ST. LOUIS (KTVI)–The Los Angeles Rams host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday in the NFC Championship game with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. But some of the biggest questions heading into the game aren’t about what could happen on the field at SoFi Stadium, but who will be in the crowd watching the game.
In the last week of the regular season, the 49ers upset the Rams to clinch a playoff berth on the same field, with what felt like a sizeable crowd advantage over the home-standing Rams. It was enough that Kelly Stafford, wife of Los Angeles QB Matt Stafford, pleaded with Rams fans to not sell their tickets to Arizona Cardinals fans for the Wild Card round.
The ‘don’t sell your tickets’ talk has continued this week.
Los Angeles Times columnist Dylan Hernandez wrote Tuesday that the Rams have done their part since making the move to the West Coast, citing the new coaching staff, trades made, the finished stadium, but that it will take more time for the Rams to grow on fans in the area.
“Get used to this. Children who were born when Los Angeles didn’t have a football team became of legal drinking age and the city still didn’t have a football team.
That’s not damage that can be repaired in six years.”
But then Hernandez took a cheap shot at St. Louis.
“Something like this is bound to unfold every now and then until there’s a generation of Angelenos that views the Rams as Los Angeles’ team and Los Angeles’ team only, rather than a refugee from a dump of a city in the Midwest.”
The words struck a nerve here in St. Louis, where the team had a home, won a Super Bowl, and was supported by the community.
“He calls St Louis “a dump of a city in the Midwest.” St Louis never had to beg fans to buy tickets. We always showed up. Go 49ers. Crush these arrogant jerks,” Deborah Johnson Tweeted.
101 ESPN radio host Randy Karraker took umbrage to the suggestion as well.
Post Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold, offered this defense of the city on Twitter.:
“Here is an open invitation for dinner on South Grand, my treat, after a snack at Steve’s Hot Dogs. We can play ball in vibrant Tower Grove, shop for a rare book, visit renowned GinWorld. Your description of this city does not fit my home. Let me prove it.”
FOX2 Sports Director Martin Kilcoyne may have summed it up best with his Tweet: This column “18 million reasons why a region of 18 million people can’t fill a 70,000 seat stadium” serves as an important reminder. Myth: LA really wants an #NFL team. Fact: #NFL really wants an LA team.