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Rams' equipment manager goes from L.A. to St. Louis and back again
By Arash Markazi
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ager-goes-from-l-a-to-st-louis-and-back-again
When the Rams relocated from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995, Jim Lake was a 22-year-old intern in the equipment room who helped pack the team’s uniforms in boxes and put them in moving trucks for the 2,000-mile trek to the Gateway City.
As the team's equipment manager 21 years later, Lake is tasked with moving the Rams back to Los Angeles.
“It’s exciting for me to be able to go home and be around my family," said Lake, who grew up in Orange, California, "but most of my adult life has been in St. Louis, and that’s where I met my wife and had my three boys. We made our lives here, so it’s definitely a bittersweet feeling, but we’re definitely excited about it and looking forward to the next adventure.”
When the Rams moved to St. Louis, they offered Lake a full-time job as assistant equipment manager. He was promoted to his current position five years ago.
"It was hard leaving my family and the city I grew up in, but looking back it was a great decision," Lake said. "I have loved living in St. Louis. It’s a great place to live and a great place to start a family.”
In 1995, the NFL didn’t approve the Rams' move to St. Louis until April, and the team didn’t officially move until June. Back then, according to the Los Angeles Times, “100 weight machines, 100,000 pounds in weights, 2,500 pairs of shoes, 300 cases of footballs, two blue-and-gold helmet cars, two video towers, 700 feet in covered fencing, 500 jerseys” as well as lockers, desks, chairs and computers were hauled out of Rams Park, the team’s training facility in Anaheim, in 16 trucks. Lake said the move back to L.A. this month could be twice as big.
“It’s definitely different,” he said. “The organization now is a different organization than it was 21 years ago. It’s a lot larger, and there’s a lot more stuff to move. The move was also a lot later in the year back then. That’s the biggest thing I remember.
"There was a short turnaround time in terms of packing up and leaving and getting ready for training camp. We didn’t move until the offseason was over, whereas now we’re moving much earlier. The amount of stuff we’re moving is different. The quantity of items is different. There’s just a lot more stuff. It’s a more specialized business than it was 21 years ago.”
Not only do the Rams have more to move this time, but they won't have a permanent home for all those items for a year. The Rams will hold minicamp and offseason training activities in Oxnard before moving to Orange County for training camp and then setting up a temporary training facility in the San Fernando Valley. On top of that, they will be playing their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for three years while a new stadium is being built in Inglewood.
“We’re going to have to move a lot, and that’s just part of it,” Lake said. “We move every week. We’re a moving organization. We travel every week, even when we’re at home. We don’t train at our stadium, so we move into our stadium every week. By nature we’re already a gypsy caravan. We’re always on the road, we’re always ready to move, and we’re always mobile. This is no different. It’s just larger.”
On a personal level, it's very different for Lake this time. When he moved to St. Louis 21 years ago, all he had to do was pack a suitcase. The move back won’t be as easy. He met his wife Heather, 18 years ago in St. Louis, and they have three sons -- Jonathan, Parker and Isaac -- in junior high and high school.
“I have a wife who has a wonderful career here she’s going to have to transition out of and three boys who are in school here, and they’re going to have a transition period, as well,” Lake said. “But my family is obviously excited to have us come home. They’re excited to have Thanksgiving dinner again or spend Easter together. We haven’t had that opportunity over the past 20 years. So it will be great to be back home again.”
By Arash Markazi
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ager-goes-from-l-a-to-st-louis-and-back-again
When the Rams relocated from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995, Jim Lake was a 22-year-old intern in the equipment room who helped pack the team’s uniforms in boxes and put them in moving trucks for the 2,000-mile trek to the Gateway City.
As the team's equipment manager 21 years later, Lake is tasked with moving the Rams back to Los Angeles.
“It’s exciting for me to be able to go home and be around my family," said Lake, who grew up in Orange, California, "but most of my adult life has been in St. Louis, and that’s where I met my wife and had my three boys. We made our lives here, so it’s definitely a bittersweet feeling, but we’re definitely excited about it and looking forward to the next adventure.”
When the Rams moved to St. Louis, they offered Lake a full-time job as assistant equipment manager. He was promoted to his current position five years ago.
"It was hard leaving my family and the city I grew up in, but looking back it was a great decision," Lake said. "I have loved living in St. Louis. It’s a great place to live and a great place to start a family.”
In 1995, the NFL didn’t approve the Rams' move to St. Louis until April, and the team didn’t officially move until June. Back then, according to the Los Angeles Times, “100 weight machines, 100,000 pounds in weights, 2,500 pairs of shoes, 300 cases of footballs, two blue-and-gold helmet cars, two video towers, 700 feet in covered fencing, 500 jerseys” as well as lockers, desks, chairs and computers were hauled out of Rams Park, the team’s training facility in Anaheim, in 16 trucks. Lake said the move back to L.A. this month could be twice as big.
“It’s definitely different,” he said. “The organization now is a different organization than it was 21 years ago. It’s a lot larger, and there’s a lot more stuff to move. The move was also a lot later in the year back then. That’s the biggest thing I remember.
"There was a short turnaround time in terms of packing up and leaving and getting ready for training camp. We didn’t move until the offseason was over, whereas now we’re moving much earlier. The amount of stuff we’re moving is different. The quantity of items is different. There’s just a lot more stuff. It’s a more specialized business than it was 21 years ago.”
Not only do the Rams have more to move this time, but they won't have a permanent home for all those items for a year. The Rams will hold minicamp and offseason training activities in Oxnard before moving to Orange County for training camp and then setting up a temporary training facility in the San Fernando Valley. On top of that, they will be playing their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for three years while a new stadium is being built in Inglewood.
“We’re going to have to move a lot, and that’s just part of it,” Lake said. “We move every week. We’re a moving organization. We travel every week, even when we’re at home. We don’t train at our stadium, so we move into our stadium every week. By nature we’re already a gypsy caravan. We’re always on the road, we’re always ready to move, and we’re always mobile. This is no different. It’s just larger.”
On a personal level, it's very different for Lake this time. When he moved to St. Louis 21 years ago, all he had to do was pack a suitcase. The move back won’t be as easy. He met his wife Heather, 18 years ago in St. Louis, and they have three sons -- Jonathan, Parker and Isaac -- in junior high and high school.
“I have a wife who has a wonderful career here she’s going to have to transition out of and three boys who are in school here, and they’re going to have a transition period, as well,” Lake said. “But my family is obviously excited to have us come home. They’re excited to have Thanksgiving dinner again or spend Easter together. We haven’t had that opportunity over the past 20 years. So it will be great to be back home again.”
