10 Things To Know About The St. Louis Rams' Best Years In The NFL

Any NFL fans born in the late nineties onward probably didn’t think much of the St. Louis Rams. Once they stopped being “The Greatest Show On Turf” the team mostly slid into obscurity in the league. They had some decent seasons here and there, but they struggled to find much success until they made their move to their new home in Los Angeles.

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The thing is, there was a brief period of time in which the St. Louis Rams were the most exciting team in the league. From 1999-2001, the Rams managed to put on some dominant displays across the league, even when they weren’t able to claim the ultimate prize, the Super Bowl championship.

10 No One Believed In Kurt Warner

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To be fair to all the people who assumed the Rams were doomed under Kurt Warner, he really hadn’t shown anyone what he was capable of to that point. Once the Rams’ starting quarterback was injured, it was up to Warner to step up to the plate, and step up he did.

Warner had been dropped by the Packers years prior, so when Warner suddenly started producing for the Rams, everyone was pleasantly surprised. No one could have predicted he’d end up leading the team to a Super Bowl victory, so it just goes to show that no player should ever be counted out.

9 The Team Kept The Label Past Their Prime Years

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As the years go on, nicknames come and go. One team can’t keep up their displays of dominance for too long before another team steps up to challenge them. Somehow, despite no longer being a top contender, the Rams kept their famous nickname for quite a while.

Most fans agree that the era of “The Greatest Show On Turf” was from 1999-2001, but both sportscasters and fans continued to refer to the team by that moniker past their prime. Even though the performances slid down the leaderboards, fans never lost faith in their team.

8 The Rams Offense Originally Had A Different Name

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Forming the perfect nickname can take a bit of time, and that couldn’t be more true for the Rams. Their famous nickname is used to refer to them even before they officially had the nickname, but even before that, the legendary offense had another name.

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Originally, the Rams' offense was actually named The Warner Brothers. The name really didn’t have the same kind of impact that their iconic nickname would end up having, so it’s good that it ended up changing. Their eventual nickname was much better at encompassing the entirety of the offensive line.

7 The Rams Were Record Breakers

Big fans of the Rams will probably know that they were a record-breaking team for a few years, but those who weren’t the biggest St. Louis fans may not be aware of just how many records they set.

The team put on dominant displays that made them leaders in things like passing yards, completions, total offensive yards, and a whole host of other stats. The fact that no one expected the Rams to even be a major contender with the stepping up of Kurt Warner makes all their success all the more surprising.

6 Chris Berman Coined The Famous Term

All the way back in the year 2000, the sports commentator Chris Berman came up with the now-famous nickname for the St. Louis Rams. The original phrasing actually called the team the greatest show on earth, but over time, a change was made to include the word 'turf'.

The nickname was created as a play on a circus slogan, and one that caught on like wildfire. As soon as the phrase was uttered, it was as if it was cemented as the new name of the Rams’ offensive line.

5 Mike Martz Was The Man With The Plan

When a team’s offensive line becomes so dominant it’s only fair that the person making the plans behind the scenes receives some credit. The person most credited with all the success of the Rams' offense during those prime years was offensive coordinator and eventual head coach Mike Martz.

Martz was able to implement such a dynamic and difficult-to-defend offense that few teams were able to put a stop to the Rams. While Martz did implement that plan for the team, it’s also worth acknowledging that it wasn’t a strategy of his own making.

4 The Plan Originated In College

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Rather than Martz having created the dominant offensive plan for the Rams on his own, it supposedly came from Sid Gillman before it would be fine-tuned and implemented by Don Coryell. Clearly, the knowledge being passed from coach to coach only added to the strategy as time went on.

While the strategy may not have been what it would eventually become, San Diego State was used as a kind of testing ground for the offense. Those years being tested are probably what helped make it such a dominant force when the Rams finally implemented it.

3 The Offense Landed The Team A Super Bowl Win

While the Rams weren’t exactly the greatest football team of all time, they were fantastic enough to lay claim to a Super Bowl victory. They were a consistent playoff contender, made two Super Bowl appearances, and earned a big win in their 1999 season thanks to their stellar offense.

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The Rams went head-to-head with the Tennessee Titans in an exciting Super Bowl. Throughout the game, the Rams were able to display their superior offense as they continued to drive the ball up the field with little resistance.

2 The Rams Defense Was No Slouch Either

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While the Rams' offense from this period is always the main topic of conversation among fans, it’s worth giving the defensive line some credit as well. Just how successful and impactful their defense was often is understated, which is odd considering they had one of the best defensive lines of the era.

A good offensive line can only get a team so far. If a strong team can’t put in the work to stop an opposing team’s offensive push, a lot of points will need to be scored to avoid a loss. Luckily, the Rams were capable of scoring a lot and keeping their opponents from making it all that far down the field.

1 They Scored A Massive Amount Of Points

When a team has a dynamite offense, most people will expect them to earn quite a few points. The Rams’ iconic offense managed an incredible feat, three consecutive seasons in which they earned more than five-hundred points.

The team's highest point total of that era was 540 in their 2000 season. Over the course of their three incredible seasons, the team managed to earn 1569 points, something that put the Rams’ offense in the upper echelon of dominance. Luckily, the team was able to recapture some of that magic just a few years ago.