It has been 37 years since the Rams called the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home.
After the National Football League team went south to Anaheim in 1980, the black and silver Raider Nation arrived from Oakland to consume Exposition Park on Sundays. The Raiders eventually returned north for the 1994 season, leaving L.A. without a team. This past Saturday marked the NFL's return to L.A. and a new era for the coliseum, one where blue and gold are again friendly colors.
A Rams fan approaches a group of friends who seem to enjoy his horns and cape ensemble. The Rams mostly wore blue and yellow uniforms in Los Angeles between 1946 and 1994, though the team experimented with red for the 1949 season. After winning the Super Bowl in 1999, the St. Louis Rams switched to blue and gold, which the team has used since and plans to keep until at least 2019. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
In the years since the Rams departed for St. Louis, L.A. fans formed groups to drum up support for the team's return. The Southern California Rams Booster Club and a Facebook page called "Bring Back The Los Angeles Rams," which has since changed its name, are two large groups made up of smaller regional clubs.
The 626 Rams Club was founded by a group of friends who all happened to have phone numbers with the 626 area code, despite growing up in different neighborhoods east of Downtown L.A. They used to gather at a restaurant owned by early 90s Rams kicker Tony Zendejas to watch games, but now that the team has returned, they'll be a tailgate fixture in Exposition Park before every Rams home game.
626 Rams Club co-founders Mike Ramos (left) and Donald "Die Hard" Jimenez (right) square off in a team drinking game as the rest of the competitors watch. The pair traveled to St. Louis last year to see the team play in the shadow of the Gateway Arch one last time. "The Rams could be anywhere and it wouldn't matter. We're Rams fans," said Ramos. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Some fans descended on the coliseum purely to celebrate a historic day in Exposition Park. Alvaro Bautista doesn't root for the Rams or the Cowboys, but he's no stranger to tailgates in front of the Natural History Museum.
Alvaro Bautista cleans the grilling station that's built into the back of his custom 1957 Chevrolet, "El Trojan." He's a Raiders fan who set his rival allegiance aside for a day to get a firsthand look at history. A regular at USC tailgates for 16 years, he graduated from the USC Marshall School of Business in 1994. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
626 Rams Group co-founders Mike Ramos (left) and Donald "Die Hard" Jimenez (right) pose with Pete "STR8 RAMN" Covarrubio (center), who heads a fan group in Fresno and drove down to catch a glimpse of history. "For them to come back … it's surreal. When our team comes running out of that tunnel, I'll probably be crying," said Covarrubio. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
A member of the 626 Rams Group attempts to flip a cup over during a drinking game. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Flags representing the 626 club and OTHER RAMS groups in San Gabriel Valley, Las Vegas and the Central Valley join a breast cancer awareness flag above their tent. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
A Dallas Cowboys fan shows off his custom haircut featuring three stars that wrap around his head. There was a strong Cowboy fan presence from the time tailgaters set up to after the game, when streams of people shuffled down streets surrounding the coliseum. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
A man poses with a Rams head in Exposition Park. "It's real," he said. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
A fan shows off his throwback jersey and Rams headpiece. The Rams wore white jerseys and white pants for most games between 1964 and 1971. The starting quarterback for that stretch was Roman Gabriel, who wore number 18 and won the NFL MVP in 1969. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
A fan wearing an Eric Dickerson jersey buys fresh fruit from a vendor near Jesse Brewer Jr. Park at the corner of Exposition and Vermont. Eric Dickerson holds the NFL single season rushing record with 2,105 yards, which he set in 1984 as a member of the Rams. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
A Rams fan and a Cowboys fan look toward one of the packed parking lots surrounding the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Fans showed up hours before kickoff to pitch tents, fire up grills and celebrated the return of the Rams to Los Angeles. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Alvaro Bautista's custom 1957 Chevrolet is a tailgate M.V.P. Bautista worked for four months to assemble "El Trojan." This will be its 14th season at USC tailgates. USC and the Rams will share the coliseum this season. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Fans gather around "El Trojan" to take pictures and watch Alvaro Bautista grill steaks, shrimp and veggies. A sleek wrap-around metal workspace surrounds a hotdog steamer, a deep fryer and a sink in the bed of the classic Chevy. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
"El Trojan" is merely the beginning of Bautista's elaborate USC themed setup. The group has ample shade, plenty of seating and a flatscreen tv suspended on a mini goal post. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Alvaro Bautista takes a break from grilling duty and faces three fans who are each wearing Rams running back Todd Gurley II's jersey. Gurley is coming off a strong rookie campaign that earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors from the Associated Press. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Alvaro Bautista slices a freshly grilled steak behind the protection of his Raiders apron. He doesn't plan to be at Rams games this year, but he'll still be a fixture at USC home games. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Angel Bautista walks past "El Trojan" as his father Alvaro prepares food. The elder Bautista has already started passing down grilling secrets to his son. "He claims to grill a better steak than me," said Alvaro Bautista. (Sean Myers/USC Annenberg Media)
Reach Staff Reporter Sean Myers here.
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