"Arrivederci Aroma: Rams Stink Up the Coliseum,"

 "Arrivederci Aroma: Rams Stink Up the Coliseum," 






      I began my memory of Sheehys in the Coliseum when my Dad, John, Jack and I went to the Times-Charity game when the Rams used a white football and Crazy Legs was our favorite player. True to the future, John and BC had a thermos filled with "coffee" and Jack fell asleep in the third quarter. The sights were dazzling and as my life went forward I always felt pretty comfortable in the dirty old stadium. The Rams came west from Cleveland in 1946 because of intricate dealing of owner Dan Reeves and were forced by the league to include a black player on the squad that turned out to be Kenny Washington who played with Jackie Robinson at UCLA.  Our Rams integrated the NFL. I have gone on about selling programs, going to classic games and even attending a world series game at the Memorial Coliseum but his one is about the last game the Rams played there befrore making a misstep to Orange County in 1980. It was assumed they would never again set cleats on the Coliseum floor so it was a bittersweet experience to say goodbye to our LA Rams. BC had his great office in a victorian house on Santa Barbara and Stephen,  myself, Greg, and John met there and walked over to fifty yard line seats. BC was ready for the celebration and had sent out for deluxe lunches from the Best Delicatessan which he arrived at the seats carrying in a large paper bag. I was starving and very much looking forward to a pastrami, reuben, beef dip or ham sandwich from the legendary deli. Instead BC pulled out a big, stinking tuna sandwich which in my mind is my equal to cyanide. Everyone in the world knows I despise tuna and would eat catshit before that foul concoction. My brother laughed and BC tried to make up for this  by fishing a nice red apple our of the bag. It had a massive smear of tuna on the side making it like eating a poop coaked piece of fruit. Stephen was seated next to a stroke victim who somehow snorted out a snot oyster onto his hand and wiped it on my brother's pant leg. Finally, the up and down Rams played one of the worst games in their history against the piss-poor Saints. Two interceptions by Ferragamo, three fumbles and inept offensive efforts led to a dull and disappointing defeat 9-7. The faithful Ram fans who had only booed the announcement of no alcohol in the stadium before hooted the team off the sacred turf where BC's ashes would be thrown thirteen years later. The headline of the LA Times the next morning said it perfectly and Greg repeated it for many years  "Arrivederci Aroma:  They Smell Up the Coliseum..." 











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