The big winner between the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night?
The National Football League.
The Rams were the victor over the Chiefs, 54-51, in this Super Bowl Light matchup of two 9-1 teams. These high-powered offenses tore through their play books, running for a score here, heaving a pass for a touchdown there in making for an thrilling outing that lived up to the expectations.
Over the course of four quarters, that came with fireworks on and off the field, hype gave way to hope. This is what the NFL envisioned when finally planting its flag here again in 2016 after the Rams and Raiders fled following the 1994 season.
The Rams in Year 3, and especially with their showing on Monday, made those NFL suits on Park Avenue look smart after a week in which many questioned the league's brain trust. The game that electrified LA, and the nationwide TV audience, was supposed to be held in Mexico City.
Then the pictures started circulating of the Azteca Stadium field. It looked like the local park after a Saturday full of soccer games following a Friday night of rain.
While the NFL deplored being stiff-armed in its quest to grow its financial pie, the grass was far from greener on the other side of the border.
So the NFL sprung into damage control and it came out looking like a rose. While upset the Rams and Chiefs were unable to play in Mexico and expand the NFL's international brand, it gave many a fresh look at LA and what the NFL means there now, and more importantly, in the future.
Not only did curious football observers see and feel the buzz which ricocheted around the LA Memorial Coliseum as the teams spun the scoreboard, but so did potential sponsors and partners of the NFL.
That benefits the Rams as well.
While the product on the field is what draws the most eyes, many in the Rams front office are focused on the days ahead in nearby Inglewood, where their $5 billion facility is slowly rising.
If the Rams play winning football in this city there's a chance that new complex which opens in 2020 will be full.
If the Rams play winning football in this city and are entertaining as they were against the Chiefs? Just maybe there's a waiting list for tickets.
Wouldn't that make those taking a chance on LA -- hello, Rams owner Stan Kroenke -- smile as bright as the Olympic flame flickering over the iconic downtown sporting cathedral.
The same, of course, is true of the Chargers, the Rams' tenants in the Inglewood stadium. They are playing for wins now and for sales pitches later.
That's what made their bumbling loss to the Broncos on Sunday, which cost them a share of the AFC West, especially deflating because each misstep could cost them future customers.
The Rams and Chargers are playing for keeps this year but also to keep one step ahead of the other. Both organizations are peddling seat licenses and season seats for the new digs. With every performance like what the Rams turned in, those cold calls the ticket sellers make are suddenly not so awkward.
Monday's game was big on a number of fronts.
This region is still reeling from a mass shooting and wildfires and the Rams were proactive in helping. They gave away thousands of tickets to first responders and others affected by the tragedies.
They also made contributing to those supplying aid easy, as the healing continues from a pair of events which left LA stunned.
The city pushed that aside for the highest scoring game in the Monday night football history and it was an NFL dream: plenty of points, plenty of lead changes and plenty of stars.
But those marquee names and a game for the ages couldn't eclipse the glow from the NFL shield. LA became an NFL city again on Monday night, and in the process, it is shining a bright light forward for the NFL.
I will be covering the Rams and the Chargers for forbes.com, two teams of which I have a long association with. I grew up with the Rams going back to when Roman Gabriel was the NFL's MVP in 1969 and Merlin Olsen was a perennial All-Pro. I was in the Rose Bowl at SB 14 when t...
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