Rams have the ticket to Super Bowl in Atlanta

by Nick Bowman
staff associate

Do you believe me yet? The St. Louis Rams were seven-point favorites over the Minnesota Vikings, a team which went 15-1 a year ago and features a high-powered offense that includes such names as Randy Moss, Chris Carter, Jeff George, Robert Smith, and countless others.

All fine things to have, but consider the following: the Rams have both the league MVP in Kurt Warner and the Offensive Player of the Year in Marshall Faulk. Along with Faulk and Warner, they have defense, something the Vikings lack. With DeMarco Farr, Mike Jones, Todd Lyght, Dre Bly, London Fletcher, and Kevin Carter on the gridiron, it will be hard for any offense to find the endzone.

But we still have nay-sayers, people who just cannot accept the fact that the National Football League is designed to give every team an opportunity to take home the Vince Lombardi trophy each season. A team can actually improve over time.

Look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or the New York Jets, or the Dallas Cowboys. All three of these teams had 1-15 seasons before they reached their pinnacle. The Rams, when they were in Cleveland, won the 1947 NFL Championship with quarterback Norm Van Brocklin calling signals.

Remember the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers? Both teams went to their respective league finals in only their second season, and nearly set up the first "Expansion Bowl."

True, a lot of these teams have since fallen apart, but that is the essence of sports. Isn't it more fun to have faith in the underdog than root for the damn Yankees?

This year, Cinderella not only looks good, but has every component that makes a winner. Look at past champions, and tell me that this team doesn't compare.

The only team in this year's play-offs that can defeat the Rams is the St. Louis Rams. As long as they play their brand of football, you will be seeing 60 guys walking around St. Louis with shiny new rings.

Quick fact: Every city that the Pope has visited in the United States that has a professional football team has had that team advance to the Super Bowl that same year.