With the National Football League (NFL) season having started the weekend after Labor Day, fans have been cheering their team on, hoping they make it to the Superbowl. Los Angeles is currently riding high with both of its teams ranking at the top, with the Chargers ranking in second place in the American Football Conference (AFC) with a seven win to two loss record. But most importantly, the Rams are ranked first in the National Football Conference (NFC) with the current record of nine wins to one loss. What’s the reason for all this success? Mostly because this year’s roster has some very well rounded players, with Todd Gurley as running back, Jared Goff playing quarterback, Aaron Donald as defensive tackle, and Sean McVay as the head coach. Hired in 2017 at just the age of 30, McVay became the youngest coach in modern NFL history.

The Rams franchise began in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams and was owned by Homer Marshman. The team featured players such as William Cooper, Harry Mattos, and Stan Pincura before playing in the NFL. The team played one year in the American Football League (AFL) and finished second with a record of five wins, two losses, and two ties. The team later joined the NFL on February 12, 1937 and were assigned to the Western Division. The team got suspended and sat out for the 1943 season during World War II due to a shortage of players, but would return a year later. The Rams finally got a taste of success in their 1945 season, finishing first in the league and winning the NFL Championship against the Washington Redskins at home with a close score of 15-14. The team’s rookie, Bob Waterfield, played a huge role in the team’s success, being able to pass, run, and kick, leading him to become the league’s most valuable player.

After their championship year, the Rams said goodbye to Cleveland and moved to Los Angeles, but the move wasn’t easy. Dan Reeves was denied a request to move the Rams to LA from other NFL owners, until he threatened to end his relationship with the NFL. He later got a settlement that allowed him to move his team to LA. During their 48 years in LA, the Rams won seven Divisional Playoffs, one National Conference, one National Football Conference Championship, and one NFL Championship.Winning the divisional playoff games allowed them to join the national conference games, and those are important because they lead to the Super Bowl. If the team does win the Super Bowl, they get the most important award, an NFL Championship. After finishing their last season in LA, the Rams moved a year later to St. Louis, becoming the St. Louis Rams. The Rams played in St. Louis from 1995-2015. Compared to their time in LA, they weren’t as successful. They won one Wildcard Playoff game, two Divisional Playoffs, and two NFC Championships.

Though Middle College High School doesn’t have an actual sports team compared to regular high schools, many of its students and staff are still huge fans of football, with Mr. Ramos and Mr. Curtis stating it’s been their favorite sport growing up. Mr. Curtis says his favorite team is the 49ers, stating, “I’ve been a fan since I was eight years old, mostly because I grew up in Northern California.” And Mr. Ramos says his favorite team is the Raiders, explaining, “Growing up, the Raiders were in LA, so they were the local team, and they had my favorite football player of all time, Bo Jackson.”
Though the Rams won’t play the Patriots during the regular season, Mr. Curtis and Mr. Ramos both believe that they have the highest chance at beating the Rams. Mr. Curtis said, “The Patriots have Tom Brady and because they have a lot of experience winning, compared to the Rams, who are new to this.” Mr. Ramos believes the Patriots have such a high chance because, “They have the ability to come back from being under, and I think a lot of the teams that the Rams have played don’t have that experience from coming back.” Though the Rams are on top, Mr. Ramos still has doubts. He said, “They’ll make it as far as the conference finals, but I don’t know if they can make it to the Super Bowl. To me it’s just because they’re still a young team, from what I know and see, teams that make it deep into the playoffs and into the Super Bowl, tend to have a lot of experience in playoffs and Super Bowls. And you can have a great team, but when it gets to the playoffs, there’s something about having experienced it before that could be that one factor that makes a difference, and I don’t think the Rams have that.”
Finally, this amazing start to the season is very special, but it could all be gone in just a single game. So they must do anything they can in order to prevent them from losing any upcoming games.

Mr. Ramos believes, “In order for them to keep this win streak going, they have to continue running the ball, and they have to stay healthy and improve the secondary because what I think Green Bay exposed is at the end of the game, I saw that the Green Bay’s receivers were wide open, so when you play teams like that, you’re not gonna be able to get away with that.”