Rams in 2017 not unlike Los Angeles in 1994

The last time the Los Angeles Rams had an NFL neighbor was in 1994, when the Raiders called the Coliseum home. This season, the Chargers are also in LA. Funny how history can repeat itself.

Los Angeles Rams fans, those old enough at least, can recall what it was like the last time two teams called LA home. In 1994, the Rams played in Anaheim Stadium, while the Raiders, a charter member of the AFL, played at the Coliseum.

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Yes, THAT Coliseum.

That same year, the Rams would finish with a record current fans can relate to (4-12), and would fire a veteran head coach in Chuck Knox. Then on Christmas Eve, Los Angeles would close out the 1994 season with a loss against the Washington Redskins, and then turn out the lights on the city they had called home since 1946.

Everything old is new again, and in life, if you hang out long enough and pay attention to history, things often repeat themselves.

That’s exactly what is happening in Los Angeles this season.

2017 will feature the Rams playing in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (yes, THAT coliseum), while the Chargers, also a charter member of the American Football League, will return to the city where it all started for the franchise, and play in the 30,000 seat StubHub center.

So once again, the city who once lost two teams, now has two teams again.

Sound familiar?

It should.

The city that that the National Football League has been courting since that fateful Christmas Eve, is now back in business with a scenario that is eerily similar to the previous two tenant situation.

Good for the league and good for the city is a question yet to be answered. Nonetheless, the Rams continue to plow ahead, one year behind schedule on the Inglewood stadium project they promises to be the west coast crown jewel of the league.

As for fans? Well, we all will find out if this media Mecca can be all things for all the various ticket holders. At some point in October, the Rams, Chargers, USC Trojans, and UCLA Bruins will be knee deep into their respective campaigns, while Lonzo Ball and the Lakers light the fuse on their new season.
And don’t forget at about that same time, the Dodgers will in all likelihood be in the playoffs. In 1994, they were in first place when the players strike shut down the season for good, costing Major League Baseball a World Series and a lot of goodwill.

Don’t look for that bit of history to repeat itself.

in 1994, USC football went 8-3-1, which led to a win in the Cotton Bowl, while UCLA went a disappointing 5-6. The Lakers finished their season with a loss in the Western Conference semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs.

Will 2017 provide such deja vu for any of the Rams local contemporaries?

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That’s hard to say, but at some point early next year, it will be curious to see how similar 1994 and 2017 end up being for LA sports teams.

Like I said, history has a funny way of repeating itself.

For the Los Angeles Rams, let’s hope they do a re-write.