One yard. Mike Jones makes the tackle and Kevin Dyson reaches the ball toward the goal line and comes up short as the clock hits zero. Super Bowl XXXIV, January 2000, the Rams beating the Titans 23-16 because a linebacker wrapped up a receiver a yard from a tie. The Greatest Show on Turf, Kurt Warner from a grocery-store job to a champion, and a finish decided by the length of a man’s outstretched arm.

Four trips across two cities, split down the middle

The Rams have two trophies and two losses, won from Los Angeles and St. Louis both. They lost Super Bowl XIV to the Steelers back in the LA days. They won XXXIV in St. Louis on The Tackle. They lost Super Bowl LIII to the Patriots 13-3, the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, a game so dull it felt like punishment. Then they won Super Bowl LVI at home in February 2022, Cooper Kupp and a last-minute drive past the Bengals.

The thing I respect

Two cities, two trophies, and a knack for winning the close ones rather than losing them. The Rams have been on the right side of the one-yard endings more than the wrong side. Rams fans, you got The Tackle going your way. From a man who got the missed kick going against him, I notice these things.