Do we 'hate' the Rams?

[Maulbert]

The NFC West is weird. Generally, success breeds that feeling of rivalry among fans. The Seahawks/Niners was a short lived rivalry, but happened because both teams were legit Super Bowl contenders at the same time.

The Rams/Niners is the longest rivalry in the NFC West and one of the longest in NFL history - but the teams took turns dominating each other for almost entire decades. The GSOT didn't last long enough for anyone to hate the Rams, and there was a realignment towards the end of it anyways.

For me, I only dislike Seattle because I dislike both Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson - and I disliked both of them from their college days. I "hated" them when they had Hasselbeck and Alexander - but mostly because they dominated the Rams for so long.

But for us at the end of the day, the Niners are the (much) more hated team. I don't think that Niners fans hate the Rams as much as we hate the Niners, and it mostly goes back to SOSAR and the 17 straight losses in the 90s.

I was just a kid, but I'll never forget watching the 42-20 win against the Niners to snap that streak in 1999 - and if my dad was hooked up to a lie detector, I think he would say that win was more satisfying than the Super Bowl win - and that's some true hatred right there.

As a Niner fan I can imagine your joy at snapping the long win streak. IIRC the last win against the 49ers prior to that was against Joe Montana at Candlestick in 1990, which was an eternity even back then. I recently rewatched the SNF 1994 game that went down to the wire, a game against a soon to be SB champion. Anyway, while not on the same level, the last 49ers/Seahawk game was easily the most notable team win in a few seasons.

You hit the nail on the head..........Carroll and Wilson.

When they're gone the hate will subside.

I think you're right. Don't really hate the Rams........although this season could be different....

I saw what you redacted. Wise decision.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Rams are the real LA team. I think the football Clippers will fail to win fans, and start to perennially suck post-Rivers. If the Rams fail to draw a fan base, it will simply prove the conventional wisdom about LA and the NFL.

Chargers to LA was a terrible mistake. I could've understood the Raiders. Even putting aside history, though, the Raiders are a franchise that could probably make money anywhere. Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Portland, San Antonio, the list goes on.

You guys are right. But let's be honest, there was a LOT of apathy in SS too, so much so that the Spanos family tried for almost 15 years to try and build a new stadium and it fell on deaf ears, both politically and publicly.

SD is very much like LA, a transient city full of people from other places............so I don't blame the Spano family for trying to worm in on a new stadium and bigger market in LA.