American Football Not a Big Draw in Berlin : Rams: Today’s game at Olympic Stadium falls far short of selling out.

The food was tasty, the company splendid, the political atmosphere electric, the bus tours informative.

Beyond that, it’s difficult to see why the Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs are playing an exhibition game here.

Considering the times, bringing American football to Berlin seemed a noble international venture, but that hasn’t translated into interest or ticket sales.

Today’s American Bowl ’90 (10 a.m., Channel 4) is expected to draw between 40,000 and 50,000 fans, far below the 70,000 capacity of Olympic Stadium. If Friday’s stormy weather persists, the crowd might be smaller.

Officials said this week that the NFL took advantage of the political backdrop available here, realizing that Berliners were less interested in American football than those at other proposed West German venues.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the game was originally scheduled to be played in Frankfurt, which has a much stronger American business and military presence.

“If we were looking for a sellout, we would have done the game in Frankfurt,” Tagliabue said. “I’m certain we would have sold the game out (there). We decided to do the game here after the political events developed so quickly. Everyone urged us to do it in Berlin, as a way of celebrating the freedom that came to Central Europe in the last year.

“When we made that decision, we also made the assumption that the game would not sell out and it would be a much more difficult market in which to sell.”

Because the city has been isolated for so long, Tagliabue said, the population base is composed mostly of young university students or elderly Berlin citizens--not exactly the demographics that make up your typical American football crowd. “It is not a population with a lot of families,” he said. “If we could get 50,000 people here, that would be tremendous.

And while the West German media have been generally disinterested in this American invasion, Ram quarterback Jim Everett, who has played in three American Bowls, said he enjoyed his stay this week most of all.

“The fans might not understand what we’re doing,” he said. “In Tokyo, you could feel the excitement. Here, we’re in the shadow of the World Cup.”

The game itself, like most exhibition openers, will be played with caution.

Coach John Robinson said Everett will play no more than one quarter. Receiver Henry Ellard is being held out of the game with a minor hip flexor. Tailback Cleveland Gary won’t play, either. “He’s got a lower back that’s not getting better,” Robinson said. “We’ll wait until it gets better.”

Nose tackle Alvin Wright and cornerback Darryl Henley are also out because of minor injuries.

Gaston Green, fighting to save his Rams’ career, will start at tailback, with former Seattle Seahawk Curt Warner relieving.

Mark Herrmann will replace Everett at quarterback in the second quarter and play into the third, leaving Chuck Long to finish the game with a cast of substitutes.

“I don’t want to leave Chuck with the garbage (time),” Robinson said, adding that Herrmann and Long will switch roles next week.

Ram Notes

The Chiefs are expected to start Mike Elkins at quarterback in the first half and play Steve Pelluer in the second half. Veteran Steve DeBerg will not play. . . . A memorial service for former linebacker Carl Ekern will be held Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Rams Park in Anaheim. Ekern, a 13-year Ram veteran who retired after the 1988 season, died Aug. 1 in an automibile accident. He was 36.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said his brother John Tagliabue, the New York Times’ Warsaw bureau chief who was shot during the Romanian uprising last December, is just now returning to good health. John spent two months in a West German hospital after the shooting and has undergone seven operations. He returned to the United States in March and then contracted hepititis. “The last two months he’s really doing well,” the commissioner said. John will head his paper’s new Berlin bureau in September.

The Chiefs have listed receiver Emile Harry as doubtful with a knee injury. Ram linebacker Larry Kelm is doubtful with a toe injury. . . . The Rams will open their home exhibition schedule next Saturday night at 7 against the San Diego Chargers in the Times/Rams Charity game at Anaheim Stadium.