LOS ANGELES (AP) – It was a preseason game with the electricity of a playoff game.
At least until the opening kickoff.
There was no Deacon or Dickerson, and the old familiar blue and yellow were replaced with St. Louis gold, navy and white, but the horns on the helmets were the same, and so was the name: “Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to welcome home to the LA Coliseum, YOUR Los Angeles Rams!” the announcer shouted, bringing a roar the local crowd hasn’t been able to let loose since 1994.
Even an opening kickoff return for a touchdown by the Dallas Cowboys’ Lucky Whitehead on Saturday in the preseason opener for both teams and the Rams’ homecoming game couldn’t kill the mood, and many late-arriving LA fans missed that anyway.
The Rams’ first touchdown in their new-old town, a 14-yard run by Benny Cunningham, brought the day’s biggest roar, as though it finally made the move official.
