The day was September 11 [url= http://www.ramsjerseyproshop.com/ndamukong-suh-jersey/]Ndamukong Suh Jersey[/url] , 1999. I remember it well, because I was throwing an event for The Rocket, the northwest music magazine I worked for at the time. The party took place at the infamous Satyricon, a club that birthed many of Portland’s formative bands and served as a home away from home for the much higher-profile grunge scene emerging in Seattle.That party remains the one and only show I ever personally booked. It featured local Judas Priest cover band British Steel (who, when I handed them their check before the party started, asked me if I knew of a good wig shop nearby), legendary Portland punk rock trio Dead Moon, and the one and only John Doe, frontman for LA rock band X.It was a fun job, the kind you take when you’re younger and they ask you to do everything and you do even more because you love it. So naturally, between booking the event, selling the sponsorships, and packing the room, I took the first shift at the door.A friend wandered in, and I knew he was a Rams fan.“What do you think of this Kurt Warner guy?” he asked.“He looks ok,” I shrugged. “Did you know that heading into tomorrow’s game we’re tied with the Bengals for worst record of the 90s?”“No shit?”“No shit.”Suffice to say, the party was a blast. But in the back of my mind, I was really excited to watch the Rams play the Baltimore Ravens the next day. We’d brought in Marshall Faulk, drafted Torry Holt, and even though Trent Green went down in the preseason, maybe this Warner guy wasn’t that horrible. You know, a guy we could rally around and play good football. At the time [url= http://www.ramsjerseyproshop.com/dante-fowler-jersey/]Dante Fowler Jersey[/url] , I was watching Rams games at a place called Micky Finn’s, out near Reed College here in Portland. For those of you who have visited my beautiful city, you’ve surely set foot in a McMenamins brew pub or music venue — and Micky Finn’s was kind of a knock-off of one of their spots. Solid food, a nice beer selection, and a back room with a humongous old-school big-screen where about eight die-hard Rams fans (including the owner of the bar) would gather each week. It was usually somber back there, as we angrily suffered through the Tony Banks years, often leaving with a “maybe I’ll be here next week.... I don’t know, man.”We all know what happened next, as the Rams went from 4-12 in 1998 to 13-3 (would have been 14-2, but they started QB Joe Germaine in the finale to rest some guys) and secured the #1 seed in the NFC and home field at the Trans World Dome. Somehow, in one offseason, the Rams had transformed from doormat to dominant. Add Faulk, Holt, Warner, Mad Mike Martz, and gallons of Dick Vermeil tears, and we had lightning in a bottle.The Greatest Show on Turf was born.We went on to stomp the Jeff George-led Minnesota Vikings by a count of 49-37 in the divisional round. I wasn’t able to watch it with my Dad, as he and my Mom were vacationing in Florida — lifelong Rams fans aren’t used to playing in January. Later, they framed this photo of him watching the game:My Mom doctored up the frame in Rams colors.锘縄 remember my Dad and I watching the NFC Championship at Micky Finn’s. I’m sure he was still drinking beer at the time — we needed every drop for that one. Thank you, Ricky Proehl. Side note: during last week’s NFC Championship, I reminded my friends that Warner threw an INT to the Bucs on the Rams’ first drive in that game — and we won. Faith was restored, if only slightly.And then came the big game. Back then [url= http://www.ramsjerseyproshop.com/c-j-anderson-jersey/]C.J. Anderson Jersey[/url] , there was no two-week gap between Championship Sunday and the Super Bowl. It was just grip it and rip it. The upstart St. Louis Rams featuring the Greatest Show on Turf and Jeff Fisher’s Tennessee Titans, led by Steve McNair and Eddie George, and recipients of the Music City Miracle lest we forget, Jeff Fisher’s lone appearance in the Super Bowl was a gift much larger than any missed calls the Rams may have benefited from last weekend:To watch Super Bowl XXXIV, I was joined at Micky Finn’s by my Mom and Dad, two of their oldest friends (RIP), and a much larger group of Rams fans out of the woodwork for the big game huddled in the back room, nervously nibbling on pregame snacks by the flickering light of the 600-pound big-screen TV. The Rams started out moving the ball well, but settled for field goals and a 9-0 halftime lead. We were nervous, of course, because we hadn’t capitalized on our red zone opportunities (hello, Sean Payton) — and nearly 300 yards passing from Warner. The Titans looked to get on the board in the third, but a blocked field goal by Todd Lyght kept them scoreless. The Rams would go on to take a 16-0 lead on the ensuing possession on a Torry Holt TD which he caught against his facemask. Things were looking good. However, Jeff Fisher’s Titans rallied to tie the game, displaying a resilience and wherewithal his Rams teams never dreamed of. What followed was my favorite play in Rams history, a 73-yard TD pass from Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce to take a 23-16 lead. At first, the pass looked errant like it could be picked off, but then the good Reverend plucked it from the sky at the 38-yard line and took it to the house. For me, it was almost an out-of-body experience, as I simply felt my body jumping up and down, an involuntary act of pure joy.The feisty Titans would once again drive the length of the field. Steve McNair was so strong and somehow so elusive — a bigger, slower version of Russell Wilson — as he shed Rams tacklers to put his team in position to tie. And then the final play [url= http://www.ramsjerseyproshop.com/eric-weddle-jersey/]Eric Weddle Jersey[/url] , Rams LB Mike Jones wrapping up Titans WR Kevin Dyson on the one yard-line.The Tackle.I remember shouting. “He’s down! It’s over! Rams win! Rams win!” before anyone else was quite sure what had happened. In an instant, that dimly lit back room at Micky Finn’s became pandemonium. Jumping up and down, hugs and laughter, champagne