The Los Angeles Rams front office called an inexplicable play before the start of the NFC divisional game. Even before the Rams would go on to beat Tom Brady and his band of freebooting Tampa Bay Buccaneers, management must have been seeing red.
While Rams fans were blowing a blue and gold gasket — with their team winning, then losing, and finally winning the chance to host the NFC Championship Game on their home turf — management was blocking tickets sales for that game from zip codes outside of L.A.
Were they second-guessing the team, their team, which would beat the reigning Super Bowl champs on a go-ahead field goal as time expired, putting itself just one game away from the Super Bowl?
Were they trying to kill the vibe by reminding exuberant L.A. fans they haven’t bested the Niners in their last six matchups?
Maybe they were thinking to stave off another red wave washing over SoFi Stadium, San Francisco fans showing up in droves, just as they did two weeks ago.
Good luck with that.
The block didn’t stay up long, but it came off as a weak move. Sports pundits around the league generally agreed: It’s been tried and it doesn’t work. By the time San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel politely tweeted it was “kraxy” to restrict sales, the damage was already done. It didn’t make sense either. If the Rams had lost to Tampa Bay, the red wave would be a non-factor.
Imagine a ticket debacle threatening to overshadow the biggest (OMG!) moment in the franchise’s short history with an (AYKM-are you kidding me!) embarrassment.
There were no petty distractions on the gridiron — the Rams had one job, and with 42 seconds left in regulation, tied 27-27, Matthew Stafford thought, screw overtime. He hit the No. 1 receiver in the league, Cooper Kupp, twice, the final 44-yard dagger setting up a game-winning field goal as time expired. (OMG!) Stafford described the icy interior he tapped into — “to make a play like that to win the game and just steal somebody’s soul” — as fun. (AYKM!)
The Rams are going to need to keep that ice in their veins; they’ve already shown the kind of steel needed to knock off the GOAT. They are not the same team they were last year; they’re not even the team they were two weeks ago. They’re better; they just proved it.
As of Friday, the Rams’ official website indicated plenty of available seats at SoFi for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game mega-rivalry, which starts at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. OMG, right? Top-row nosebleeds can be had for $500-675. Eye-level at the 50-yard line, Owners Club or VIP will run you a cool $5,000-6,000. AYKM? Food and an open bar are included; the offerings at the Owners Club are “upscale.” There’s a few mid-level seats with wheelchair access: $1,800. All available seats are verified resale.
The Rams can take the NFC. But to do that, they’ll have to quiet the little red demons in the stands and focus on the blue and gold on the field.