LA Rams are the right team for Odell Beckham Jr.

The LA Rams signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr just in time to avert a disaster when the team’s other starting wide receiver, Robert Woods, fell to a season-ending injury. But that forced associations may have very positive after-effects. You see, the LA Rams have benefitted greatly from the mid-season appearance of OBJ. And from all indications, this could be a team that Odell Beckham Jr. would love to play for.

There was a scene at the end of the classic movie Casablanca where Rick tells Louis that he thinks this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The scene involved the owner of a casino and a local police chief discovering that they had similar goals, but different reasons for getting there.

A complex but durable partnership

That could be said of Odell Beckham Jr. and the LA Rams. While the team needs the skillset of OBJ in the offense, the reasons for OBJ’s satisfaction with the Rams are a bit more complex. Beckham is a gifted and talented receiver in the NFL, but he is most certainly anything but shy and reserved.

The flamboyance of OBJ was not a hit with the East Coast culture. In New York City and most major East Coast cities, fans look for production on the football field and are not warm and fuzzy to off-the-field antics. But when Odell Beckham Jr. is having fun, he will show up off the football field as well. A great catch, a solid season, a winning record, are all things that excite this young receiver to the point where he lets his emotions show. Not every football team, nor every culture, is equipped to handle that.