Letters: At least Rams will end one long L.A. drought

With apologies to Cleveland, welcome home “Los Angeles” Rams.

Rodney K. Boswell

Thousand Oaks

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I am pulling out my Rosey Grier jersey and putting on my Ferragamo shoes. I think I’ll watch Fred Dryer reruns tonight or maybe catch a “hacksaw” horror double feature. While I’m sure it will cost a Fort Knox to get a decent seat, at least it will never Snow. Let’s light the Roman candles and celebrate. And best of all, Georgia is not on my mind.

Jeff Black

Los Angeles

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Thank you, Stan Kroenke, for bringing NFL football back to Los Angeles. But we Rams fans have one more favor to ask so we may finally, once and for all, exorcise the memory of Georgia Frontiere. If you are ever fortunate enough to win a Super Bowl, please get up on the postgame stage, hold the Lombardi Trophy up high, and proclaim “This proves we did the right thing moving to Los Angeles.”

George Pisano

Rancho Palos Verdes

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As good as the Rams’ return is for the fan base and the economy, I just wish we would have gotten an expansion team instead. I view the Rams and Raiders as traitors, and it would have been awesome to start over with a clean slate. Can the NFL take another vote?

Robert Cardenas

Ontario

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After 20 years of no NFL football in Los Angeles, we finally get a team, the Inglewood Lambs. Just another mediocre team to frustrate the L.A. fans.

Paul Kessler

Century City

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Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me a dozen times over the past 21 years, shame on me. Until I actually witness the Rams playing in the Coliseum this coming season, I won’t believe that they are back. What’s next, Leo Farnsworth is going to purchase the team and Joe Pendleton will be quarterbacking them to Super Bowl LI?

Larry Herrera

Redondo Beach

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Sorry, but after 36 years as a USC season-ticket holder, I say the Coliseum is not NFL-ready. Walk around the stadium and you will see:

— Chunks of concrete are missing with rusting pieces of rebar showing

— Disintegrating seats. For $45 a season you can get a permanent cushion to make it slightly comfortable .

— The concessions are abysmal. Some high schools and community colleges have better food. I think NFL fans will want something more edible and with more variety than hot dogs and pretzels.

Here’s hoping that Pat Haden can get major fixes before the Rams and Trojans kick off for the 2016 season.

Thomas Hamlett

Van Nuys

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I’ve read enough of Bill Plaschke to know better than to take his bait…. But, oh well. His claim [Jan. 13] that L.A. didn’t ask for the Rams is just misguided. Once it looked like a real possibility and not just a leverage move, the loyal Ram fans here did in fact rally. We did want the Rams back. You don’t speak for the L.A. football community, Bill. The Rams’ faithful here lost interest before the move to St. Louis, not because the Rams were losing, but because it was clear ownership didn’t care that they were.

Jim Miller

San Gabriel

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Here we go again. The capacity of the Coliseum is 93,000. Rams fans buy 70,000 tickets but the games are blacked out for lack of a sellout.

Bad feelings ensue. In a few years the Fabulous White Elephant is finished in Inglewood.

The swells have all the good seats. Those of us in steerage decide to stay home. More blackouts.

Then everyone remembers why the Rams, Raiders, and Chargers left in the first place.

Bob Munson

Newbury Park

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Now if we could only get the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for the Dodgers and Time Warner Cable, that would be a magic deal.

Al Sanchez

San Gabriel

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Congratulations to the L.A. Times sports section: In addition to three daily pages devoted to “What’s wrong with the Lakers,” you can add three pages for “What’s wrong with the Rams!”

Bill Weber

La Cañada

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In all the hoopla surrounding the upcoming move back to Los Angeles by the Rams, I have yet to see anyone suggest an obvious solution to the Chargers’ situation. Because St. Louis is prepared to build a stadium, why not have the Chargers move to St. Louis? They’ll be in a better fan environment and avoid being second banana in Los Angeles.

Ken Blake

Brea

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For years, I’ve periodically written letters to The Times regarding the NFL returning pro football to our town. Now that this has finally come to fruition (thank goodness), I can now fully focus on other pressing matters that concern me.

Now about that disappointing UCLA football season...

Mark J. Featherstone

Windsor Hills

USC beats UCLA!

I am a longtime UCLA fan. But I am tired of hearing Steve Alford lament on how the Bruins’ defensive efforts are lacking. News flash! That’s what coaching is about. If you don’t coach defense, the team will not play defense. Alford should hire Ben Howland to coach defense.

Ian Bardin

Redondo Beach

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I’m no coach, but maybe I should be. The stats in the UCLA-USC game don’t lie. Only 12 baskets out of 40 shots from UCLA guards, and only five free-throw attempts. While Tony Parker and Thomas Welsh were 19 for 27 shooting inside. Now, if I was on the sidelines I would have been saying “take the ball to the rim guys.” Why didn’t Alford?

Alan Segal

San Diego

Go, Maury, go

Great article by Bill Shaikin on Maury Wills and Judge Andrew J. Guilford [Jan. 15]. Wills not being in the Hall of Fame is a travesty. He revolutionized the game of baseball with his extraordinary achievements on the basepaths. I doubt Lou Brock or Rickey Henderson would have done what they did had it not been for Wills resurrecting the art of the stolen base as an offensive weapon as important as the home run. The impact the stolen base has on unnerving a pitcher cannot be measured, and perhaps that is why today’s sabermetricians undervalue it.

On the human level, what Wills has done for people is equally extraordinary. I’d be saddened to think that Wills’ exclusion from the Hall has anything to do with his battles with substance abuse, which occurred long after his playing career. Infinitely more important is that he overcame them and has used that to inspire others.

Those of us old enough to have watched Wills during his career know that few, if any, Dodgers players have made that stadium shake with excitement as he did.

Michael Roth

Los Angeles

Hoop it up

Why are some Lakers fans so literal? Mitch Kupchak’s comments regarding Kobe and this season are a fact. This season is about Kobe’s farewell. It’s also about building the core of players for another run. We see who’s getting the playing time and we now see the growth — and so does the next crop of free agents. Patience is a virtue.

Tom DeVranos

La Verne

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As a Lakers fan for 35 years, the snarkiness in recent letters to the editor about honoring Kobe this year astounds me. As our own superstar franchise player, he showed up and entertained the fans with 100% effort and exemplary basketball every game, home and away. He certainly has been a huge draw for attendance and for the brand, and has been so much fun to watch.

I don’t like the Lakers having a losing team any more than anyone else these last three years, but dynasties have to be rebuilt. This young team is getting better and more exciting to watch. As well, I believe that management’s willingness to honor Kobe’s commitment and excellence exhibits the class that Jerry Buss brought to this organization. I’m glad to see it’s not all gone. We’ll miss you, Kobe — thanks for the great times!

Lisa Goalen

Santa Monica

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Hey, Doc Rivers and Steve Ballmer. I was in San Diego this past weekend and there’s a vacant arena that the Clippers used to call home. Quit whining bout being a third tenant in a beautiful arena. Of course, there’s always Anaheim

Phillip Trujillo

Ontario

Fantasy land

Three things that I never thought I would see in my lifetime:

1) The L.A. Kings win the Stanley Cup.

2) The Rams come back to L.A.

3) The Lakers 9-32 in January.

Michael Gray

Yorba Linda

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