Welcome home, Los Angeles Rams

As a 17-year-old Angeleno, I have lived my life as an L.A. sports fan invested in the Los Angeles Kings, the Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers and even from time to time the Ducks and the Angels. I was born in 1998, four years after Los Angeles lost a professional football team. So, I have grown up with football being about USC, UCLA and, of course, the Friday Night Lights of high school football.

It is pretty exciting that the NFL voted to bring the St. Louis Rams back to Los Angeles. This is particularly electrifying because prior to playing in St. Louis from 1995-2015, the team played in the greater Los Angeles area from 1946 to 1994 as the Los Angeles Rams — so welcome home Los Angeles Rams!

The NFL also gave the Chargers a one-year option to join them if they reach an agreement with Rams owner Stan Kroenke to share the new stadium in Inglewood. If the Chargers don’t take the option, the Oakland Raiders would then be given the opportunity to join the Rams.

The Rams are a bright, young team with a top-level defense and a very promising offense. Running back Todd Gurley will be a superstar, and wide receiver Tavon Austin is the most electrifying player in the league. The Rams are a team moving in a positive direction.

The Rams will be playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum while their new, state of the art stadium that will be built in Inglewood is completed in 2019, which is located off the 405 and 105 freeways near Los Angeles International Airport and, of course, the iconic Randy’s Donuts. The move to Los Angeles will allow them to play in the nation’s second-biggest television market.

I remember my mom talking about growing up in Los Angeles and going to games at the historic Coliseum to watch the Rams play. She describes that watching pro football live is electrifying, that having the Rams to root for was a part of the Angeleno culture.

To me, the best part about the Rams’ return is that I have an actual team to cheer for in the NFL. Throughout my life, I had to pick a random team to cheer for and I am ashamed to say that I was a bandwagon fan. But, I was a bandwagon fan out of necessity. I had no NFL team to cheer for.

No longer do I need to field questions about why I cheered for the Seahawks, Eagles or Panthers; I can proudly now say that I cheer for the Los Angeles Rams!