PRO FOOTBALL ’95 : We’ll Beat You in St. Louis, Say Rams : NFC: The honeymoon continues in a 17-13 victory over New Orleans in home opener.

Ticket scalpers offered Joe Ochsner and friends four $40 seats Sunday for $400--for a Ram game. Ridiculous? Three hours later Randi Naughton, St. Louis Channel 2 sportscaster, was talking Super Bowl “live” with team owner Georgia Frontiere.

“It’s a possibility,” St. Louis linebacker Roman Phifer gushed.

The receptionist at The Buttes--Super Bowl headquarters for the NFC in Phoenix--will undoubtedly field calls today from overwhelmed Ram fans who have never seen their team lose.

The Rams are 2-0 after stopping the New Orleans Saints, 17-13, in their inaugural St. Louis appearance before a Busch Stadium-record crowd of 58,186, and how ridiculous is that? For the first time since 1991 the Rams have won two games in a row.

“We’re a real football team now,” said St. Louis cornerback Todd Lyght. “No more soft stuff. We’ve left the Candyland behind.”

There were four Melonheads in attendance, the cheerleaders were dressed no differently, and the Rams continued to set free yellow and blue balloons after the national anthem, as they had done in Anaheim Stadium, but when it came time to bungle, instead they excelled.

A successful fake punt at the New Orleans 48-yard line with less than three minutes to play not only gave the Rams a first down, but allowed them to run out the clock. Keith Lyle, shifting to quarterback from a blocking wingback, ran a sneak for four yards on fourth and one.

“I think this kind of thing will set a tone for us,” said Ram running back Leonard Russell. “It will spread around the league. We’re the St. Louis Rams, not the Los Angeles Rams, and we are different.”

Fortunately for the Rams, whose victory was No. 400 in franchise history, Jim Everett is still Jim Everett, the skittish quarterback who “wasn’t up to taking a sack,” said Ram defensive end Sean Gilbert.

Everett, the former Ram quarterback who practiced daily against Gilbert, Lyght & Co., ran from the St. Louis rush in the second quarter on second and eight from his 21-yard line. Instead of taking a sack or throwing the ball away, Everett tried to throw the ball on the run to Irv Smith.

“I saw that play many, many times in practice,” Lyght said, “and I baited him.”

When Everett threw, Lyght stepped in front of Smith for the interception and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Lyght’s second interception return for a touchdown of his career gave the Rams a 17-3 lead at halftime and sparked a standing ovation.

“I can’t tell you all the emotions I feel,” said Frontiere, who spent the first half walking the sideline with her team.

Frontiere, who was reared Georgia Irwin a few miles from here, heard chants of “Georgia, Georgia” and admitted later to crying after waving to the crowd.

John Shaw, team president and the man responsible for putting this move together, celebrated his 44th birthday Sunday. “It’s pretty amazing that all this really happened,” Shaw said. “It’s still hard to believe.”

It was the worst thing that could happen--to the Saints. They had won eight in a row in Anaheim.

The noise continued through the second half, although the Saints went on a third-quarter rampage and threatened to crash the party. New Orleans gained 110 yards and pulled within a touchdown when Everett--who was 24 for 40 for 246 yards--threw a one-yard pass to wide receiver Torrance Small.

St. Louis lost four yards during the rampage.

Before being bamboozled by the fake punt, the Saints lost two other opportunities to rally.

“What a great day. Everybody was on our side here and that’s a total change,” said Gilbert, and for the first time in memory music could be heard in the locker room.

“No, no, there was music last year,” said St. Louis defensive tackle D’Marco Farr. “Violins.”

The Rams, who have already won half as many games as they did a year ago, arrived at Busch Stadium to a hero’s welcome. There were Ram flags on the long line of motor homes parked outside, and most everything was swathed in yellow and blue bunting. Whoever was selling the “St. Louis Rams” T-shirts was getting rich.

Inside the stadium NFL security demanded changes to the field. Artificial turf that was put over the dirt areas in the Cardinal baseball infield was removed, and with 45 minutes to go before kickoff, workers were still pounding the ground.

Fireworks greeted the Rams as they took the field, and quarterback Chris Miller threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to his favorite receiver, Isaac Bruce, for the home team’s first score.

“Kinda fun, isn’t it?” Coach Rich Brooks said. “I’m just glad we could give them a positive experience.”

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L.A. Benched / Week 2

* It was 69 degrees at 10 a.m. in Los Angeles Sunday, 0% chance of precipitation and 0% chance of professional football.

* From first kickoff to last tackle Sunday, 23 OCTA buses stopped along Route 49 at the corner of State College Boulevard and Gene Autry Way in Anaheim; at the same time 30 different receivers caught touchdown passes.

* The Rams drew a record 58,186 to Busch Stadium on Sunday in the first regular-season game in St. Louis since the Cardinals beat the New York Giants, 27-24, on Dec. 13, 1987. The Rams drew 25,705 for their last game at Anaheim Stadium. Said Ram running back Jerome Bettis: “It’s the first game in eight years, so what do you expect?”

* Six years ago Sunday, the Raiders thrashed the San Diego Chargers, 40-14 in the Coliseum in front of 43,086 for the franchise’s 250th league victory.

* Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Darryl Strawberry, but no Rams for Mano Kurkjian (Story, C4).