“Jerry Maguire” Leigh Steinberg thoughts re: LA Rams Super Bowl LVI victory

The interview

Ramblin Fan:  Thank you for making time for us today. Let’s start with something simple. Purely as an LA Rams fan, how did you like Super Bowl LVI?

Leigh Steinberg: I couldn’t be more thrilled. It felt like everything had come full circle. When I was a boy, my father took us to see Rams games in the 1950s and 1960s into the Coliseum, we were way up in the cheap seats, so far from the football field that you needed an electron microscope to see the plays. I fell in love with football. In the game itself, the Rams were the more seasoned veteran team, and you could almost know that it would come down to Aaron Donald making a play to win the game. And he did.

Ramblin Fan: You were the Chairman of the Save the Rams committee that fought to keep the Rams in Los Angeles in 1994. Although you lost the battle, you ultimately won the war. Do you see the current Sofi Stadium and Sports Complex as along the same line as your original proposal some 30 years ago? After all, in your own words, Sofi truly resembles a “Disneyland of sports” and is a tourist destination in its own right?

Leigh Steinberg: I hope they did. Modern economics of NFL Stadiums simply are not financially feasible unless you fill the area with more events than 10 NFL home games. The modern template must aim towards creating an epicenter of entertainment and social events, an activity zone to benefit and be used by all aspects of the community. I understand that there are plans to build out an area close to SoFi to create an economic opportunity zone.

Ramblin Fan:  You are perhaps uniquely qualified to interpret the effects of this LA Rams victory on the city of Los Angeles. How do you view what this win means for Los Angeles?

Leigh Steinberg: Los Angeles, well, all of Southern California, is a massive potential market for the NFL. The Rams were located in the city of Los Angeles from 1946 until 1994. But Los Angeles is a city where an entire generation didn’t have NFL football.

The Super Bowl was here, that reached out beyond the NFL core into a more general audience. In terms of popularity, the NFL enjoys a three to one advantage. Los Angeles loves winners, Los Angeles loves stars, and Los Angeles loves fast action. The LA Rams offer Los Angeles all of that and combine it with SoFi Stadium (a star in its own right) and now this Super Bowl victory will truly begin to heat up interest in the team.

Los Angeles loves to get tickets to and attend sold-out events. And even celebrities are showing up for the LA Rams once more. The LA Rams are the perfect NFL team for this city. Each year, more and more fans will be won over. The Rams are doing an excellent job of reaching out into the community and winning over people, adding them to the fan base.