Will Dodgers, Lakers make parade cameo if Rams win Super Bowl?

The Great LA Championship Drought might finally be ending in two weeks’ time when the Los Angeles Rams face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in a home Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium.

Sure, the “drought” has only been about a year and three months, but does a title really count if you don’t cap it with an extravagant parade?

We’re half-joking (one-third joking?), but when the Dodgers and  Lakers both secured 2020 titles, after spending time in and out of bubbles, it didn’t feel quite complete. After all, part of celebrating a championship comes with a cathartic release of civic pride.

Two championships in the same cycle? Angelinos deserved better. Angelinos deserved a party unlike any other. Instead, they faced public health measures imploring them to stay inside.

Then, when things got safer (for a six-day period in May 2021), nothing new was planned, and we all moved on … somewhat. The Dodgers’ 2020 World Series win and Lakers-Heat NBA Finals happened, sure, but they got a bit memory-holed. The confetti never fell.

But now, with another LA team competing for a championship — this time right at home in Inglewood — it would be very cathartic to see a city-wide celebration in a hypothetical title’s wake.

In other words, can we please be just four quarters away from seeing a smattering of Dodgers and Lakers sharing a float? It’s the literal least all parties involved could do.

Dodgers, Lakers deserve a spot on the Los Angeles Rams parade float.

And, hey, we’ll take it a step further: would anyone really mind it if the Rams happened to lose two Sundays from now and held a parade anyway? Again, we’ve been waiting since Nov. 2020. We’ve waited long enough. The city has earned a celebration — twice. This should already be in the works.

For all the scorn lobbed LA’s way by those who watched 49er red pack SoFi last Sunday, the city’s elite athletes have been riding with the Rams since the run began. Mookie Betts, rocking a customized jersey and shades, was the lingering image of the team’s dominant first-round win over the Cardinals. This isn’t a mid-decade import; this is an NFL team with a deeply-rooted Los Angeles legacy apologizing for departing in the first place, now here to stay. The Rams are intrinsically Hollywood, packed with star power. But they could use an infusion of beloved Dodgers and Lakers to really cement the reason for the season.

Back in October, when fans and columnists began to ask about why LA couldn’t throw a one-year-belated dual title parade, the proposition sounded ridiculous. But if the Rams can manage to throw the city back into the championship spotlight, those responsible for organizing these celebrations should realize they’ve been given a gift from the Title Gods and plan accordingly.

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