Ram your way to the St. Louis Rams

Named after King Louis the IX of France, St Louis Missouri (the Gateway City) sits proudly on the mighty Mississippi River. It was the host city for the 1904 World's Fair and Olympic games. The city has a long history of manufacturing and is presently a global force in the areas of medicine and biotechnology. It is also home of the St. Louis Rams NFL team.

The St. Louis Rams are in the Western Division of the NFC in the NFL. Formerly named the Cleveland Rams, the team moved several times including a stint in Los Angeles, California; finally settling in St. Louis Missouri. The team colors are New Century gold, blue and white. Team helmets are painted with a ram's horn logo. The logo was originally sketched in pen-and-ink by Halfback Fred Gehrke. Fred was a college art major back in 1947. It appears that his art major wasn't a complete waste of time unlike my English major.

The St. Louis Rams have won 3 NFL championships including the Super Bowl back in 1999. Fans may recall Super Bowl XXXIV where the Rams beat the Tennessee Titans 23-16. The final play of the game, commonly referred to as "the Tackle" is where St. Louis linebacker Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson of the Titans on the one-yard line to prevent a tie. The game was narrated in part by actor and football fan, Edward James Olmos.

A few notable players for the St. Louis Rams include hall of famers Dan Dierdorf, Larry Wilson and Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. Head coach Dick Vermeil (same guy that coached the Eagles back in the days of Vince Papale) is also a recipient of the NFL Coach of the Year for his fantastic job during the 1999 season.

Interestingly, the St. Louis Rams had to suspend an entire season back in 1943 due to a shortage of players during WWII. Today, the field and stadium seats for the St. Louis Rams are far from empty. Go Rams!