From their beginnings back in 1936, the Saint Louis Rams have been somewhat nomadic. First founded in Cleveland, the team migrated to Los Angeles ten years later, and then moved in 1980 to Anaheim. After all their wandering, they eventually settled in Saint Louis before the 1994 season, where they have been ever since. It is somewhat fitting that a team with that much restlessness would, from 1999 through 2001, showcase an offense that broke records for their production. With an offense known as the “Greatest Show on Turf”, the Rams teams of those years appeared for a time as if they might join the ranks of the Steelers dynasty in the 1970s or that of the 49ers in the Eighties and early Nineties. Though the “Show” faded into oblivion all too soon, it still had a three year run that captivated the imaginations of NFL fans everywhere.

The Curtain Rises

To find the origins of the Greatest Show, you need look no further than the injury suffered by Trent Green during the 1999 preseason. The Rams were forced to turn to their second string quarterback, who was best known for being cut from the Packers’ training camp several years before and instead playing football in the Arena League. With Kurt Warner as the leading man, however, the Rams would storm through the National Football League, scoring 526 total points and smashing all previous offensive records. With a thirteen win season, the Rams fought through to the Super Bowl and defeated the Titans by a touchdown.

The Show’s Storyline

Of course, the success of the Greatest Show was not simply a matter of having good players – although the Rams had their share and then some. The system of offense that the team employed was designed to move the ball, and to move it fast. With constant five receiver sets, the Rams extended the opposing defenders all across the field, executed quick release passes to their open men in space, and did so with the precision accuracy for which Warner has been well recognized. The system enabled the receivers to catch the ball on the run, thus ensuring extra yards after the catch. Warner’s skill at releasing the ball quickly and hitting his targets in motion as developed when he quarterbacked the Arena League Barnstormers team, and was put to good use in Saint Louis.

The Cast

Of course, had the team just been Kurt Warner, the Show would have never seen its curtain rise. He also had the best running back in the League at the time, in Marshall Faulk, as well as receivers like Isaac Bruce, Ricky Proehl, Torry Holt, and Az Hakim. Protected by an incredible offensive line unit, Warner was able to conduct an offense that produced five hundred plus yards in each of the years from 1999 through 2001. Faulk, a star of the offense, was awarded the Offensive honors for the League all three years, and shared the first two spots in each year’s MVP vote with Warner.

The final curtain call on the Greatest Show on Turf came after the Rams’ surprising defeat in Super Bowl XXXVI. Analysts and television commentators used the term to describe the team for a number of seasons after that loss, but most fans recognized that the Show had effectively packed up and left town after 2001.

Author Bio: Ivan Jamison is a big sports fan. You can check out his St. Louis Rams Watch or his Philadelphia Phillies Watch or his Atlanta Braves Watch

Category: Sports
Keywords: St. Louis Rams