2008 Woodie Awards
Bruce, Almighty! Rams, bring him back!
Jim Gallen
Issue date: 3/9/06 Section: Sports
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Let's rewind back to a Sunday back in early September 1995. From a hotel room in Milwaukee, I watched the St. Louis Rams play their first game under that name, after they had moved to St. Louis in the off-season. In that game, played at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wis., the Rams defeated the Green Bay Packers in the season opener. I didn't see the entire game, but one pair of plays still stays with me to this day.
The two plays were the handiwork of a second-year wide receiver for the Rams whose name I had never heard. First, playing special teams, he blocked and recovered a punt, which gave the Rams excellent field position. On the next play, he caught a touchdown pass. Throughout the course of that season, that same young receiver would continue to play at an elite level, registering one of the highest single-season receiving yards totals in NFL history.
For those of you who don't know, that young receiver was named Isaac Bruce. He became an elite receiver in St. Louis and for the Rams' first few years in St. Louis was the team's only dangerous weapon. He was loved in this city; all of his catches were responded to with a loud "Bruuuuuce." In the Rams' Super Bowl championship season in 1999-2000, Bruce scored a touchdown on a long pass over the middle from Kurt Warner on the Rams' first offensive play in their first playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. A couple of weeks later, in the Super Bowl against the Tennessee Titans, Bruce again caught a long touchdown pass from Warner, this time down the right sideline, with a few minutes remaining, to provide the winning margin in the Rams' 23-16 win.
As younger receiver Torry Holt became one of the NFL's top receivers for the Rams, he and Bruce made up one of the best, if not the best, receiving tandems in the NFL. Even though he had essentially lost his spot as the Rams' top receiver to Holt, Bruce still put up excellent numbers and always conducted himself at an even higher level.
The two plays were the handiwork of a second-year wide receiver for the Rams whose name I had never heard. First, playing special teams, he blocked and recovered a punt, which gave the Rams excellent field position. On the next play, he caught a touchdown pass. Throughout the course of that season, that same young receiver would continue to play at an elite level, registering one of the highest single-season receiving yards totals in NFL history.
For those of you who don't know, that young receiver was named Isaac Bruce. He became an elite receiver in St. Louis and for the Rams' first few years in St. Louis was the team's only dangerous weapon. He was loved in this city; all of his catches were responded to with a loud "Bruuuuuce." In the Rams' Super Bowl championship season in 1999-2000, Bruce scored a touchdown on a long pass over the middle from Kurt Warner on the Rams' first offensive play in their first playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. A couple of weeks later, in the Super Bowl against the Tennessee Titans, Bruce again caught a long touchdown pass from Warner, this time down the right sideline, with a few minutes remaining, to provide the winning margin in the Rams' 23-16 win.
As younger receiver Torry Holt became one of the NFL's top receivers for the Rams, he and Bruce made up one of the best, if not the best, receiving tandems in the NFL. Even though he had essentially lost his spot as the Rams' top receiver to Holt, Bruce still put up excellent numbers and always conducted himself at an even higher level.