The Rams have a long history in the NFL, having begun play in Cleveland in 1936. They have been a rather mobile team during their history, moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles in 1946, and then from Los Angeles to Anaheim in 1980 before ultimately relocating to Saint Louis in 1994. The team’s mobility may have been foreshadowing of the mobile offense they would employ from 1999 to 2001 – an offense that earned the apt nickname “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Though the Show didn’t have the staying power of previous dynasties like the 1940s Bears, 1960s Packers, or 1970s Steelers, there is no arguing that it was one of the most dazzling displays of offensive efficiency that the sport had ever seen.

The curtain rises

To find the origins of the Greatest Show, you need look no further than the injury suffered by Trent Green during the 1999 preseason. The Rams were forced to turn to their second string quarterback, who was best known for being cut from the Packers’ training camp several years before and instead playing football in the Arena League. With Kurt Warner as the leading man, however, the Rams would storm through the National Football League, scoring 526 total points and smashing all previous offensive records. With a thirteen win season, the Rams fought through to the Super Bowl and defeated the Titans by a touchdown.

The Show’s storyline

The Greatest Show on Turf could not have happened without the personnel that the Rams employed on the field. The offensive system involved passing patterns that sent five receivers – one of which was often their running back Marshall Faulk – across the length and width of the field. The entire scheme relied upon crisp pattern running from the receivers, reliable pass protection from the offensive line, and pin-point accuracy from the quarterback. Once the ball was delivered into space, the receiver was positioned to turn and run for extra yardage. Warner was the perfect quarterback for this system, having developed his speedy release and laser-like accuracy during his time with the fast-paced Iowa Barnstormers Arena Football program.

The cast

In addition to Kurt Warner and the aforementioned Marshall Faulk, the other key offensive weapons that formed the cast of the Greatest Show on Turf were receivers Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Az-Zahir Hakim, and the older Ricky Proehl. Together with a large and quick offensive line, this core group of players would compile more than 500 points a season for each season from 1999 to 2001, something that had never been accomplished before or since. Faulk was the League’s annual Offensive Player each of those years, and he and Warner held the top two spots in the MVP vote each year.

After their unexpected loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, the Greatest Show on Turf began to show signs of losing its luster. Though commentators and analysts continued to use the term for several years after that season, it soon became clear that the Show had ended after only three years, as the key actors in the production began to take their individual bows and leave the stage.

Freddie Brister is a huge fan of all sports and recommends checking out his St. Louis Rams Watch and St. Louis Cardinals watch at his shop.

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