St. Louis money back:

"I would think by some of Goodell's statements in approving the Rams to relocate...to me one of the smoking guns is now trying to claim that $700 million in public money was necessary for the stadium project because that was the arbitration award (to renovate the dome). By saying that, why did the league encourage the task force the entire year? I call that a bait and switch. A lawyer might call it fraud. I think there's fraud there. When there's fraud, there could be punitive damages."
 

Memento

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Well..I haven't gotten to comment on this thread because of time spent in the hospital without a computer. As a St. Lousinan, I'm sad that I can't see them at home, but I'm okay with it. I'm still a fan of this team for life, and I just want them to win.
 

JackDRams

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Well..I haven't gotten to comment on this thread because of time spent in the hospital without a computer. As a St. Lousinan, I'm sad that I can't see them at home, but I'm okay with it. I'm still a fan of this team for life, and I just want them to win.

Hospital? I hope everything is okay
 

RamBill

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Rams took more than 45,000 season-ticket deposits within first 2 days

By RICH HAMMOND

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/season-700717-rams-deposits.html

If the initial days of season-ticket deposits are any indication, the Rams might have a full Coliseum this fall.

The Rams said Wednesday they took 45,000 deposits in the first 48 hours. A refundable $100 deposit does not guarantee the right to buy 2016 season tickets, but does hold a place in line when they go on sale.

"The reception and excitement have been outstanding," Jake Bye, the Rams’ vice president of tickets and premium seating, said in an email to the Register on Wednesday evening.

The Rams started their online campaign Monday morning at the website WelcomeHomeRams.com, and it will continue until Feb. 8, pending availability, the team said.

The season-ticket pricing structure is expected to be announced in mid- to late March, at which point those fans who placed deposits can either choose to buy season tickets or have their money refunded.

That makes the 45,000 total a bit of a moving target. Also, a single $100 deposit allows a fan to purchase up to eight season tickets, so the Rams’ season-ticket base could be substantial.

The Rams are expected to play the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons in the Coliseum, but the placement of a deposit now guarantees a spot on the season-ticket wait list when the Rams’ new stadium in Inglewood opens in 2019. A deposit also grants "exclusive access" to 2016 single-game tickets.

It's been a little over a week since Natalie Cole passed away and her family is now revealing her cause of death. Last weekend, the R&B singer ...


In a statement released by the team, Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said, "We could not be more pleased by Los Angeles’ passion for the return of the Rams. It is evident that our fans are excitedt o be part of history this year in the Coliseum and their energy is fueling our organization as we begin to build our new stadium in Inglewood.
 

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Jim Thomas Talks Rams Coverage After Relocation, ‘Strange’ Rams Park Environment. He joined The Hollywood Casino Press Box a week after the NFL voted the Rams would relocate to Los Angeles.

Listen to JT Interview

============

On writing about the Rams after the move:

"It's still kind of uncharted territory. I think we'll still kind of cover the team...Judging by the number of people online...there are a lot of people still reading Rams stories. We don't know how long this will go on in terms of people here still being interested in the Rams."