Los Angeles Rams

The first NFL Sunday in L.A. since 1994, minute by minute

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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LOS ANGELES — On the first NFL Sunday here in more than two decades …

8:37 a.m. PT

The parking lots around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum are mostly empty, but that doesn’t stop the tailgaters from tapping their pony kegs in Lot 2. Every other person is wearing a jersey, and their selections are heavy on running backs, with Eric Dickerson, Todd Gurley, Marshawn Lynch and even Shaun Alexander represented. There’s also one guy wearing (oddly) a Bill Belichick No. 1 jersey, women in bikinis, shirtless bros grinding through cornhole games, skaters on their boards and palm trees.

This is NFL football back in Los Angeles, the Rams’ regular-season return.

The sun is out, naturally, and the Juarez family is decked out in “Welcome Home” T-shirts. Gabriel is the family patriarch, a Rams’ fan all his life, at least until the team bolted after the 1994 season. He couldn’t root for the franchise for all the years the Rams played in St. Louis. But he bought tickets for the preseason and regular-season openers as soon as they went on sale. Then he brought his wife and two daughters from Hermosa Beach. They arrive earlier than most, and set to readying the grill. “I almost can’t believe this is happening,” Gabriel says.

9:22 a.m.

The Rams’ return is big business for the neighborhood around the stadium. There are merchandise tents and venders selling sausages, hot dogs, pineapples, ice cream, water, soda and ice packs. Every business and home nearby is selling parking, the going rate anywhere from $30 to $100.

Even the pedicabs are busy. One driver, who declined to give his name unless I took a ride with him, says he’s made 10 trips around the sprawling grounds. His shirt is soaked in sweat, indicating he’s telling the truth. “Go Rams,” he says as he peddles off.

9:36 a.m.

The scalpers seem frustrated as they peddle tickets on the outer fringes of the grounds. One says demand dropped significantly after the Rams were blown out in their opener, a 28–0 loss to the 49ers last Monday night. I took a picture of L.A. Rams signage on a dumpster, and it didn’t take long for Twitter to make the connection between the garbage receptacle and a franchise that last went to the playoffs in 2004. “Check back for the inevitable dumpster fire later,” one poster wrote. “Can you throw Jeff Fisher in there?” read another.

The scalper says he’s only sold a handful of tickets this morning, but he notes that this is L.A.; he expects a late arriving crowd. “Who needs tickets?” he shouts.

Silence.

10:01 a.m.

The Seahawks and Rams begin the warm up. Fisher, the L.A. coach, has spent some of the morning in the coach’s office, which used to belong to Pete Carroll when turned USC into a powerhouse. Now, Carroll is on Seattle’s visitor sideline for the NFL’s return to the market he once owned. “I doubt it’s a coincidence,” Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman told reporters earlier this week. “I’m sure the league had something to do with that.”

Fisher is happy to be home. The Rams played their last three games on the road, and they spent the off-season moving from St. Louis to Oxnard to Irvine to Thousands Oaks. On Thursday, Fisher said, “We’ve been through a lot. Not that the rest of the league cares. The guys are focused; they’re rolling with it.”

10:38 a.m.

The parking lots are starting to fill up. Traffic clogs Figueroa Boulevard and the surrounding streets. Parking lots are almost full. Grill smokes mixes with the smog in the air.

Near the stadium, there’s a Fanfest, sponsored, naturally, by Bud Light. Fans throw footballs at targets, pound beers and lament another Rams season that hasn’t shown much promise. “This is great,” one fan says to his friend while in line at a taco truck. “Well, except for we have to watch the game.”

10:42 a.m.

Three Rams fans walk by wearing construction hats affixed with horns. They came up from San Diego, a two-hour drive on Sunday morning. “I wouldn’t miss it,” says Bruce Miller, who works in construction.

Miller says he went to his first Rams’ game in this same Coliseum with his father in 1977. He didn’t watch the NFL as much when the team left. He hated when St. Louis won the Super Bowl. “Worst day ever,” he says.

10:58 a.m.

Taco break.

11:14 a.m.

Three Seahawks fans walk by Gate 1 wearing No. 4 jerseys. That number belongs to Steven Hauschka. The kicker. They’re either Hauschka family members or they’re really into field goals.

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11:44 a.m.

Those who believe in the notion that Los Angeles-area sports crowds arrive late and leave early should have seen the gates a little over an hour before kickoff. The lines are so long it’s hard to walk through. The fans know what’s at stake here. They lived 21 seasons without a football team. By kickoff, most of the seats are full.

12:22 p.m.

A family of three is clad in Gurley jerseys, standing in line at the concessions stand. “We bought the jerseys when they announced the return,” says Johnny Xavier, who lives in the Hollywood Hills.

“My dad passed Rams fandom onto me, and I’m passing it on to my son,” he continues, as he gestures at his son, seven-year-old Ryan. They head into the stadium, to take their seats. They don’t want to miss anything.

12:48 p.m.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers climb atop a makeshift stage on the field. Hundreds of fans surround them. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis performs shirtless, as they belt through three songs. This feels very California-y.

12:59 p.m.

Players from both teams make their way onto the field. Cannons shoot fireworks into the air. California Love blasts over the field. The announcer generously calls the Coliseum the “most iconic stadium venue in America.” If he means old and in need of updating then that’s fair. Downtown L.A. looms in the distance, the San Gabriel Mountains behind in the far background. It feels a little like the NFL never really left.

1:03 p.m.

The singer CeeLo Green performs the National Anthem. The Seahawks lock arms, same as they did last week, in what they say is a demonstration of unity.

1:08 p.m.

Kickoff. The NFL is back. Another Hollywood sequel has begun.

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