Rams safety Quentin Lake was unaware of the team’s rivalry with the 49ers when he was drafted by the team in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
So when he first stepped onto the field at SoFi Stadium for a home game against the Niners, he was shocked to find the stadium was filled with more red than blue.
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“I go into SoFi against the 49ers. I didn’t really know anything about the rivalry or anything like that,” Lake said on a recent episode of the “Victory Degree Podcast” with Nik Atanackovic.
Niners fans fill SoFi Stadium for the Rams’ home game. Rams safety Quentin Lake isn’t a fan of the sea of red. Getty Images
“We get to the start of the game, and we come out of the tunnel and I’m like, ‘Why do I hear more boos than cheers?’ And then you run out of the tunnel and I’m telling you it’s a sea of red.”
Needless to say, Lake now understands that in Los Angeles fandom doesn’t always follow geography. Sometimes, it follows history.
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From 1994 to 2016, Los Angeles was a football orphan. The Rams were gone. The Raiders were gone.
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Sundays became a free market of loyalty, and teams such as the 49ers, Cowboys and Packers filled the vacuum. So kids in LA didn’t get a chance to grow up with Rams football — instead, they inherited dynasties broadcast into their living rooms.
Joe Montana. Jerry Rice. Steve Young. Terrell Owens. All part of a long tradition for many football fans living in LA.
So when Lake hears that “sea of red,” he’s not just hearing opposing fans. He’s hearing three decades of absence echoing back at him. It’s also noteworthy that for fans in the Bay Area, the flight to LA is less than an hour and the drive a manageable four to five hours depending on your location.
The good news is that the Rams have spent the last decade rewriting some of that history. Since returning in 2016, and hiring Sean McVay in 2017, they’ve won. They’ve raised a Super Bowl banner. And now, a new generation of Rams fans are forming one Sunday at a time.
Christian McCaffrey and his 49ers teammates often hear more cheers than the Rams at SoFi Stadium. Getty Images
Lake has a few more years to see that transformation in real time. He signed a three-year contract extension through the 2028 season that will keep him running out of that tunnel at SoFi.
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But until then, he better get used to seeing 49ers fans at his home stadium.
