Getty The Rams lost to the Patriots the last time the two teams squared off in the Super Bowl.
The Los Angeles Rams are making their fourth Super Bowl appearance. The Rams one Super Bowl victory came in 2000 with a 23-16 victory over the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. Los Angeles is hoping that playing in Atlanta could be a good omen as the franchise won their only title at the Georgia Dome next door to the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium where Super Bowl LIII is being played.
The Rams lost their last Super Bowl appearance to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. The franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance came in 1979 but lost to the Steelers.
The Rams were playing in St. Louis at the time and were able to stop the Titans just inches from the goal line to secure the win. Kurt Warner passed for 414 yards and two touchdowns to win the Super Bowl MVP. Warner noted he is having a bit of a flashback with the 2019 matchup.
“It does sound familiar,” Warner explained to AZ Central. “In Atlanta, where I played my first Super Bowl. Patriots-Rams, which was the matchup for my second Super Bowl. It’s crazy to think when this Super Bowl happened last. It was Tom’s first Super Bowl and it was the last Super Bowl the Rams were in. Here we are, 17 years later, Tom is still playing in Super Bowls nearly every year. But the Rams have found that dynamic — young quarterback (Jared Goff), young coach (Sean McVay). They’ve found their way back.”
Prior to the Super Bowl era, the Rams won championships in 1945 and 1951. McVay attended the Rams lone Super Bowl victory in Atlanta as a fan, but now McVay is looking to win a title as a coach. The New York Post detailed McVay’s initial Super Bowl experience which also happened to be in Atlanta.
His grandfather, John, the Giants’ head coach from 1976-78 and also a former 49ers front office man, had gifted his family the tickets. McVay rattled off the highlights that stayed with him: Eddie George’s rushes, Marshall Faulk’s versatility, Torry Holt’s slants and McNair’s derring-do. It all stayed with McVay as he transitioned from a seventh-grade team that scored one touchdown and went winless to a quarterback running the triple-option on a state championship team at Marist School in Atlanta.
“Our grandpa got us tickets,” said McVay, who used to attend 49ers games and walkthroughs when San Francisco made its annual cross-country trip to play the Falcons in the NFC West during McVay’s childhood. “That was a good birthday present for me.”