The Rams played their first regular season game on the road as well, at Green Bay. And then they came home.

“We burst on the scene that second week of the season in 1995,” Bruce said. “And what I saw really made me feel welcomed into the NFL as far as the fan support was concerned. Most of my games prior to that time, we didn’t have much fan support in Los Angeles.”

Although Stan Kroenke’s relocation application criticized a lack of fan support in St. Louis, that wasn’t what Bruce or any of his teammates saw during their time here.

“I don’t know about what numbers Kroenke was using to complain about that,” said former Rams center Andy McCollum. “I have no idea. I know when we were here, especially when we were having so much success, it was as good as anywhere in the country.

“And even lately, when we were not winning as much, I think there’s still a lot of fan support. It’s a shame. I really feel for them.”

Few Rams played as long as McCollum did in St. Louis. For nine seasons, from 1999 through 2007, he called St. Louis home as one of the “Doughnut Bros.” — the nickname given to McCollum and longtime Rams right guard Adam Timmerman. McCollum started 109 games as a Ram over those nine years.