and confetti, blue and gold face paint streaked with tears of joy. I hugged my parents like my life depended on it. This was a day I never thought would come.Pretty sure I closed a bar down that night, and “worked from home” the next day. I even recall finding the number of an old college buddy who was a Niners fan and giving him a buzzed buzz. It was our first conversation since 1994.Warner would later say:Sounds a little bit like our young QB, doesn’t it? Lamar Jackson basically hadn’t allowed the football to touch the ground Monday night until he dropped an ordinary shotgun snap late in the first half at the Coliseum. He picked it up, split the pocket and sprinted away through the Rams’ defense, going 35 thrilling yards before tripping right at the goal line.Instead of celebrating, Jackson sprung up and remonstratively slapped both his hands on his helmet.Baltimore’s brilliant young quarterback wants to be perfect. He got awfully close in his “Monday Night Football” debut with the fearsome Ravens.Jackson matched his career high with five touchdown passes and ran for 95 yards in another splendid all-around performance, and Baltimore routed Los Angeles 45-6 for its seventh consecutive victory.Mark Ingram rushed for 111 yards and a TD and caught a scoring pass while the streaking Ravens (9-2) became the fourth team in the 21st century to score touchdowns on its first six drives in a game. With Jackson operating almost flawlessly at the controls, Baltimore embarrassed Aaron Donald and the previously solid Rams defense by racking up 480 yards with its evolving brand of high-octane football.“We’re clicking on all cylinders right now,” Jackson said. “It’s OK, but we’re trying to win the Super Bowl. This is cool, but we’re chasing that right now, and that’s what we’re focused on.”The Ravens’ 22-year-old quarterback strengthened his Most Valuable Player case while going 15 of 20 for 169 yards and constantly making smart decisions with his arm and his feet. He hit Willie Snead with his fifth TD pass with 14:43 to play and took the rest of the night off, but even the LA crowd serenaded him with “M-V-P!” chants in the final minutes.“That’s just operating at the highest level you can operate as a quarterback,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Jackson’s first half, in which he went 9 for 9 and led four TD drives.Snead and Marquise Brown had two TD catches apiece for the Ravens, whose winning streak is their longest since they won seven straight to close the 2000 season on the way to their first Super Bowl title. At 9-2, the Ravens have matched their best start since 2012, which ended in their second Super Bowl championship. Baltimore has outscored its last three opponents 135-26.Jared Goff passed for 212 yards with two interceptions and Todd Gurley rushed for just 22 for the defending NFC champion Rams (6-5) [url= http://www.ramsjerseyproshop.com/austin-blythe-jersey/]Austin Blythe Jersey[/url] , who took the worst loss of their three seasons under coach Sean McVay.“We didn’t do nearly enough to be competitive,” McVay said. “It was impressive. When you sit there and watch and see (Jackson) up close and personal — on third down with his operation to find completions and making plays with his legs — I can see why they are talking about him being MVP.”Los Angeles hadn’t lost by more than 21 points in its first 43 games under McVay, whose once-prolific offense had another humiliating performance with just 111 yards in the first three quarters before finishing with 221. The Rams failed to score a touchdown for the second time in three games, and Goff didn’t throw a TD pass in November.In the Coliseum’s first Monday night game since the Rams’ epic 54-51 win over Kansas City last November, the Rams gave up one more point than they had allowed in their previous four games combined. The Rams also were among the NFL’s best offensive teams for the previous two seasons, but they’ve lost that status this year while Baltimore has ascended to dominance.“We got our faces peeled off,” said Rams safety Eric Weddle, who spent the past three seasons with Baltimore. “We didn’t do much good out there. ... (Jackson) is amazing. The tempo and the speed. I thought the first series or two, we would take our bearings to get adjusted to his speed. He’s one of a kind.”The Ravens scored on their opening drive for the seventh time already this season when Jackson lofted an easy TD pass to Brown, who spent a year playing community college ball in nearby Santa Clarita. Brown got his second TD from 18 yards out on Baltimore’s second drive, and Ingram capped a 75-yard march with a 1-yard TD run on the third.Baltimore got the ball back with only 1:55 left before halftime, but that was plenty for Jackson. He hit Snead with a 7-yard TD pass with 12 seconds left, and Rams fans booed their team off the field down 28-6.Baltimore opened the second half with another 75-yard drive capped by Ingram’s TD catch. The Ravens held the ball for all but 59 seconds of the third quarter, and Snead made his second TD catch early in the fourth.The Ravens finally had to punt in the fourth quarter, ending a streak of 18 consecutive drives without a punt.LA REUNIONBaltimore cornerback Marcus Peters made an interception in the fourth quarter to cap his first meeting with the Rams since they traded him to the Ravens last month. Peters shook hands with dozens of former teammates throughout the night, but he also engaged in some demonstrative trash talking with Robert Woods on the field, and he celebrated his pick with relish. Peters then exchanged postgame words on the field and up the tunnel with Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who arrived two weeks after Peters’ departure.INJUREDRavens: C Matt Skura was taken off the field on a cart in the first quarter with a knee injury. He didn’t return, and Harbaugh had no update on his condition.Rams: Brandin Cooks had two catches for 32 yards in his return from a two-game absence with his second concussion of the season.UP NEXTRavens: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.Rams: Visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.