For fans of the then-Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers during the 1970s through the middle 1990s, there was a week like no other that each fanbase looked forward to, dismal season or not.

It’s Niners-Rams week.

The 1970s and 1980s brought a tale of two contrasting franchises: in the 1970s, the Rams ran roughshod over the hapless Niners, gunning them down 19 times in 22 games and winning seven division titles (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979); in the 1980s, the Niners returned the favor, going a less than dominant 13-7 in face-to-face meetings and taking eight division titles (1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990; the Rams did break up the streak into two parts with the capturing of the 1985 NFC Western division crown).

The dynamic that once was an inter-California territorial battle became an intercontinental tilt after the Rams picked up and moved to the financial oasis that was St. Louis between the 1994 and 1995 campaigns. At first, it didn’t have an effect on the electricity and luster as the new St. Louis Rams and their fans took to the game immediately, enjoying the verbal (and not-so-verbal) communication between the two teams’ players.

Back in 1995, the Rams got off to a flying start after the move, going 5-1 heading into Niners week (week 8 of the NFL season.

Rams players were hoping that a new city would end the six game losing streak against them. They were pretty amped as the Niners were going to be led on offense by Elvis Grbac due to the left shoulder injury suffered by future Hall of Famer Steve Young. The game (and the actions of some players) didn’t disappoint.

San Francisco fired off the first salvo with Grbac hitting WR John Taylor on a 35-yard pass just a little over two minutes into the game. After that, the Niners didn’t take the foot off the gas pedal and stoked the fires of Rams fans everywhere.

The Rams were trying to strike back, moving along downfield with Chris Chandler under center. The drive proved unsuccessful as Chandler fired off a pass that was intercepted by Niner linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. He returned it 21-yards to pay dirt and provided ‘the spark’ for the gas can.

‘The Spark’ derives from Niners linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. actions after he intercepted two Chandler passes for touchdowns (the second one was a 35-yard return) and proceeded to use the goalposts as his personal punching bag in celebration, reminiscent of days gone by of his boxing father, Ken Sr.

After the game, defensive tackle put the exclamation point on the game with a phrase that still echoes to this day. To describe how thoroughly unimpressed he was with the Rams and their start: “It’s the same old, sorry ass Rams to me.”

Obviously, Rams players didn’t take too kindly to those remarks and vowed they’d make them eat those words the next time they played in week 13.

That game started out better for the Rams than their effort at Busch Stadium. The Rams marched down field with an impressive drive, scoring on a two-yard pass from Chandler to WR/KR/PR Todd Kinchen some ten minutes into the game. Not forgetting what Norton, Jr. did, Kinchen decided to land a counter-punch and roughed up the base of the goal post in a fierce flurry of body blows.

The move proved ill-advised — the Niners rung up 35 unanswered points, capped off by an 86-yard interception return touchdown by cornerback Eric Davis off Chandler in a 41-13 route.

The Niners streak against the Rams (and payback for the St. Louis version) spanned an incredible 17-games till 1999, when the newly dubbed ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ finally broke through in two decisive victories over their division counterparts (42-20 and 23-7). The Rams would go on to win the Super Bowl over the Tennessee Titans 23-16.

Since then, the rivalry has relatively cooled — both fans and players alike don’t have the same fervor or anticipation as they once did in the 1970s through the middle 1990s for the same two weeks on the schedule every season.

Gone are the days and names of John Brodie, Roman Gabriel, Pat Haden, Vince Ferragamo, Joe Montana and Steve Young taking on the other team’s defenses; Lawrence McCutcheon, Roger Craig and Eric Dickerson slicing between the tackles for big, key gains; Jack Snow, Harold Jackson, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice or Henry Ellard racking up yardage after amazing catches over the middle.

Gone are the days of playing games in the Los Angeles Coliseum, Anaheim Stadium, Busch Stadium and soon, Candlestick Point. The Niners announced plans last week to move to Santa Clara, California after plans for a stadium adjacent to their current home fell through.

Thankfully, the memories haven’t left and someday soon, when both franchises right their collective ships, the rivalry will be renewed. Once that happens, it’ll be Niners-Rams week all over again.

© 2006, The Buried Lead
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