Rams’ Super Bowl victory a big step in winning over LA fans
Poll shows only 21 percent of Shalhevet students are Rams fans, but nearly two-thirds wanted them to win the Super Bowl anyway
VICTORY: Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Cooper Kupp celebrated after the win with raining confetti behind him. He scored two touchdowns during the game.
February 17, 2022
Both the Lakers and the Dodgers have won championships over the past few years, with both teams winning in 2020. The Rams have now added another ring to Los Angeles, winning the Super Bowl last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
But there is a difference between the first two rings and the third. Both the Lakers and Dodgers have been in Los Angeles since the 1950s, and their fan bases are much more developed. The Rams don’t have the same kind of history with the city they now call home.
The Rams were based in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1995 but then moved to St. Louis, Mo., where they won their first Super Bowl in 2000, in St. Louis. They returned in 2016, playing in the Coliseum until SoFi Stadium opened last year.
The result is no secret. In some games this season, the opposing team had more fans at SoFi than the Rams did. When the Rams faced the San Francisco 49ers in a rivalry matchup during the last week of the season, SoFi Stadium was packed with 49ers fans.
Shalhevet fans seem to feel the same way. In a Boiling Point survey posted on Schoology last Thursday, Feb. 10, students were asked who their favorite NFL team was, and also who they were rooting for in the Super Bowl.
Out of 55 responses from Shalhevet students and faculty, only 12 said their favorite team was the Rams.
Those results mean that only 21% of people said their favorite team is the Rams, and 79% have a favorite team that isn’t the Rams.
In short, the Rams have a problem that their Super Bowl win last Sunday is sure to help. In that same Shalhevet survey, 35 out of the 43 respondents who didn’t favor the Rams said they still would rather the Rams win the Super Bowl than the Bengals.
Sophomore Jamie Victor, who is a Dallas Cowboys fan, thinks the Rams’ Super Bowl win has ignited LA fans to start rooting for the Rams more.
“A lot of my friends are jumping on the Rams bandwagon now since they won cause they live in LA,” said Jamie in an interview. “A lot of people who are just getting into football definitely are getting into football because the Rams won.”
( therams.com)
Junior Julia Mizrahi, who is one of six New York Giants fans that filled out the poll, said even though she isn’t a Rams fan it felt right to root for them.
“Since the Giants weren’t in the Super Bowl I decided to root for the Rams because I’m from LA and they’re the home team so that was the second-best choice,” said Julia in a text message.
Also, even though the Shalhevet survey showed that there weren’t many Rams fans, 63.6% – almost two thirds of respondents – wanted the Rams to win. Even if the Rams weren’t their favorite team, they still wanted the LA team to succeed.
Of six survey respondents who didn’t have a favorite team, five wanted the Rams to win rather than the Bengals.
Junior Elijah Stern, whose family has season tickets, said the Rams have now won over the fans in Los Angeles, and the Super Bowl win is critical to the fanbase growth.
“The Rams have won over LA, especially with the Super Bowl being at SoFi Stadium, having all the fans and then seeing all their best players winning their first championship,” said Elijah in an interview. “I think it will bring the city together.”
