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Cooper Kupp, Rams MVP, on success, clothes and kids
Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp was a man of few words Wednesday, victory parade day, when the Rams wide receiver and his teammates paraded through the streets of Los Angeles.
During the team’s victory rally at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, he was asked about his wardrobe choice for the day, a brown Lakers tank with Kobe Bryant’s number 8.
Kupp: “I’m standing here in this city that knows nothing but championships… Kobe’s a part of this. He belongs here. He set the standard: Let’s get back to work.”
And about whether he’s relishing the Vince Lombardi Trophy, awarded each year to the NFL champions.
Kupp: “We got a whole life for that. I really believe it. This is just a start.”
And finally, what message did he have for all the boys and girls out there watching. His response was short, sweet and PG-13.
Kupp: “Believe in yourself. Know your worth. Screw what anyone else says. … Let’s go!”
Fans climb trees and portable toilets for a peek at Super Bowl champions
To grab a view of the stage over the sea of people crowding around the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, some fans climbed trees, jumped on portable toilets and parking lot kiosks.
Among them was Emiliano Ruiz, 19, who lives across the street from the coliseum.
“It’s a euphoric feeling that just brings joy back to the whole city,” a smiling Ruiz said of the championship victory. As he spoke, Ruiz held a can of Modelo in one hand and dangled his legs from a kiosk.
He lamented many of the city’s issues such as homelessness and the recent surges of COVID-19.
“Especially amid the pandemic, it helps brings the atmosphere up,” he said.
Mexican fans were proud to represent at the Rams parade
Felix Gonzalez, 62, turned Wednesday’s parade into a family affair.
He, his granddaughter Diana Gonzalez, 23, her boyfriend, Victor Alvarez, 24, and their 5-month-old drove down from Chino Hills and reached Figueroa Street at about 10:30 a.m.
“I wanted my family to experience this, to be a part of the parade and the city,” he said. “It’s wonderful.”
The Michoacán native created his own tricolor helmet complete with Rams horns.
“There’s a lot of Mexican fans and we have to represent,” Gonzalez said. “I saw some mariachis around here, but there needs to be more.”
Felix Gonzalez said he has been a fan since 1979 and his love of the Rams never flagged, even when the team left for St. Louis.
Wednesday’s parade felt like vindication.
“When you love someone, you love them,” he said. “I was with the Rams in bad times and now good.”
For this Lake Elsinore Rams fan, Super Bowl win was ‘a dream come true’
For Lake Elsinore resident Jesus Sotelo, the drive to Los Angeles was about 90 minutes long.
He found a parade viewing spot near the intersection of South Figueroa and West 39th streets and, in a vacant lot, waved a blue flag with the initials RWO, which stands for Rams World Order, from an 18-foot pole. The flag represents a group of Rams fans based in Lake Elsinore, he said.
Enjoying a Rams championship in Los Angeles was a dream come true for the man who followed the Rams since 1988. Sotelo played wide receiver at Lynwood High School and wore No. 83 in honor of his favorite player, Rams wide receiver Flipper Anderson.
“Back in those days, if you were a Latino in the Southeast, you were a Raider, 49er or Cowboys fan,” Sotelo said. “There weren’t too many of us Rams fans, which is what makes today special.”
About 30 feet to Sotelo’s right, roughly 40 Rams fans climbed on top of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power trucks used to blockade a portion of the street for the parade. As those fans waved at him, he waved back with his flag.
“They say we don’t have fans,” he quipped.
For some fans, the Rams parade turned into a fashion show
Dashawn Hall said he knew he had to buy the Rams blazer when he spotted it on a rack at a sporting goods shop in the Del Amo Fashion Center mall.
“When I seen this jacket, I said ‘I gotta get this. It’s dope,’” the Long Beach resident said.
And he’s glad he did because it was a huge hit at Wednesday’s Super Bowl parade.
“A lot of people have been stopping me,” he said. “They like the whole ‘fit, especially with the throwback Marshall Faulk jersey.”
After lively procession, flying confetti marks the end of the Rams parade
The parade’s over. Now what?
Rams parade recap: About 45 minutes. One short mile. An abbreviated convoy of double decker buses painted bright blue and emblazoned “World Champions.”
A decent showing of fans, but hardly a record turnout. No floats. No flowers. No horses. No marching bands. No streakers. No acrobats. No surprises. No LeBron James.
On the plus side, at least while the parade rolled along, no rain. No broken windows. No visible violence. No huge problems. No big headaches.
And now, no more football.
And maybe no baseball, at least not for the foreseeable future.
At least we still have the Lakers and the Kings.
