The jubilant Rams showered fans and each other with popped bottles and chants of “run it back” at their Super Bowl celebration Wednesday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The handy phrase, made popular in a Jay-Z song, began trending on social media and news outlets, as players broke into the chant again and again, suggesting their mindset is already focused on repeating this year’s historic run.
But running back a victory in the biggest game in sports has been achieved only eight times in 56 Super Bowls and only once in this millennium. That accolade goes to the Patriots, who, in 2004 and 2005 beat Carolina and Philadelphia in back-to-back battles on the big stage.
Deadspin columnist Rob Parker, who has covered the NFL since 1987, said the Rams going back-to-back would be a case of serendipity, if that. Parker said with free agency and injuries, a team’s fortunes can change every year.
“The Rams will need luck more than anything to repeat,” Parker said. “It’s too hard. A lot has to go right.”
Statistics were not on the minds of the Rams, as the team, ecstatic over the win at their home stadium in Inglewood, felt invincible in the moment.
General Manager Les Snead raised the idea first. Wearing a shirt that took a playful swipe at his penchant for trading away draft picks –”F them picks,” he vowed. “We’ll use ‘em to go win more Super Bowls.”
“We know what that highest high feels like today,” said Snead, thanking the Rams organization for supporting the super-team building strategy he’d banked on.
Rams super-star players, feeling that high, took the microphone on a high stage framed by the archway of the great stadium at Exposition Park, and kept repeating the sentiment.
MVP Cooper Kupp cited Lakers champion Kobe Bryant, likening his winning abilities to the Rams potential. “Kobe’s a part of this,” Kupp said. “He set the standard. All I know, get back to work, let’s run it back.”
Wide receiver Robert Woods beamed as he hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, dedicating the win to the fans and “championship city.”
Woods repeated the challenge for players who are L.A. imports: “A few people win championships but in L.A., you gotta do it again. We gotta run it back, baby.”
Wood was sidelined in November with an ACL tear, but missing play in the big game didn’t blunt his enthusiasm. An L.A. native and standout at USC before declaring for the NFL in 2012, Wood said, “Bringing this home, right down Figueroa, this is why we do it.”
Rams Coach Sean McVay couldn’t resist, joining the players in a “run it back” chant after telling the crowd his team is now part of the Super Bowl circle.
“Now there’s 56 rings and 56 champions,” McVay said.
“That’s the best part about football, it’s the greatest team sport there is,” McVay said. “Our brightest of shooting stars shine their brightest, but man, it’s about the team. And these guys are World Champs.”
Rumors and nervousness about certain marquee players hanging up the cleats may have inspired the repeated harangue about a season yet to come.
Tackle Andrew Whitworth, a veteran of 15 years in the league who played on 16 teams and won his first Super Bowl ring Sunday, dodged the question of his retirement, saying he’d deal with it later.
The irrepressible Aaron Donald, who had also talked about retiring after this season, gave a raucous speech and joined in the chant.
When his coach began shouting the refrain, Donald laughed heartily. “Why not run it back? We could be world champs again.”
While not exactly a promise, it’ll have to do for now. How realistic is it for the Rams to repeat a run to the Super Bowl? That’s the stuff of hopes and dreams.
But a return to the historic Coliseum, where the Rams played for 30 years, was a fitting time for thoughts of grandeur.