For all the obvious passion that Chip Rosenbloom brought to the job after he and his sister, Lucia Rodriguez, inherited the majority ownership of the Rams two years ago, his brief tenure as the man in charge will, unfortunately, be measured more by what he was unable to accomplish rather than all the significant improvements that happened under his watch.
Under the thick haze of losing that's hung over this franchise like a toxic cloud, it might be difficult to recall that it was Rosenbloom who had the decisiveness to rid the organization of some of the biggest mistakes that he'd inherited (the incompetent twins Scott Linehan and Jay Zygmunt), while also having the good sense to do a small but important superficial organizational makeover by suggesting that everyone's favorite purveyor of chaos, John Shaw, conduct his administrative machinations under the cloak of 'semi-retirement" in Los Angeles.
Rosenbloom desperately wanted to do more, but it had to feel like he was emptying the ocean with a teaspoon. Last summer as he fretted over the process of trying to decide whether he should try to hold on to his late mother's team or put it up for sale, Rosenbloom surely came to this inevitable conclusion:
The NFL owners fraternity is no longer a millionaire's club.
Only billionaires need apply.
So that is what brought us to Wednesday, when Rosenbloom the millionaire reluctantly passed over the pink slip for the Rams to Stan Kroenke, a self-made billionaire (estimated worth of $2.7 billion) who just happens to be married to Ann Walton, who is worth even more than him ($2.9 billion).
The fact that Kroenke was unanimously accepted into the fraternity by NFL ownership is as telling as anything that his cohorts understand that he comes to the club with the most important membership qualification — an enormously fat wallet.
But now that he has assumed majority control, what can we expect from Kroenke?
"Building organizations that win consistently is a challenge that we understand," Kroenke said in his prepared statement after the sale bid was approved. "We are excited about the opportunity as principal owner of the St. Louis Rams."
That one sentence clearly illustrated why I believe Kroenke is the right man for the job, even if I still will continue to watch him carefully with an ever-jaundiced eye as the stadium lease deadline on the Edward Jones Dome — and the owner's ability to break said lease — draws closer. Now for all of you deep thinkers out there who are unable to comprehend how I am able to harbor suspicions of a cunning businessman who dragged his heels when asked point blank to state his intentions about keeping the Rams in St. Louis, while easily acknowledging that Kroenke is outstanding at what he does as a pro sports owner, let me slow the bus down for you and explain further.
I will write slowly and use really, really small words.
Until Kroenke agrees to a new lease agreement, or the Rams are playing in a new stadium in the greater St. Louis area — or two other NFL franchises end up in Los Angeles over the next five years — I will continue to raise an eyebrow to his every move when it concerns the long-term future of the Rams in St. Louis.
That has nothing to do with my ability to readily recognize that Kroenke has a proven record for success as an owner. Did I call him diabolical? Yep. Did I suggest he was cunning, cutthroat and duplicitous? Absolutely. I still believe that and I'm certain as the lease agreement story continues to play out, I will bring a few more pejoratives (oops, big word) to the party even though I understand that in big business circles, those are the sort of attributes that some folks would view as essential requirements for Kroenke's profession.
Yet in spite of my ever-diligent distrust of the man, here's why Kroenke still could and should be great for the Rams. He will hit the ground running. Because he is no stranger to the workings of the organization, there will be no learning curve. He knows how everything works, and just as important, what doesn't work. And I would be surprised if everyone in the organization doesn't already understand that the clock has been ticking on their evaluations for more than a year.
Lots of things need to be done around here immediately. This town has lost its obsession for the pro football product here. The memories of The Greatest Show on Turf days are wisps in the wind now. On Tuesday afternoon at Rams Park, as the team officially wrapped up its last training camp practice that was open to the public, there were only a handful of spectators sprinkled around the hillside on the western end of the practice field.
The bigger crowds had dwindled rather quickly.
It wasn't the wicked weather that kept them away.
It was indifference.
The only thing worse than an angry fan base is one that stops caring altogether. I know previously diehard Rams fans who have surrendered their season tickets. These were the sort of football fanatics who lived and died with the outcome of Sunday's events. But they could no longer tolerate the hopeless feeling that built up around this franchise.
For far too long, the Rams have deservedly earned the title of worst team and organization in the NFL. Sometime very soon, they need to change that rap. Sometime very soon, the NFL wise guys have to acknowledge that the descent of this team and organization has stopped and something positive is truly happening.
I already know Kroenke has the economic clout to quickly facilitate that change.
I only hope he proves to have the passion and knowledge for the job, too.
