Rams urging fans to donate Christmas tickets to charity to avoid attendance nightmare
The Los Angeles Rams are urging fans who have tickets to their nationally televised Christmas Day game but don’t plan to attend to donate them to charity.
According to the Sports Business Journal, the Rams fear low interest from their season ticket holders and a weak secondary market for the holiday game against the Denver Broncos.
December 25 is also the seventh day of Hannukah this year.
All season-ticket holders who donate their tickets in this program will get a chance to win prizes from Rams sponsors including New Era, Diageo, Hilton, Meat District, Ikon and La Brea Bakery. Eligible charities include Boys & Girls Club of Metro LA, Brotherhood Crusade, A Place Called Home, Heart of Los Angeles, Operation Progress and Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
The Rams (3-8) are the defending Super Bowl champions, but several factors have conspired to set up an attendance nightmare for the game.
For starters, the Rams stink. They have gone from the top of the NFL’s mountain down to near the bottom.
The 2021 season was clearly an all-in year and a sharp decline seemed inevitable given the roster moves they made and the draft assets they traded. Add in a down year for quarterback Matthew Stafford and a bunch of injuries and you have the recipe for disaster.
The matchup also stinks, as that game is against the equally inept Denver Broncos, the worst offensive team in the league and another team at the bottom of the standings.
It’s not a matchup that will inspire people to ditch their holiday plans.
Despite their success since moving to Los Angeles, the Rams and Chargers are not a major draw in the city. Out-of-town fans often take over SoFi Stadium, home field for the Chargers and Rams.
The Rams hope the seats for Christmas Day will be filled by fans who might not ordinarily attend an NFL game.
If nothing else, it is worth a shot.
