Column: Eric Dickerson is not pleased with the new Rams logo
Like a lot of other Rams fans, Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson was sitting in front of his home computer on Monday afternoon when the Rams unveiled their new logos online. His reaction mirrored that of many of those fans when they got their first look at it.
“The one that says L.A. — that looks like a Chargers logo,†Dickerson said. “If you told me that was a Chargers logo, I’d say OK, that ain’t bad. … The [Rams] fans hate it. They just don’t like it. The fans are the ones who are going to wear it. The people in the office, they wear it, but they don’t buy it.â€
The reaction is particularly notable because Dickerson is a Rams employee, having been hired as the team’s vice president of business development in 2017. In addition to speaking to The Times, Dickerson took to Twitter on Wednesday to express his disappointment and elicit feedback from fans on alternate logos. He said he would talk to the Rams about the issue. Dickerson not only didn’t like the new logo, but he also thought the team’s ram head logo looked like something else.
“Someone said it looks like a penis; it did,†Dickerson said. “That says it all right there. That should be enough for the Rams to say we messed up. We’re going to keep what we got.â€
The Rams had long been planning to unveil new logos, uniforms and colors before moving into their new $5-billion home, SoFi Stadium, this summer. If they were expecting that to result in a swell in merchandise sales, Dickerson believes the opposite is now true.
“This product will hardly sell,†Dickerson said. “It’ll sell nothing. I don’t care if it’s three years from now, it still won’t be selling because it doesn’t look good. It’s ugly. … When you put out a brand-new logo and product for your team you expect it to be in the top 5-10 in merchandise sales, and I’m willing to bet that this will be at the very bottom. If I’m wrong, I’ll be the first one to say I’m a jackass and I’ll shut my mouth and say I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, but I’m willing to bet this will be damn near dead last in sales.â€
When the Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2016 after 21 years in St. Louis, many fans were hopeful the team would have the same look they had become accustomed to when the Rams were last in Southern California in the 1990s. Fans wanted to see players wearing blue and yellow, not the navy blue and light gold they adopted in St. Louis. While Rams fans got their old colors back, they didn’t get the logos they wanted and are now bracing for the team to unveil new uniforms later this spring.
“You don’t see the Cowboys changing their uniform when they went into a new stadium,†Dickerson said. “You don’t see the Raiders changing their uniforms now that they’re going to a new stadium. You don’t see the Steelers changing their uniforms when they went to a new stadium or the Packers. The Rams have the oldest logo in football. Why change it? Why mess with something that is so good?â€
Dickerson watched the logo unveiling on a video conference with other former Rams players such as Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt and Ron Brown and said their disappointment was unanimous.
“Isaac Bruce said it best, he said, ‘This is the NFL, but this looks like an XFL or expansion team logo. I don’t get what we’re trying to do here,’†Dickerson said. “If you’re the Tigers, you don’t want to look like a kitten. I want to look like a tiger. I want to look strong and powerful. I want a logo that looks bold. David Hill [looked at the ram head logo and] said this thing looks like it has no intentions at all. The other one had some bad intentions and that’s what you want; something with some bad intentions, and I totally agree.â€
While Dickerson was disappointed in the new logos, he was also disappointed in the response from Kevin Demoff. The Rams’ chief operating officer said that if the team was able to raise more than $2 million during a virtual telethon Tuesday for coronavirus relief, he would read the top 10 mean tweets he received about the new logos.
“I hope we raise more money, but don’t poke fun at the fans,†Dickerson said. “Don’t make fun of people’s opinions. Those are real die-hard, loyal fans and that’s how they feel. They feel like you’re making a mockery of this. If you wanted to make a small change, I get it. No problem, but don’t mess up a good thing.â€
The Rams’ classic blue and yellow throwback helmet and uniform is considered one of the best uniforms in the NFL and Dickerson is hopeful that when the team unveils its new uniforms it won’t be much different.
He’s optimistic.
“I wish they wouldn’t [change it], but they’ll probably screw that up too. I hope they don’t. Why mess with it?â€
As Dickerson looked around his home office, filled with photos and mementos of his Hall of Fame career, he questioned whether those in charge of the Rams had the same appreciation for the team’s history as he and many fans in Los Angeles do.
“That uniform is so iconic,†he said, “and I don’t know if the people that work for the Rams really have the passion about the uniform and the colors and the significance of the horn and the history of the Los Angeles Rams. I just don’t believe they do. … That uniform, that helmet, that logo means so much to me and I hope that somebody over there wakes up and says, we made a mistake.â€
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