INGLEWOOD, Calif. — From his seats in the stands, looking down at the majestic green field of Sofi Stadium, Rams season ticket member Alex Contreras and his family took it all in for the very first time.
Finally surrounded by other Rams fans, this was a moment Contreras had been waiting on for a long time.
"Just a couple months ago, it seemed like there was no more excitement, no more hope," Contreras said. "And then to finally see this and feel this, it means there's hope near and fun again, and whatever we wanna call normal. It's right here."
On Saturday morning, the "Rams House" was filled for the first time since the last game of the 2019 season played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
But over the weekend, about 20,000 season ticket members, spread through about four different groups, were given a taste of what's to come at Sofi Stadium through the Rams House Premiere event.
"Being new Rams fans, it was just disappointing not to be here," said Contreras. "Now that we're here, we're just excited, and we've been waiting a whole entire year for it."
The stadium and its grounds are world-class, with a design that screams California cool and a video board like no other in the NFL. But throughout the entire first season of its debut, there was no one inside to take it all in.
To Rams Vice President of Strategy and Ticketing Dan August, the weekend represented hope after a year that's been so challenging on sports fans everywhere.
"Game days were not the same without fans," August said. "For us, it gives us a feel of what game days will be like with a full stadium. It's loud, the video board is booming, and it gives us a lot of hope at what's ahead for the team."
The same can be said for the Rams organization, longtime Rams die-hards and new members to the Rams family such as Contreras and his wife Jocelyn.
To them, joining the "Ramily" meant becoming part of a community.
"I'm so excited to make memories with them and basically have them raised in these seats," Jocelyn said.
"We're going to create so many memories, look back and be happy that we did it," her husband added.