The Rams show off trophy to cheering fans
A sea of blue and gold greets Super Bowl champions
Blue buses spray champagne as the celebration begins
L.A. fan gets creative with unique Rams swag
This Los Angeles resident, who goes by the nickname Gee Enzel, let his creativity show through during Wednesday’s celebrations with custom made Rams swag.
His unique sweater, bright red with a gold-embossed Rams logo and brown fur affixed to its front pocket and hood, turned heads and started conversations as he walked along the parade route, Enzel said.
“Even you stopped,” he said to a Times reporter, laughing. “I got this hoodie from New York and got this fur and put it together. You can’t get this out here. It’s a one of a kind.”
Fans climb onto parked trucks to get a better view of the parade
Whose house? Champs’ house!
The buses blasted blue and gold confetti. A voice floated above the cheering crowd in a celebratory call and response: “I got one question to ask everybody. Whose house?” “Champs’ house! “Whose house?” “Champs’ house!” “Whoooooose hoooouuuuse?”
Fans watched from buildings lining the route, from windows and ledges and parking garages. They waved and cheered and recorded the moment on smartphones. Streetlights flashed red. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp paid homage to another sports champion; his tank top was emblazoned with a Kobe Bryant 8.
Engaged after Rams Super Bowl win, this couple continues celebrating at the parade
Even 49ers fans sell Rams swag along parade route
Near Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard, the intersection in the middle of the parade route, Alicia Arellano laid a blanket on the sidewalk and set up masks she’d hand painted black and decorated with the Rams’ logo.
“How much?” someone asked.
“Twenty dollars,” Arellano said. “I hand paint them all.”
She admitted, with a whisper, that she’s a 49ers fan — still, she said, she was happy to see the Rams win.
“I’m excited for the city.”
A few minutes later, a group of Los Angeles police officers walked up to a tent to look at the the black and blue T-shirts for sale. They thanked the vendor and walked away.
“Have a good day, gentlemen,” the vendor said. “I hope you don’t have to use any zip ties today.”
“Us too,” one of the officers said.
Cheers, chanting as parade gets underway
Shortly after 11 a.m., the first double-decker bus began to roll out from the staging area.
The open-top buses, painted bright Rams blue, were filled with players and cheerleaders and family members.
There were cigars and beers and celebratory kisses, smiling and shimmying and selfies. And a great big silver trophy.
Fans crammed the parade route, cheering and whistling and waving flags. Police on motorcycles were queued up in a protective barrier on both sides of the slowly moving procession.
A day after rain and hail and thunder and lightning swept through the region, parade day was all sunshine, blue skies and palm trees.
This mom from Watts spreads positivity and Twizzlers at Rams parade
Latasha Bracks was dressed head to toe in layers of blue and gold Rams gear Wednesday morning as she handed out candy outside of Banc of California Stadium.
The mother of six said her only goal was to spread as much positivity at the parade as she could while supporting her hometown team.
She handed Twizzlers out to the smallest Rams fans.
“I love the Rams so I came out for the parade and to make the kids happy because they’re here with their parents,” she said.
Selling hot dogs to Rams fans is a family affair for this vendor
Bacon strips sizzled in hot oil on Victoria Zapata’s flat metal grill, sending up a billows of aromatic smoke so familiar to locals.
Zapata, who lives near the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, started selling hot dogs on the city’s streets since she was seven. Her parents, immigrants from Ecuador and Guatemala, needed to make a living and stumbled on the street food business.
“One day they were like, ‘Well, we need some money.’ We already had some friends who were doing it so they helped us get started,” Zapata said.
They’ve had success ever since. Zapata said the revenue from selling hot dogs, water bottles and Gatorade “put me through school.”
Usually, selling hot dogs is just a side gig on the weekends. But during special events, Zapata is always out there. Apart from the Rams parade, she has also sold at a Lakers parade, she said.
“This business has helped us a lot,” Zapata said. “It would’ve been a whole different life for us without this.”
Those famous bacon-wrapped hot dogs sizzle for hungry L.A. fans
Fans decked out in blue and gold get ready to cheer on their team
As fans trickled onto the start of the parade route, Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E” played from a fan’s portable speaker.
Fans decked in blue and gold cheered one another on, occasionally yelling, “Rams house, baby!” and “L.A.!!!”
Several stopped to admire and snap selfies with Compton native Mohammed Mubarak’s art of Snoop Dogg and OBJ.
Paul Bock, 50, was one of the early birds who claimed a spot right against the barricade for the parade. The freelance film producer said he cleared his schedule and made sure to arrive early to beat traffic.
