Fair-weather Rams Fans
Cameron Smith - Staff Writer
January 11, 2010
Filed under Sports
With six seconds left in the game, Steve McNair, Tennessee Titans quarterback, dropped back from the ten-yard line. The whole city of St. Louis held its breath. McNair completed a pass to Titan’s wide receiver, Kevin Dyson at the four-yard line. Just a few more steps and the Titans would have tied the game. But Mike Jones had something to say about that. Jones wrapped up Dyson’s legs at the two and a half yard line. Dyson fell and outstretched his arm to find himself just short of the goal line. In 2000, the St. Louis Rams had just won their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
“I almost started crying because I thought the Titans had won. My dad told me that it wasn’t a touchdown and we all went crazy. I was extremely pumped,” said Connor Zielonko, junior.
Fast forward ten years and we see the Rams at the end of their third consecutive losing season. The same crier finds himself saying, “I’m not a diehard fan anymore.”
Connor isn’t the only fair-weather Rams fan in St. Louis.
“I was a big fan when we were good but now I hate the Rams because they suck,” said Jake Kinsinger, junior.
Attitudes like these are not helping the hurting organization. The Rams rank 29th out of 32 in fan attendance this year. NFL teams thrive on fan support. Noisy fans can make the difference between a win and a loss. Five yards here and there from a false start penalty can make a huge difference.
Usually, people that will give up on their sports team easily will also quit things in life. The same type of person that boos the Rams at a game will be the one who quits their own football team because they’re not winning. Last season, after a disappointing 2-8 dampaign, many Westminster football players decided to quit the sport.
How a person treats their football team when it is struggling is indicative of how that person will deal with a tough situation outside of sports. If something gets hard, that type of person will just quit it and find an easier solution.
People need to support the Rams in their time of need. A true fan supports his team through all the bad times as well as the good times. It will be interesting to see all of the new diehard Rams fans when the team is good again.
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