Sitting in the visiting owner's box at Gillette Stadium, Stan Kroenke got a phone call after Brandon Tate returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a New England touchdown.

It was Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, on the other line.

"I said, 'Welcome to the NFL,'" Kraft said, smiling.

Just a little good-natured ribbing from one club owner to another.

"What's that old expression — this isn't my first rodeo," Kroenke would say later.

Which was Kroenke's way of saying he didn't panic about the instant 7-0 deficit. Neither did his team. Behind two touchdown passes by quarterback Sam Bradford and a game-winning field goal by Josh Brown as time expired, the Rams rallied for a 36-35 preseason victory Thursday.

"We gave him a present at the end," Kraft said. "So his first game in the NFL he's a winner."

Kraft rescued football in New England when he purchased the Patriots from St. Louisan James Busch Orthwein in 1994. At the time, there was much concern in the Boston area that Orthwein would move the team to his hometown. The Patriots have since played in five Super Bowls, winning three, including a Super Bowl XXXVI triumph over the Rams after the 2001 season. The Pats also have a new, state-of-the art home, Gillette Stadium, which was built under Kraft's watch.

Rams fans hope Kroenke can rescue football in St. Louis, both in the won-loss column and with respect to a stadium lease issue that will accelerate in a couple of years.

"He's going to be great for the fans of St. Louis," Kraft said. "He wants to win, and he's passionate about it. And he's just a high-quality guy. We're all very happy that we have him in the room with us as a partner."

Kroenke was approved unanimously as the Rams' new controlling owner Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings in Atlanta.

Not too long after his "prank" phone call, Kraft gave Kroenke a more proper welcome to the NFL. "Did you see what we did in the first quarter?" Kraft said. "You didn't see the scoreboard? We congratulated him on being a new owner."

For Rams veterans, the pending sale of the team has loomed in the background for the past couple of years. Having closure on the sale had to be reassuring. And so was the sight of their new majority owner in Foxborough, Mass., with Kroenke speaking to the team before and after the Patriots game.

"It was great to see Mr. Kroenke come in, talk to the team," running back Steven Jackson said. "Talk to us about how he's excited about taking over the ownership. He's in it for the long haul. He's been a part of the Rams' organization for quite some time, and he just wanted to reassure us that he's a big supporter of us."

Coach Steve Spagnuolo also got a kick out of seeing his new boss.

"I've got a lot of respect for Stan," Spagnuolo said. "I'm happy with the way things worked out. I was very, very fortunate to work for the year with Chip (Rosenbloom) and Lucia (Rodriguez), and also Stan. And now Stan taking over I think is a great thing for this organization, for the city."

Spagnuolo also liked the fact that Kroenke stayed for the entire game.

"Just his presence at the end of the game meant a great deal to me, and I know it meant a great deal to the players," Spagnuolo said. "He didn't say very much (afterward). We were all just happy about the way it went. He basically said he really enjoyed being there and enjoyed the way we played, and that was the gist of it. Then we had a little team breakdown and off we went, but it was great to have him there."