Homecoming game: Rams cap their LA comeback with home opener

LOS ANGELES (AP) When the Rams poured down the tunnel in their blue-and-yellow-gold vintage uniforms and emerged in the 90-degree California sunshine, a sold-out Coliseum crowd loosed a long-suppressed Sunday scream.

After two decades of fan frustration and a year of anticipation building to this regular-season home opener, Los Angeles really, truly had pro football again.

And since this is LA, the cathartic moment came with a Hollywood touch: The Rams entered the stadium with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis yelling their introductions to the crowd while shirtless in yellow uniform pants.

The Rams hadn't played a football game that mattered in Southern California since Dec. 24, 1994, when they left Angel Stadium in Anaheim and moved to St. Louis. They faced the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday with a talented roster and shining optimism for a limitless future back home.

''Now it's really real,'' said Dan Walsh, a 47-year-old fan in a Jim Everett jersey who grew up in Riverside and rooted for the Rams over his brother's Raiders. ''The preseason games were fun, but that was exhibition football, which is terrible. This is the real deal. This is what we were all waiting for.''

Not many pro sports franchises would choose their first game in a new home to wear vintage uniforms, but the Rams aren't the normal new kids in town.

The jerseys aren't the only throwbacks being sold this season by the Rams, who are rekindling the love of the nation's second-largest city for a sport and a team returning from 21 seasons away.

The Rams are still three years away from moving into their billion-dollar new home in Inglewood, and they're back with a team that hasn't had a winning season since 2003.

But if nostalgia is a big part of the draw for these Rams, they're in the perfect stadium for it now: The packed Coliseum was their home for their first 34 years on the West Coast - and the venerable home of the first Super Bowl was rocking once again.

The tailgate parties began at dawn. West Coast rap and grilled meat aromas drifted among the fans gathered in the nearby parking lots and neighborhoods for a ritual confined to college games in LA for the past 21 years.

USC fans have kept the Coliseum busy on fall Saturdays, but the Trojans - particularly their struggling teams of the past half-decade - don't command the same passion in a town that lives for the biggest events on the grandest stages.

Even before the stadium filled for kickoff, the excitement was palpable.

Fans packed into the rows of seats near the famed Coliseum tunnel, cheering wildly for the first Rams to take the field for pregame warmups in those familiar uniforms. They booed the Seahawks with equal enthusiasm - even Richard Sherman, the star cornerback who grew up just a few miles away in Compton.

The Rams hadn't played a real game in the Coliseum since Dec. 16, 1979, when they lost to New Orleans in their regular-season finale. That Rams team still rallied for two road playoff wins to make the franchise's only Super Bowl during its Southern California era.

They spent the next 15 seasons playing in Anaheim before steadily diminishing crowds. Although Eric Dickerson created excitement with his record rushing season, the Rams lost some fan devotion in Los Angeles to the Raiders.

Dickerson, the Rams' greatest star of their Anaheim era, was surrounded by a crowd of bubbling fans as he walked the ground-floor concourse of the Coliseum two hours before the game. The Hall of Fame running back still lives nearby, and he was an early advocate of the Rams' return.

The Chili Peppers put on a lively pregame show, and six Hall of Famers - Dickerson, Jack Youngblood, Orlando Pace, Marshall Faulk, Jackie Slater and Tom Mack - gathered on the famed peristyle end of the Coliseum for a ceremonial lighting of the Olympic torch.

After CeeLo Green sang the national anthem, the showbiz festivities continued during the game: Late-night talk show host James Corden performed with the Rams' cheerleaders between quarters, his gut protruding rudely from his uniform.

And on the sideline, LeBron James watched with approval - while fans chanted ''Kobe! Kobe!''

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