The rumor mill has been buzzing ever since the St. Louis Rams have proposed moving their football franchise to Los Angeles because of poor game attendance. The Rams moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995 and made history. “The Greatest Show on Turf” was heard on every sports radio show or episode of SportsCenter in the early 2000’s.
The St. Louis Rams had record-breaking seasons with the best offense in the league. Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace, and Kurt Warner brought fame to the team when they brought home a Super Bowl win to St. Louis in 1999. The Rams dominated the NFL at the time, and fans were doing anything they could to get hands on tickets to see them work their magic. However, the higher the pedestal the harder the fall, and the Rams’ fame plummeted with their poor coaching staff and devastating records in years after. Attendance began to dwindle along with each disappointing season. Just 16 years after the Super Bowl ring, the Rams placed third in the NFC West with an unimpressive 7-9 record.
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With over a decade of poor performance, the Rams’ ownership believes it is time to go back to Los Angeles. First, Rams owner Stan Kroenke concluded that the people of St. Louis do not have sufficient income to sufficiently support three professional sports teams. Along with the Cardinals and the Blues, St. Louis sports fans would be spending over $200 billion annually, however the total income for the people of St. Louis is only $132 billion according to the Statement of Reasons In Support of the Rams’ Application to Relocate to Los Angeles. While this is a valid point, St. Louis has been supporting three sports teams for over 20 years. The city is financially capable of supporting the Rams, however the city does not have enough interest to sufficiently support the team financially because of their poor performance. In fact, the total personal income for Major League Baseball is over double that of the National Football League. The St. Louis Cardinals consistently sell out games and have a huge fan base despite the high cost. This is likely because the Cardinals consistently perform well, which is not the case with the Rams. This proves that to St. Louis sports fans, money is not an issue; the main issue is the outcome of the season.
St. Louis is a sports city that has the capability to support a football team; the program needs to improve before the city can do so.
