OXNARD >> They came by the thousands, this band of formerly broken-hearted Los Angeles Rams fans did to this sleepy little beach community 60 miles north of Los Angeles, decked out in their Jack Youngblood, Eric Dickerson and Vince Ferragamo jerseys.

They came with renewed hope and optimism, buoyed by the tantalizing possibility that the very team that kicked them in the gut on the way out of town so many years ago might actually be on their way back to Los Angeles.

• Video: Rams fans show their enthusiasm

And they came with two very personal messages as they took over an entire section of grandstands to watch the St. Louis Rams scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, and screamed L.A. Rams, L.A. Rams, L.A. Rams:

“We still love you.”

And:

“You are very much welcome back.”

And just in case the National Football League was watching — affirmative — they delivered one more emphatic dispatch to the powers that will eventually decide whether the Rams get their wish to relocate back to Los Angeles.

“This region is Rams country,” declared Tom Bateman, who heads the Southern California-based Bring Back the Rams organization. “And this is absolutely where the Rams belong.”

• Photos: Fans greets Rams with enthusiasm

Added Gerald Reynolds, a life-long 59-year-old Rams fan from Orange County: “Twenty years ago they broke our hearts. But we never went anywhere. We remained loyal and we’ve been here waiting for them to come back the whole time. We want the team and the league to understand we want our Rams to come home. And when they do, we will welcome them back with open arms.”

The question is, will a reunion actually take place and if so, when?

The answer to which could be decided by the end of the year.

This much is certain: The Rams want to move back to Los Angeles. They feel justified to do so. And they believe the combination of their strong heritage in Los Angeles and the stadium plan that owner Stan Kroenke has laid out for the 292 acres he controls in Inglewood offers the NFL the best chance to create a successful return to Los Angeles.

While the later point could be argued — and the Raiders, who are teaming up with the San Diego Chargers to build a competing L.A. area stadium in Carson, will point to their own history and fan base in Los Angeles and how 8,000 Raiders fans showed up at this very facility last year to support the Silver and Black as evidence their brand is every bit as strong here – it has grown abundantly clear in actions if not words the Rams very much want to return to Los Angeles.

Which made their stopover in Oxnard both significant and potentially beneficial – and hardly a convenient coincidence to their regularly scheduled West Coast jaunt to play the Raiders on Friday in Oakland.

The Rams absolutely know the love for them runs deep in these parts, and that the droves of devoted fans that stuck with them even after they bolted Southern California for St. Louis 20 years ago would make a trip to Oxnard to support them.

What better statement to make to fellow owners on behalf of their Los Angeles relocation quest then to point to all the gold and blue on hand and say: “This is what’s waiting for us if we came back. This is how much we are still loved.”

Just as importantly, it gives Kroenke a chance to bend the ear of one of his staunchest L.A. supporters, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Let’s face it, for Kroenke and the Rams to get their wish they need the support of enough fellow owners. And with the Chargers and Raiders building their own collation among the owner ranks, it’s a race right now trying to secure sufficient support to sway the NFL in one direction or another.

Jones is one of the more powerful voices in a very exclusive 32-owner room. And while it’s pretty much established he’s in Kroenke’s corner on this — it’s no coincidence he opened his practice facility to the Rams this week — it helps Kroenke’s cause if Jones can also relay the message around the league.

And while Kroenke worked on Jones, the thousands of Rams fans on hand delivered their own message across the NFL.

“We just want everyone to know how much the Rams are still loved here, and how much support they can expect when they come home,” Bateman said.

Bateman and his fellow Rams fans were planning the statement trip to Oxnard as soon as the Cowboys and Rams announced their joint practice.

“We got word out immediately,” Bateman said. “It was, look, this is what your vacation and sick days are for. This is when you use them. We need to be there. We need to show everyone how serious we are about welcoming back the Rams and supporting them when they get here.”

One fan in particular made quite the splash.

Inglewood Mayor James Butts made the trip north, and he beamed with pride as he scanned all the Rams fans.

“I think it’s a huge message to the Rams’ popularity in Southern California,” Butts said. “First of all, the Rams are the team that most of us grew up rooting for. That was part of our DNA growing up. There is no team that can claim they are more integrated into the psyche of the people that are old enough to have attended football games, than the Rams. That’s hands-down. And anyone else that tells you another team is as big a part of that generational psyche, they’re fooling themselves.”

Butts has been steadfast in saying a stadium will be built in Inglewood whether the Rams get approval to move or not. While he won’t guarantee anything, he said Inglewood is proceeding with the hope of beginning construction in 118 days.

“The plan is, and has been all along, that stadium will be built,” Butts said. “Now, can things change? Of course things can change. But the plan has been, and every step that has been taken from the architectural works that’s done. The grading of the land. The demolition of all the structures that are non-operational. The making of the sewer connections. The digging of the utilities. The permitting process — at no small cost and will eventually be reimbursed to the city — all that has proceeded to not bottle neck the project. So that we are ready when the time comes.”

Now it’s a matter of the NFL giving the green light.