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Rams return to Friday Night Lights
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_443a957a-e405-52ca-a115-695bea912275.html
There is no Fan Fest at the Edward Jones Dome this year to highlight the second week of training camp. But there will be Friday Night Lights at Lindenwood University.
For the first time in several years, the Rams are returning to St. Charles and Lindenwood on Friday for their annual camp practice/rookie scrimmage. Gates open at 4 p.m. Practice starts at 5 p.m. Admission is free, the concession stands will be open, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
And yes, even though it will be daylight throughout the practice, the lights will be turned on at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.
“They have a great stadium; we hope we fill it up,” Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff said. “We really like the atmosphere on Friday, filling up Lindenwood. While we like the practice at the Edward Jones Dome, it just always felt more empty when you had 14,000-15,000 people in the (66,000-seat) building. They get lost. The practice always was a little more dull.”
Whereas at Lindenwood, if 10,000 people show up, the stadium will be packed. Parking is free, which isn’t usually the case downtown. And the venue not only is closer to fans in west St. Louis County and St. Charles County, but the logistics are easier for the players as well.
“It’s fun for the fans,” Demoff said. “You walk down the hill, you can sit on the grass and have a picnic. You can sit in the stadium. It’s just a different, more intimate environment, and that’s really what we were looking for.”
There were reports early in the offseason that the Dome’s Fan Fest had been canceled as part of cutbacks foreshadowing the team’s potential move to Los Angeles. Demoff called those reports erroneous and ill-sourced on Thursday.
“There was no change to our events schedule,” Demoff said. “And I know there was a story that we cut back on events. We had the same season-ticket holder draft party. Same scrimmage.
“We did cancel a couple events. A yoga for young adults at Rams Park, that I don’t know was well-attended; that was canceled. Every year we look at what events were successful. What events weren’t. How you improve events.”
One of the most popular aspects of the Fan Fest at the Dome was the opportunity for fans to walk on the field and walk through the locker room. Demoff said the team is working with the Dome people to see if they can do something like that before a preseason game.
After drawing 955 spectators for Thursday’s practice at Rams Park, the Rams are averaging just under 1,200 fans a practice through five sessions. That’s very similar to what they’ve drawn in past seasons.
“The crowds have been great and we’ve been thrilled with them,” Demoff said.
Following the Lindenwood event, there will be only a handful of open practices remaining at Rams Park this camp. Even so, Demoff says he plans to make his annual appearance at the dunking booth in the parking lot.
“There will be an appearance before the end of camp,” Demoff said. “There may be a lot of people lined up for the dunking booth this year. Stay tuned, but we may need some extra time.”
That was a reference, of course, to fans disgruntled over the potential move to Los Angeles wanting to take a shot at Demoff in the dunking booth. Some fans Thursday apparently were unhappy about not being able to bring signs in to practice, many of which have hit on variations of the “Keep the Rams in St. Louis” theme.
Demoff said small signs were allowed; but not big ones.
But back to Lindenwood. The Rams haven’t practiced there since the Steve Spagnuolo coaching era, so this will be coach Jeff Fisher’s first session there.
“I went by there (Wednesday) and took a tour, and it’s a great stadium,” Fisher said. “It’s in great shape, so I think the guys will like it. Even though we’re starting at 5 o’clock, the lights will be on. You put the lights on Friday night, it’s a little different for them.”
Not many Rams have practiced at Lindenwood, but veteran linebacker James Laurinaitis is one of the handful who have.
“I do it like it, just because it’s a smaller venue,” Laurinaitis said. “The Dome’s nice, but we’re not packing it with 50,000 fans for a practice. So it’ll be nice to go to Lindenwood. I like the small college feel for those practices.”
The format should be basically the same as was the case for the past practices/scrimmages in the Dome.
“We’re going to get good quality work,” Fisher said. “We’re going to compete early in the one-on-one situations. We will have some passing situations in two-minute (drill), a run period.”
And usually, Fisher concludes with a 10-to-12 play live-tackling scrimmage involving the rookies and younger players.
“It’s where a lot of young guys can really make a name,” Laurinaitis said. “It’s the first chance really to show who can tackle well, who’s not afraid to get hit, and who can take a hit, and kind of go from there.”
Fans are being asked to bring school supplies such as pencils, paper, crayons, and notebooks as part of the KidSmart “Push for Pencils” initiative.
All fans who make such a donations Friday at the stadium entrances will be entered into a raffle for tickets to the Sept. 13 season opener against Seattle and autographed items.
“Just our way of giving back for kids who can’t afford school supplies or may need help with school supplies so they can use that money for other things,” said tight end Jared Cook, the Rams’ KidSmart ambassador.
