Bell: Rams give new Los Angeles fans reason to cheer with Jared Goff

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams have been on the clock in more ways than one for quite a while.

“This a dream come true for so many people,” Stephen Sarinara-Lampson told USA TODAY Sports, while in the midst of the festive noise. “No one in my generation would have ever imagined this.”

Sarinara-Lampson, a middle-aged, long-time Rams fan, grew up watching Jack Snow, Roman Gabriel and the Fearsome Foursome. His late father used to take him to the L.A. Coliseum to watch the games from the nosebleed seats.

“That was all we could afford,” he added, chuckling.

“I just wish my dad was here to see this. This is surreal. And it hasn’t even begun yet.”

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He was among roughly 4,000 fans who packed a plaza at L.A. Live, the entertainment venue adjacent to the Staples Center. They were the lucky few thousand, winning the lottery for tickets to attend the team’s draft party, which is so much bigger than the christening of quarterback Jared Goff as the first pick in the draft and new face of the franchise.

The Rams are home again, and regardless of what we think about the NFL’s revenue-making business, politics and the poor fans left without a team in St. Louis, they are welcomed by so many.

Sure, there’s so much to do in Los Angeles. There is Hollywood, beaches and entertainment options galore. Yet on Thursday night, the Rams party took center stage as the place to be – just across the street from the hotel where team decision-makers huddled in their makeshift conference room.

“Some of these fans don’t give a hoot about football,” Eric Dickerson, the Hall of Fame running back, told USA TODAY Sports. “But it’s like a boyfriend or a wife who left and came back. I think there’s still a love affair.”

Dickerson, one of the greatest players in Rams history, never left Southern California. He still lives in swanky Calabasas, knowing better than most what it’s been like in the market without the team and how the return resonates.

“The good thing,” Dickerson said, “is you don’t have to create fans.”

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There’s undoubtedly a passionate fan base. And man were they decked out in style to show that, with throwback Rams jersey the attire of the hour.

Dickerson. Kurt Warner. Deacon Jones. Jack Youngblood. Nolan Cromwell. Marshall Faulk. You could tell the franchise’s history through the jerseys alone.

“I need my season tickets!” Aaron Gray, rocking a No. 12 James Harris jersey, told USA TODAY Sports.

Gray, a middle-aged man who used to sell Rams special edition newspapers at the Coliseum, won party tickets through a lottery of fans who applied for season tickets. Now he’s waiting to see whether he’ll get season tickets for the games.

The Rams will play at the cavernous Coliseum until their new stadium in Inglewood is completed, with a target date of 2019.

“It really didn’t matter if they are playing in Inglewood, Carson, Irvine, or wherever,” Gray said. “I’m going. I’m all-in.”

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He’s bullish on Goff, Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, Jeff Fisher, and any and everybody associated with the Rams.

This is part of what happens when there’s a new deal. There’s buzz on top of buzz. Optimism flows.

Never mind that Goff had the worst college won-loss record (14-23) of any quarterback selected No. 1 overall in the draft. Hey, the Rams – 7-9 last season, and mediocre for the most part since those Greatest Show on Turf days in St. Louis — are still undefeated since their return to LA.

Give it some time. At some point, the glow of the Honeymoon will fade.

But that’s not the issue at the moment. Not here. Not now. It’s fresh, bolstered by the Rams’ aggressive move to the top of the draft, and the position to select Goff.

“You couldn’t start over any better after making a move,” said Dickerson. “Say no more. But the one thing they have to do is win.”

Ah, winning. At some point, that becomes the bottom line for even the most rabid fans.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

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