Bock guessed that most people headed straight to Exposition Park for the rally, but he thinks the parade is where it’s at. He wanted to see the players celebrate their win on the floats, holding up their trophy.
“You have to win in L.A. to get fans to support you,” he said. “Why do you think there’s so many Raider fans in L.A.?”
This tiny Rams fan wearing a charro hat is ready to cheer for his team
Need a parking spot? This Rams fan opens his home to visitors for a fee.
Darnell Brown, a lifetime Rams fan and L.A. resident never imagined his team would promenade through his neighborhood.
But a parade comes with drawbacks. When he checked parking prices in the area, he was surprised.
“I saw what they were charging for parking at the Super Bowl and it was nuts,” Brown said. “How can the average fan afford that?”
So Brown decided to show some hometown hospitality.
He tossed on a Cooper Kupp jersey, cleaned up his parking lot and opened it to fans. He has 24 spots available near South Hill Street and West Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. Brown is charging $35 a spot.
The lot is a five minute walk to the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the Rams Super Bowl parade, so that’s what he calls a “hometown discount.”
“Having the Rams win a championship in LA is something I’ve thought about since they got here,” said Brown, 40, who added he’s been a fan since he was 9. “I didn’t think they would have the parade here.”
Vendors near USC take advantage of Rams celebration
Cheerful Rams fans from across the L.A. region flow into downtown
On Wednesday morning, more than an hour before the parade began, dozens of mini parades had already begun on Metro cars across the city, moving like a network of tributaries all flowing toward Exposition Park.
Just before 8:30 a.m. at the 7th and Metro Centro rail station, a group of friends dressed in Rams hoodies and Dodgers caps spotted the doors slide open on an Expo train.
“Hurry up!” one shouted.
They sprinted to the train and were greeted with applause from several fans already aboard.
“You guys headed to the parade?” asked a woman holding a large, see-through bag — the telltale sign of a fan familiar with SoFi stadium’s clear-bags-only policy.
“You already know it!” one of the women in the group answered.
“Woooooo!”
As more fans trickled on, they greeted one another, swapping stories about where their journeys had begun that morning — North Hollywood, Riverside, Koreatown.
As a voice projected from above — “Please stand clear. The doors are closing” — the fans on the train spotted two more people dressed in blue and running toward them. Someone wedged their body against the door until the two squeezed inside.
From the other end of the rail car someone shouted, “Whose house?”
“Rams house!”
Watch live: L.A. Rams Super Bowl victory parade
Los Angeles Times columnist and ‘The Times’ podcast host Gustavo Arellano and Times Op-Ed columnist LZ Granderson provide live commentary during the Rams’ Super Bowl parade and rally. Gustavo and LZ are joined by guests for discussions covering the future of Rams football, sports in Los Angeles and the cultural impact of the big game.
Plaschke: The Rams and L.A. deserve this parade, but sorry, Lakers and Dodgers, you don’t
As usual, the Rams are going for it.
Just as they did during Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, the Rams are engaging in a dramatic last drive.
It will occur Wednesday on a 1.1-mile stretch of downtown Los Angeles in an event that, while considered routine elsewhere, is wonderfully tinged with the Rams’ trademark boldness.
They’ve been back in town only six years, the SoFi Stadium stands often are filled with visiting fans, they’re still only the local landscape’s fourth-most popular sports brand … yet they’re throwing themselves a victory parade on a midweek afternoon on busy city streets with many people still masked?
LeBron James, whose Lakers were denied a parade because of the pandemic after their 2020 NBA title, wants to join in.
“We, Dodgers and Rams should all do a joint parade together!!!!” he tweeted. “With a live concert afterwards to end it!! City of Champions.”
Sorry, King. This is not your party. You were denied your moment, and it stinks, but more than a full season has passed since then, and only four current players were on that title team and just … no.
Rams fans gather hours ahead of parade
Excited Rams fans were already crowding Exposition Park early Wednesday morning ahead of a parade slated to honor the Super Bowl champions.
The highly anticipated parade marks the first such victory celebration in Los Angeles since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city has won three major sports titles in the last 16 months, but this will be the first one it can celebrate together.
Going to the Rams parade? Here’s what health experts say about COVID-19 risks
As Rams fans gear up for today’s parade to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl victory, public health officials and experts are urging people to gauge their level of risk and take appropriate precautions.
Public health officials generally advise people to avoid crowds, but “there’s no avoiding crowds in a parade,” Dr. George Rutherford, UC San Francisco professor of epidemiology, said Monday. “The safest bet is to wear a mask, if you’re going to go.”