Joe Lyons of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this story.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_443a957a-e405-52ca-a115-695bea912275.html
There is no Fan Fest at the Edward Jones Dome this year to highlight the second week of training camp. But there will be Friday Night Lights at Lindenwood University.
For the first time in several years, the Rams are returning to St. Charles and Lindenwood on Friday for their annual camp practice/rookie scrimmage. Gates open at 4 p.m. Practice starts at 5 p.m. Admission is free, the concession stands will be open, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
And yes, even though it will be daylight throughout the practice, the lights will be turned on at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.
“They have a great stadium; we hope we fill it up,” Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff said. “We really like the atmosphere on Friday, filling up Lindenwood. While we like the practice at the Edward Jones Dome, it just always felt more empty when you had 14,000-15,000 people in the (66,000-seat) building. They get lost. The practice always was a little more dull.”
Whereas at Lindenwood, if 10,000 people show up, the stadium will be packed. Parking is free, which isn’t usually the case downtown. And the venue not only is closer to fans in west St. Louis County and St. Charles County, but the logistics are easier for the players as well.
“It’s fun for the fans,” Demoff said. “You walk down the hill, you can sit on the grass and have a picnic. You can sit in the stadium. It’s just a different, more intimate environment, and that’s really what we were looking for.”
There were reports early in the offseason that the Dome’s Fan Fest had been canceled as part of cutbacks foreshadowing the team’s potential move to Los Angeles. Demoff called those reports erroneous and ill-sourced on Thursday.
“There was no change to our events schedule,” Demoff said. “And I know there was a story that we cut back on events. We had the same season-ticket holder draft party. Same scrimmage.
“We did cancel a couple events. A yoga for young adults at Rams Park, that I don’t know was well-attended; that was canceled. Every year we look at what events were successful. What events weren’t. How you improve events.”
One of the most popular aspects of the Fan Fest at the Dome was the opportunity for fans to walk on the field and walk through the locker room. Demoff said the team is working with the Dome people to see if they can do something like that before a preseason game.
After drawing 955 spectators for Thursday’s practice at Rams Park, the Rams are averaging just under 1,200 fans a practice through five sessions. That’s very similar to what they’ve drawn in past seasons.
“The crowds have been great and we’ve been thrilled with them,” Demoff said.
Following the Lindenwood event, there will be only a handful of open practices remaining at Rams Park this camp. Even so, Demoff says he plans to make his annual appearance at the dunking booth in the parking lot.
“There will be an appearance before the end of camp,” Demoff said. “There may be a lot of people lined up for the dunking booth this year. Stay tuned, but we may need some extra time.”
That was a reference, of course, to fans disgruntled over the potential move to Los Angeles wanting to take a shot at Demoff in the dunking booth. Some fans Thursday apparently were unhappy about not being able to bring signs in to practice, many of which have hit on variations of the “Keep the Rams in St. Louis” theme.
Demoff said small signs were allowed; but not big ones.
But back to Lindenwood. The Rams haven’t practiced there since the Steve Spagnuolo coaching era, so this will be coach Jeff Fisher’s first session there.
“I went by there (Wednesday) and took a tour, and it’s a great stadium,” Fisher said. “It’s in great shape, so I think the guys will like it. Even though we’re starting at 5 o’clock, the lights will be on. You put the lights on Friday night, it’s a little different for them.”
Not many Rams have practiced at Lindenwood, but veteran linebacker James Laurinaitis is one of the handful who have.
“I do it like it, just because it’s a smaller venue,” Laurinaitis said. “The Dome’s nice, but we’re not packing it with 50,000 fans for a practice. So it’ll be nice to go to Lindenwood. I like the small college feel for those practices.”
The format should be basically the same as was the case for the past practices/scrimmages in the Dome.
“We’re going to get good quality work,” Fisher said. “We’re going to compete early in the one-on-one situations. We will have some passing situations in two-minute (drill), a run period.”
And usually, Fisher concludes with a 10-to-12 play live-tackling scrimmage involving the rookies and younger players.
“It’s where a lot of young guys can really make a name,” Laurinaitis said. “It’s the first chance really to show who can tackle well, who’s not afraid to get hit, and who can take a hit, and kind of go from there.”
Fans are being asked to bring school supplies such as pencils, paper, crayons, and notebooks as part of the KidSmart “Push for Pencils” initiative.
All fans who make such a donations Friday at the stadium entrances will be entered into a raffle for tickets to the Sept. 13 season opener against Seattle and autographed items.
“Just our way of giving back for kids who can’t afford school supplies or may need help with school supplies so they can use that money for other things,” said tight end Jared Cook, the Rams’ KidSmart ambassador.
Joe Lyons of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this story.