We all remember those special times with our parents. When there was just the two of us, mom and son or dad and son. I was lucky. I had several.
And one of those special memories had to do with the first Super Bowl game very played.
Yep, I was at that game with my dad and my two brothers. I don’t remember if mom was with us but she used to go to many of the games.
It was 1967 and it was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was the Green Bay Packers against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers won easily, 35-10. It was called the AFL-NFL Championship Game.
My dad was a sports fan. He played football. Was quite good back in the day. He got a full ride to Yale University on a football scholarship. In fact, it was family lore that he slept on the coach of future President of the United States, Gerald Ford, who was a backfield coach at the time.
Dad had season tickets to the Rams and the Dodgers. It was a time to spend with my dad and my two brothers. I cherished those times. But the Rams were perennial losers. They lost year-after-year, back in those decades of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Then they moved to St. Louis.
Their first trip as the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl was in 1980, identified as Super Bowl XIV, and it ended in a defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19. Typical of the Rams, it was the first time, and only time since, that a team made it to the Super Bowl with just nine wins. The Rams were 9-7 that year.
So, this past Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams were back in the Super Bowl, it brought back memories of the long-suffering Ram fan, who never saw his team win a championship. Like the Cubs, the Rams were a bust year-after-year. The Rams would always come up short.
The one time the Rams won the championship they were the St. Louis Rams. But that was special, I have to admit. No question about it. The Rams finally won it all. I was a happy camper that day and shared my joy with pop.
This past Sunday, brother Dan and I commiserated about this Super Bowl prior to it being played. We both suspected that the end result was going to be a loss. We prepared ourselves for it, having been through it so many times before.
We also prepared ourselves for the team to underperform and they didn’t disappoint. I mean, these are the Rams.
It’s great, though, that they got to the Super Bowl at all. It really is special and we, as a region, applaud their season. I love the L.A. Rams. Always will. They are my team, forever and a day.
In any event, Danny and I commiserated and that was nice. It’s always special to share memories and current moments with one’s brother. It’s worth the price of admission. Talk soon.