LAPD says it’s prepared for parade; resources available if crowd grows unruly
Chief Michel Moore told the LAPD’s civilian oversight panel Tuesday that the department was prepared for today’s parade celebrating the L.A. Rams’ Super Bowl win.
Moore said the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies were working with the Rams “to ensure that it will be a safe and secure route,” including the California Highway Patrol — which has jurisdiction along streets in Exposition Park and at the Coliseum.
Moore said bike rails and other infrastructure will be in place, and police vehicles and other barriers will ensure safety. Figueroa Street will be closed from Adams and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards, he said.
The Rams players will be on double-decker buses during the parade, Moore said, and spectators will have “great vantage points all along the route” regardless of the safety barriers.
Moore said uniformed officers will be “all along the parade route” — every 40 feet or so — and assisted by transportation department personnel.
The LAPD will have additional resources, including mobile field forces, staged across downtown L.A., in case unruly crowds gather again, as they did on Sunday night after the Super Bowl.
If people again engage in unruly activity, “we’ll be able to take immediate action and hold them accountable,” Moore said.
Moore said the special deployments will not diminish patrols elsewhere in the city, in part thanks to the use of detectives from across the city to work the special details. Homicide detectives will not be prevented from doing their normal work, he said, though some property investigations may be slowed.
Much of the area will be under video surveillance, Moore said.
Here’s where the roughly one-mile parade will go
How to get to the parade
The roughly one-mile parade will kick off at 11 a.m. at the Shrine Auditorium on west Jefferson Boulevard, but street closures may make travel difficult, and parking will be limited.
Metro use is highly encouraged. Attendees can access Exposition Park via the Expo Park/USC Station on the Expo Line.
For ride-sharing transportation, drop-off and pick-up locations are at the corner of Hope Street and Jefferson Boulevard.
If you drive yourself, on-site parking — which is extremely limited — will be available in the Grand Avenue Structure at 3453 S. Grand Ave, and the Flower Street Structure at 3709 Flower St., for $35 (credit card only).
Both lots open at 6 a.m. and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. If you plan to enter the Flower Structure you must do so by 8 a.m. due to street closures.
These streets will be closed for the parade
The 110 Freeway southbound offramp at Exposition Boulevard and the 110 northbound HOV offramp at 39th Street will be closed starting at 7 a.m.
The following streets will close beginning at 8 a.m.:
- Jefferson Boulevard (in both directions) between Hoover Street and Figueroa Street
- Figueroa Street (in both directions) between Adams Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
- Exposition Boulevard (both directions) between Bill Robertson Lane and Figueroa Street
- Bill Robertson Lane (both directions) between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Exposition Boulevard
The Department of Transportation will reopen city streets on a rolling basis once the parade passes through each section.
Super Bowl champion Rams will parade through L.A. today
Los Angeles will honor the Super Bowl champion Rams with a parade Wednesday through the Exposition Park area.
The roughly one-mile parade will kick off at 11 a.m. at the Shrine Auditorium on west Jefferson Boulevard, team officials said.
It will wind down Figueroa Street before turning onto Exposition Park Drive and landing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum about 11:45 a.m. A rally will be held at the Coliseum’s Olympic Plaza and Peristyle Arch from noon until 1 p.m.
Commentary: With Super Bowl title, Rams can finally celebrate being an enduring part of L.A.
The blue-and-yellow confetti fluttered to the SoFi Stadium field, and the unofficial Los Angeles anthem pulsed to the heavens.
Roll down the window,
Put down the top,
Crank up the Beach Boys,
Baby don’t let the music stop,
We’re gonna ride it ’til we just can’t ride it no more.
In a night of lump-in-the-throat moments for Kevin Demoff, when the Rams capped a Hollywood script of a season by winning Super Bowl LVI on their home field Sunday, that memory is now indelible as tattoo ink.
Whose house? ‘Rams House’ will replace iconic Hollywood sign lettering
The Hollywood sign will look a little different this week following the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
A temporary installation will transform the iconic sign to read “Rams House,” Mayor Eric Garcetti announced after the game. It will be displayed Monday through Wednesday.
Plaschke: Los Angeles, you’ve got another champion. Make room for the Rams
Amid the blaring of blue and gold horns, on a super-sized Sunday fit for an ascension, the Los Angeles sports heavens just got a little more crowded.
Make room for the Rams.
Move over, Lakers. Back up, Dodgers. Everybody clear space for the oldest of friends, the newest of heroes, the prodigal sons turned Super Bowl champions.
Six years after returning to Los Angeles with helmet in hand, the Rams raised those helmets to the sky Sunday with a 23-20 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.