On my way to the stadium, I noticed a decent about of other Rams fans. I made sure to yell Go RAMS! to them all in the spirit of solidarity. I came across a family fully decked out in Rams gear, husband/wife and two small girls both wearing full rams cheerleader outfits with pompoms. I talked to them for a few minutes, and they asked if I would be at the game next week. I said I lived in Tampa, and they said, 'so do we, but we fly to LA for every home game'. I replied that I just dont quite roll that way but will be at the super bowl if the Rams are.
I have thought about flying to LA for games, but it must be the miser in me that says that is a silly expense even if I can afford it.
Overall, the fans were positive, even as the Rams were clearly dominating the first half. In the back of my mind, like all of us I am sure, I was dreading the fumbles and lamenting that we were not putting it away.
Some fans in stands were adamant that the fix was in and the NFL wants the Rams to win. Why? I have no idea why the NFL would want the Rams to win over anyone else, but whatever. After the game, I was asked how the 'bandwagon' felt. However, I was purposefully wearing my old St Louis colors hoodie. I have had it for about 15 years I think. I pointed that out, and we had a good talk about the game and even though he was a disappointed Bucs fan, it was cordial.
That final drive, Wow! To see it in person, after all of the amazing plays for the Bucs to tie it. I was definitely feeling like this could go badly. Would this be the Stafford forced deep ball interception!?? Would they drop everyone, and Matthew tries to force it in to OBJ in double coverage? No! Because why wouldn't you single cover Kupp with no deep help! I could not believe that throw or catch, it was amazing! COOOOOOOOOOOOP! I had to teach my son to recognize him on the field so he could yell (I am trying to get him to be more of a fan, but gen z, you know, what ya gonna do!). Watching the clock, and screaming "SPIKE IT SPIKE IT". Would they pull a Cowboys and waste the clock? Stafford was yelling and gesturing at someone that was moving slow down the field, I am not sure who it was, but he was calm and collected getting everyone up there. It seemed like they waited a few seconds to make sure the clock would expire on the kick. It was very well done.
I gotta say, from a coaching standpoint, I think McVay and Morris did a great job. The game they called should have been a 30 point win, but you cannot call the 'don't fumble' play. Even though it seemed like the offense geared down a little, if not for the fumbles they continued to drive and chew clock, but 4 fumbles, ugh. I think that cannot be emphasized enough!
THE RAMS WON, ON THE ROAD, AGAINST TOM BRADY, AGAINST A GOOD DEFENSE, IN THE PLAYOFFS, AND LOST THE TURNOVER BATTLE 4-2.
That in itself should show how dominating they actually played. Not just losing turnovers, but they were killer turnovers in terms of either direct points lost or momentum. The snap-fu after Miller strip sacking Brady could have killed the whole game. How deflating was that!
On the downside, we got stuck trying to leave the parking lot as there was an accident right at the primary exit. It took us an hour to leave the lot, at least the car was warm, and the Rams are going to the NFC Championship!
