What it takes to Keep The Rams Runnin’

Here at Suite Life SoCal magazine, we get a kick out of celebrating our local professional football teams, and as a former professional football player, coach, and broadcast journalist, I am excited to cover all things football.

I was recently offered an opportunity to be a fly on the wall for a Zoom meeting with the LA Rams Football Operations Staff and, man, do I have some exciting news to share with all of you.

A Full Calendar

Before we get too far, it would not be right if I did not acknowledge the amazing staff members who were responsible for giving us the pertinent information that was provided to the season ticket holders, like us at Suite Life SoCal, along with exclusive executives that had a chance to listen in on the presentation. Leading the way was Director of Football Operations, Sophie Harlan, who is currently in her fifth season with the Los Angeles Rams. Prior to becoming Director of Operations, Harlan served as the Manager of Football Administration. She was also the Director of Recruiting Operations at the University of California-Berkeley before joining the Rams organization.

Harlan discussed the challenges of the unknown due to COVID protocols and how team owner Stan Kroenke will allow their staff to be as creative as possible when brainstorming strategies to fill the $4 billion dollar stadium. She was most excited when referring to the upcoming 2021 Season as well as the future, like, SoFi Stadium hosting a variety of huge events in upcoming years; such as Super Bowl LVI 2022, the 2022 College Football Championship Game, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in 2028. If that’s a bit too far in the future for you, SoFi Stadium will also have some amazing music events featuring Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett, along with the Blackhearts on The Stadium Tour. This will be an amazing classic Metal Tour that will be Live on September 4th, 2021.

Making hospitality suite

As we can see there are tons of things coming up at SoFi Stadium, but l am sure that most are here to find out about our beloved LA Rams Football Team and what is to come. Here is where we introduce you to the Manager of Football Operations Vincent Hug. Hug had former stints at the University of Nevada as the Director of Football Operations, so he has plenty of experience to lead the way for the Rams. In the Zoom meeting, Hug discussed the excitement he gets when preparing stadium visitors for Food Service, meal rooms at the hotels for players, and a plethora of other things that go unnoticed to make visiting teams, fans, and partners feel at home when they visit SoFi Stadium. He explained how the little things make the biggest difference when providing quality service in one of the largest cities in the world, and how working for the LA Rams is one of his greatest accomplishments.

Staying equipped

Moving forward to the meat of the presentation, no pun intended since we just talked about food, we now introduce you to Director of Equipment, Brendan Burger. As a player, my favorite person in the locker room was always the equipment manager as they are who you needed to see to get anything extra when it comes to gear and anything else player-related. Yesterday Burger was excited to share the day-to-day operations that make a football program run. 

From travel to home games, it’s an extensive process to make sure your superstar players have everything they need. Whether it’s Aaron Donald needing to change jerseys multiple times per game or Jalen Ramsey changing cleats every quarter, the Director of Equipment is usually the busiest person on and prior to Game Day. That was the most exciting thing that Burger discussed as we asked him how he felt about the upcoming Grand Opening for the 2021 Season. 

Burger stated that though it was great to have a season where no games were canceled due to COVID, it’s going to be a priceless moment watching LA Rams fans come to SoFi Stadium in September. I reminded Burger that all of Southern California as well as the Suite Life SoCal family are anxious and excited to be there as well.