Interesting that Torry thinks 1999-2000 might have been the best year of his life. Those of you too young to remember may not realize how remarkable that year was. Still sweet, 15 years later. I've followed plenty of good teams over the years, but the 99 Rams are my all-time favorite. Still pains me that they let London Fletcher go; and the Super Bowl 36 loss to the Patriots is the most painful for me of all time. Changed the perception of the GSOT team from a dynasty, to a one-hit wonder. To this day, still HATE Bill Bellichek, and hate Mike Martz' intractability.
Brief review; some newbies may not realize how magical that 99 team was:
Dick Vermiel had a tough go here at first; long, difficult practices, with near revolts by the team. Bad draft picks - e.g. Lawrence Phillips. Then they caught a couple breaks. Got Marshall Faulk from the Colts for 2nd and 5th round draft picks{!}, and signed local boy Trent Green - who'd had a decent year or two with the Redskins - as their key free agent. I was at the Dome when Green was submarined by Rodney Harrison and injured; you could have heard a pin drop. Recall Isaac Bruce pounding the turf in frustration - still the same old SOSAR - Same Old Sorry Ass Rams - that the 49ers called them. (At that point, the Rams had lost something like 17 straight games to the Niners.)
Then - who knew? - it suddenly gelled. Kurt Warner had starred in Arena League football - all quickness and precision - so the NFL game was slowed down for him. (At least until he took too many hits and broke his hand, courtesy of Mad Martz' precision passing attack.) The Warner Brothers - Bruce, Holt, Hakeem, Proehl - each precision route-runners and ideal in their roles - and Marshall Faulk - the ultimate safety valve, coach-on-the-field all purpose back, with Martz designing the plays and Warner delivering, on time and in the perfect spot. It was off to the races.
A couple of things have always stuck with me: NO ONE saw it coming; and the Rams came close to being undefeated. Regarding the first: EVERY Rams game in 1999 was a noon or mid-day Sunday game; not a single Monday night game, or even the feature second game of a double header. They were NEVER featured the entire year. Sure, after a while John Madden's bus became a feature outside the Dome; but plenty of NFL fans never saw the Rams play, the entire year. Regarding the second: The Rams first loss was at Tennessee - they fell behind Jeff Fisher's Titans by a couple of touchdowns by halftime; caught up; but lost by a field goal. That was their first loss. The second? They played poorly in Detroit, rallied for a late-game lead; then lost when the Lions completed a 4th-down-and-26 pass to pull out a miracle. Their third loss was last game of the year, at Philadelphia. The Eagles had trouble with the seams of their artificial turf, which had caused some injuries; so the Rams rested a number of their offensive stars to avoid any risks. Otherwise? The Rams dominated. They had a relatively easy schedule, but what sticks in my mind is maybe the third game of the year, against the Falcons. The Falcons had played in the Super Bowl the previous year; the Rams led them 35-0 at halftime. (This is all from memory - sorry if there are mistakes.) Another high point - the Niners game at home. Rams won 42-20, to break the 17-game streak; I can still recall Isaac Bruce in tears on the sideline - the win meant so much to him. (And I think the game was #100 in the all-time series between the two teams; record of each team against the other was 48-48-1. Ever since, it's been about 50-50.)
Then, the post season. First game was against the Vikings, quarterbacked by Jeff George, who had a checkered college career at Illinois, etc., and was universally loathed in St. Louis. Every Rams fan felt the obligation to scream "Defense" at the top of our lungs, to screw up Jeff George. Vikings led 17-14 at half; Tony Horne ran the second half kickoff back for a touchdown, and before you know it is was 49-17, Rams. Then, Tampa Bay. The Bucs totally shut down the GSOT - first time all year - and the game was 6-5, Bucs, with maybe 3 minutes left. Rams were driving, but their kicker had pulled a groin or something, so had limited range. The Rams faced a 3rd and 5 - something like that - on maybe the Bucs 35 yard line. I was at the game, and concerned they were still out of field goal range, so wanted them merely to pick up the first down. Instead, the risky pass down the sideline to Ricky Proehl. I was in the north end zone, and still remember yelling "No, no, no, no...YES!" (You wouldn't want me as your offensive coordinator.)
Then, SB XXXIV, of course, and "the tackle" - which doesn't even make the top ten Super Bowls of all time anymore. What are they - nuts? The Patriots win in XXXVI is on that list - all the more reason to hate the evil empire. Ugh.
One last story, I've never told before. Monday after the 2000 Super Bowl, Rams had a parade in STL - frigidly cold. The next morning, I had to travel to Harlingen, TX for a deposition; caught a 6:30am flight to New Orleans. Sat in the aisle seat, second row behind the bulkhead. The guy right in front of me was...Marshall Faulk. I could look over his shoulder; and saw he was reading the USA Today. There was a picture of Georgia and some Rams in the parade, including him - and I was SO tempted to ask for his autograph. But another article was about the arrest of Ray Lewis on a possible homicide charge - remember that? Marshall read that article, then fell asleep. I didn't know if he knew Ray Lewis, or what he thought of the charge; didn't want to intrude; and, I was a 50-year-old white guy - too self-conscious to intrude. And nobody else on the plane was paying the slightest attention. So I sat there and squirmed until we landed. As we got our overhead bags, I asked "Are you Marshall Faulk?" He nodded yes, I said something like "biggest thrill I've ever had in sports", he said "thanks" - and went off into the concourse. And the season was over.
So patience, people. Not the Rams fault the NFC West is suddenly loaded. All they can do is make smart decisions, as they arise, with the cards they're dealt. The other teams are trying to win, too. Every once in a while, effort and planning and luck are joined by serendipity - some sort of magic - and all the frustration is worthwhile. Victory is even sweeter.
Eventually, it'll happen. Unless you're a Cubs fan.
