They can take the Rams out of St. Louis, but magical memories remain

If you closed your eyes for a moment and just paid attention to the sights and sounds Saturday inside what used to be known as the TWA Dome, it all seemed too familiar.

St. Louis Rams pregame player introductions with the haunting beat of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” blaring in the background. Nothing had changed.

Clouds of smoke and chutes of flames filled the tunnel as Rams players were introduced. Isaac Bruce. Kurt Warner. Torry Holt. Orlando Pace. Adam Timmerman. Jeff Wilkins. Coaches Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz.

Those players once were part of a team that rose from the basement of the NFC and won a Super Bowl, riding the “Greatest Show on Turf” offense and a cast of characters right out of a Hollywood movie.

Instead of a game from the magical Super Bowl season of 1999, this was 2016 and what figures to be the Rams’ final appearance in their old home. The franchise ditched St. Louis after the 2015 season and moved to Los Angeles, where owner Stan Kroenke will open a mega-stadium in three years.

Speaking of Kroenke, several fans wore t-shirts and jerseys with derogatory slams at Kroenke. Many in this city have sworn off NFL football altogether because of the franchise’s move, the action of Kroenke, or both.

The wounds are still deep and painful.

As a way to say thank you to the city’s long-suffering football fans, which have now lost two NFL franchises counting the Arizona Cardinals, Bruce invited his ex-teammates to participate in the “Legends of the Dome” charity flag-football game on Saturday.

More than 40 of them showed up and were happy to do so.

“This event was great,” said Pace, who got a standing ovation from a crowd estimated at 10,000 when he was honored for his upcoming Hall of Fame induction next month. “So many guys came out and it was a great showing by the fans, too. It shows the support of the fans here in St. Louis and what we mean to them — and hopefully we could give that love back to them today.”

Fans packed autograph lines throughout the day, taking advantage of getting things signed and getting photos taken with Rams players and coaches.

Vermeil and Martz, who helped bring a Super Bowl title to St. Louis, coached against each other in a wild flag-football game that featured wide-open offense. Along with numerous trick plays, former Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins caught several passes, including a touchdown pass, and former Rams offensive lineman Adam Timmerman scored a TD on a “fumblerooskie” play as well.

At halftime, Warner’s wife, Brenda, huddled up with Vermeil and former Rams offensive line coach Jim Hanifan.

Fans loved it and couldn’t get enough of their former heroes. While it’s true there were a lot more bad times than good during the Rams’ football occupation of St. Louis from 1995 to 2015, there is no escaping the magic.

Scintillating TD runs by Marshall Faulk and big-time TD catches by Bruce and Holt. Ricky Proehl’s miraculous catch that beat Tampa Bay in the NFC championship game and sent the Rams to the Super Bowl. Big plays by Az Hakim and Tony Horne and interceptions by Keith Lyle and Todd Lyght.

Watching Warner go from a no-name backup quarterback to a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, earning his opportunity only because of a preseason knee injury to expected Rams staring quarterback Trent Green.

“It brings a lot of memories in here,” former Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said. “I can remember standing right here and can still picture the place packed and some big games in here. It was bittersweet being out there today, but I’m glad Isaac organized it.”

Few took the Rams move to Los Angeles harder than Lois Linton, who recently moved from Collinsville to Waterloo.

Linton was a Rams season ticket holder since the first game in St. Louis, sitting in Section 118, Row B once the team moved from Busch Stadium to the Edward Jones Dome.

She was on the field early Saturday for the private autograph session, with 1,000 people paying $100 each to get autographs from Rams players and coaches.

She showed up wearing golden Rams horns in her hair, a navy blue Rams shirt decorated with collector pins and toting some of what she said were hundreds of signs that she used to make before every home game.

“I only missed one game and that was a preseason game when my horse was sick,” Linton said. “It’s great. It’s fabulous. I got to be friends with a lot of guys on the team, the coaches and everything. It’s great that Isaac put this together, it’s a big deal.”

It also gave both fans and players alike a chance to say good-bye.

“They just left after the last game and we thought well, this is probably it, but we sure hoped not,” Linton said. “But the decision had been made.”

Like all Rams fans, Linton’s favorite moment was the Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans. But Linton just liked coming to Rams games, period.

“You know what? Even when we were losing I loved it,” she said. “It didn’t make any difference to me, I loved the game.”

Nathan Jackson, a 6-year-old from Columbia, was the beneficiary of his grandmother’s Rams auction win. Maggie Jackson was the high bidder on a chance to be a ballboy for the charity game, meaning Nathan Jackson and his father, Dave Jackson, were on the field and up close and personal with the players and coaches.

Dave Jackson held a regulation NFL football in his hands that included numerous autographs. His son was having the time of his life as a ballboy on the sidelines, racking up memories that will last a lifetime.

It was that way for Rams fans, many of whom became emotional Saturday.

After the game, all the players gathered at midfield for another round of photos. They left the group and posed for pictures with VIPs and family members, then noticed that many fans in the stands hadn’t yet left the dome.

The fans stood, just watching and waiting, forming a circle in the lower bowl around the playing field. Some of the players took the opportunity to take what amounted to a victory lap, waving or signing autographs and posing for photos.

There is no more NFL football in St. Louis, but the league and L.A. Rams owner Stan Kroenke can’t take away the memories. Saturday’s football farewell was Exhibit A for that.

This story was originally published July 23, 2016 at 8:06 PM with the headline "They can take the Rams out of St. Louis, but magical memories remain."