"I think St. Louis is a great home for the Rams," Rosenbloom said. "I don't see any reason why we would move the team. I know people have speculated about after our benchmarks are up, then we'll move. I think St. Louis is as committed to the Rams as the Rams are committed to St. Louis.
"Certainly, I don't see any reason why we would initiate a move to any other city."
Rosenbloom said he and his sister appreciate the way St. Louis treated their mother, the late Georgia Frontiere, after the team moved to St. Louis from Los Angeles in 1995.
"I can tell you that the reception here is greatly different from what we experienced in Los Angeles," Rosenbloom said. "We are from Los Angeles and love Los Angeles, but the experience in St. Louis as the children of the owner of a football team was remarkably different. We thank you, and we thank the fans for their support."
Rosenbloom and Rodriguez have equally split the 60 percent share of the Rams formerly owned by their mother, who died Jan. 18 after a six-month battle with breast cancer.
Rosenbloom is the controlling partner as mandated by the NFL. "Stan Kroenke remains the Rams' minority owner with a 40-percent share of the team.
Despite the Rams' 3-13 record last season, Rosenbloom gave Rams coach Scott Linehan a strong vote of confidence.
"This is somebody who is an avid football fan and somebody who is dedicated to the Rams, and I saw a team that was decimated by injuries last year," Rosenbloom said. "I saw us rebound when players came back. I saw a coach who handled these losses and some of the problems with team relationships with grace and dignity and quietly. I saw offseason moves that were remarkable done very quickly.
"I have a lot of respect for what Scott has done this offseason."
Rosenbloom said his mother also was in Linehan's corner, actually saying, "He's a winner, and we're keeping him," after watching the Rams' struggles from her hospital room.
"My mom had been around football for nearly 50 years, so she had seen the ups and downs of football organizations," Rosenbloom said. "I remember conversations with (Rams President) John (Shaw) and my mom in her hospital room where she said he was having a tough time with a lot of injuries, but he's a good guy, a good coach."
Rosenbloom said he thought the Rams had the talent to make a quick rebound this season.
"The very idea that the (New York) Giants won the Super Bowl, I don't know anybody in the room, besides someone who was psychic, who would have predicted that the Giants would have won the Super Bowl," Rosenbloom said. "I also want to remind you that two seasons ago we went 8-8. I consider this a playoff-caliber team. Once we get into the playoffs, we have every shot at getting to the Super Bowl."
Rosenbloom also pointed to the Rams' remarkable run to a Super Bowl championship in 1999 after going 4-12 the previous season as proof of how fast a team's fortunes can change in the NFL.
Rosenbloom said his mother predicted the rise to stardom of backup quarterback Kurt Warner after being informed by Shaw in a telephone call that starter Trent Green had suffered a season-ending injury in an exhibition game.
"Lucia and I were with my mom, and he talked about the injury to Trent Green," Rosenbloom said. "It was, 'Oh, no. What is going to happen?' My mom said, 'I think we might have another Johnny Unitas on our hands.' That is an absolutely true story. And, she was right."
Rosenbloom said his mother's prophesy was based on having met with Warner and his wife, Brenda.
"She had been impressed just casually," Rosenbloom said. "She said, 'I just had a feeling about him."'
Rosenbloom, who has a successful career as a film producer and director, said he doesn't plan on being a hands-on owner like the Cowboys' Jerry Jones or Washington's Dan Snyder.
Rosenbloom is trying to balance his new duties as the Rams' owner with his film-making career.
"We're working on that right now," Rosenbloom said. "I turned down a directing job that was shooting this fall. I told them that I wasn't able to do that until next year.
"At the same time, Lucia and I both have family responsibilities, but the Rams are clearly a priority. You'll be seeing a lot of us."
Rosenbloom and Rodriguez said the Rams will honor the memory of their mother in several ways this season.
Players will wear a patch bearing Georgia Frontiere's signature on their jerseys. There also will be a special ceremony at halftime of the team's first home game on Sept. 14 against the Giants and the formation of a new team award, the Georgia Frontiere Humanitarian Award, to go along with the team's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards.
Rodriguez said charitable endeavors were important to her mother, whose favorite charity was the Variety Club. She kept photographs of Variety Club children in her hospital room during her illness.
"On her toughest days, she'd look at the pictures of these children said she'd say, 'You know what, Lucia, as hard as this is, I have nothing to complain about because look at what these kids go through every day of their lives,"' Rodriguez said.
While Rosenbloom and Rodriguez weren't born in St. Louis like their mother, they still have deep appreciation for the city.
"As everybody knows, St. Louis was my mom's hometown, my grandmother's hometown, my great-grandmother's hometown, and if we find the family Bible, we'll find out how far back that actually goes," Rosenbloom said. "We visited as children, but as you know, we didn't grow up here. We have a fondness for St. Louis since we were children visiting our great -grandmother here as little kids.
"I want to ensure you that Lucia and I are committed to St. Louis. We're grateful for the reception that we have experienced so far."
Contact reporter Steve Korte at skorte@bnd.com or 239-2522.
