SO-FI: Oh, my…

So-Fi: Oh My​

[sportstalkline.com]

I'm a lifelong 49ers fan and a 17-year season ticket holder, let's get that out of the way first. I love attending home games at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, but it has nothing on the brand new home of the Los Angeles Rams, So-Fi Stadium. Rams and NFL fans alike had a chance to view the stadium after the initial 2020 year for fans was halted by the COVID pandemic. Fans that signed up for the Rams newsletter e-mails as well as connected by social media were alerted about the open practice at the beginning of the month taking place on June 10th, 2021. Even NFL and Rams great Issac Bruce was in the building checking out the new digs.

In an unbiased opinion, Ram's new home is utterly stunning and amazing. Truth be told after you go through the typical horrendous LA traffic to get to a fully loaded lot, you'll think to yourself "This isn't much at all", but the closer you get to the stadium the more you'll be amazed.

It's a fully open stadium, but it had tons of shade and cover from the very persistent LA sun. Everything from the entrance to the surrounding area is stunning. It has waterfalls, it has stairs (tons of stairs leading to everywhere), and it has very relaxing club and suite areas. The only thing noticeable at first glance is that the seats at the very top of the stadium are very steep and give could remind one of a double diamond ski route. The design, architecture, and layout are very well thought out & remind 49ers fans what Levis could have been like.

There were about 30,000 fans attending the first anything at So-Fi Stadium, and the turnout itself was invigorating. Another thing fans will love to watch while attending games is the sophisticated circular video board the encompasses the whole stadium. Whether you're seated in section 140 or 540 there's no problem in viewing the video board.

To be honest, it's quite hard to judge the food supposedly going to be offered during game days, but So-Fi offered fans bagged chips and soda for purchase. If you were looking for some insight as to what might be offered, Arash Markazi gave fans a glimpse not too long ago on social media & it looks tasty.

Good luck trying to get help from the ushers and help around the stadium as most didn't know where any seats were and most often taking out maps or trying to use their tablets for tidbits for information. In all reality, much patience is needed as literally everything is new to employees as well as fans. Everyone working the event was outgoing and provided the very best customer help/service. They still had some Ram's team's classics like the chant, "Who's House, RAMS HOUSE!", which was always a staple at all the gems attended at the old LA Memorial Coliseum.

With appearances by coach Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and others, fans were entertained with Rams players going through standard drills. Stafford, Kupp, and McVay all also took the time out to interview for fans viewing pleasure. Matthew Stafford even stayed after the practice to sign items for fans as he was heading back into the tunnels

The Rams have a very fan-friendly team store that contains anything you could imagine & what seems like every rams player jersey in every size, color, and type (replica, authentic, etc). The only thing not too fan-friendly is the prices for some apparel, while the mark-up isn't egregious it's still there. For a replica jersey that costs $120 the team store at So-Fi has priced at $130, and there weren't any sale racks insight if you were looking for any.

The main takeaway from attending the open practice other than the stadium is amazing, is that fans will have a good time regardless of the outcome. Stanley Kroenke and Les Snead did a great job in following through with their promise to bring a state-of-the-art stadium to LA. Don't be alarmed by the area it's in either as Inglewood isn't like it was 30 years ago. I do implore all that attend any game, get there early as the hardest part of your day will be just getting there. From there on out it's heavenly which is quite fitting for LA & its fans. It quite possibly could be the best stadium in California. You must go!