Watch CBS News

Football Fans Launch Campaign To Bring Rams Back To Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — With all the talk of Farmers Field being built alongside Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, a certain group of football fans believe the time is ripe for the Rams to leave St. Louis and head back to the City of Angels.

These fans have banded together to form a website, Bring Back the Los Angeles Rams.

"We all kind of feel that they've been on an extended road trip, and we've always felt that, you know, that they're still our team," LA Rams fan Tom Bateman told KNX 1070's Randy Kerdoon.

Podcast

The Rams franchise spent nearly 50 years as Los Angeles' football team, between 1946 to 1979, playing out of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. During that time, the Rams played in NFL championship games four times, winning once in 1951. In the 80s, the franchise moved to Anaheim, to what's now known as Angel Stadium, and finally to St. Louis in 1995.

Bateman says the Rams left LA because of their former owner, Georgia Frontiere, who inherited the team from her late husband Carroll Rosenbloom.

"That owner is no longer around, and it's a new ownership," he said. "And right now they have certain issues in St. Louis that we don't think are going to be worked out. We certainly think Farmer's Field and Los Angeles provide a lot greater opportunities for them."

Since planning began on the NFL stadium now known as Farmers Field in 2011, officials have been looking for teams that would be open to relocating to Los Angeles. The San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings have all been mentioned as possibilities, along with the Rams.

"If the Rams were to come back, you would instantly have fan support," Bateman said.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.