A MARTINEZ, HOST:
Well, they're still celebrating in Los Angeles. Can't you hear them in the background? (Cheering) Thousands of LA Rams fans cheering for their team's Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals and that was through a parade that went through the city yesterday. NPR's Mandalit del Barco was there.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We're world champion.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Rams players celebrated by riding through the streets on top of buses that rained down blue and gold confetti, the team's colors. They held up magnum champagne bottles and the Lombardi Trophy as they made their way to the LA Memorial Coliseum.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Whose house?
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Rams' house.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Whose house?
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Rams' house.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Whose house?
DEL BARCO: Cheering for the Super Bowl champs, fans wore blue and gold. Among them was Aaron Charles Gooden. He helped pour concrete to build the new SoFi Stadium, where his team played to victory.
AARON CHARLES GOODEN: But I've been a Ram fan for 54 years. I stuck with them when they went to St. Louis, and I always had hope that they would come back home. And lo and behold.
DEL BARCO: Also celebrating was LA native Jesse Castellano...
JESSE CASTELLANO: I go by Super Ram.
DEL BARCO: ...Wearing a blue and gold lucha libre Mexican wrestling mask and a football helmet painted with Rams horns.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARS HONKING)
DEL BARCO: He was still savoring his favorite moment of the Super Bowl game.
CASTELLANO: Oh, that sack from Aaron Donald to steal the win. That was the best.
DEL BARCO: Taisha Turner and Marla Lawson were still marveling about the halftime show.
TAISHA TURNER: Eminem taking a knee during his performance to rep for Colin Kaepernick.
MARLA LAWSON: Snoop Dogg and Dre when they came out.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STILL D.R.E.")
SNOOP DOGG: (Rapping) Still Snoop Dogg and D-R-E.
DEL BARCO: LA hip-hop serenaded the crowd as the champs rallied in front of the Coliseum. Matthew Stafford, who made a go-ahead touchdown pass to seal the game, took a big swig and congratulated his teammates.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MATTHEW STAFFORD: I mean, come on with Aaron Donald, y'all. I mean, are we kidding? We throw a touchdown to Cooper Kupp, who makes the play. Give it up for Cooper Kupp.
DEL BARCO: Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said he'd long dreamed of the victory.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANDREW WHITWORTH: I was told I was a little too old. And I'll tell you this, for every single person standing out there that's ever doubted anything you've ever done, better yourself. Because five years later, I'm holding this trophy up, and I'm 40 years old. Let's go.
DEL BARCO: The coronavirus pandemic prevented two other LA teams, the Dodgers and the Lakers, from celebrating like this after their championships in 2020. But fans like 28-year-old Lucky Mesa from Compton say they were here for them all.
LUCKY MESA: The Lakers, the Rams, the Dodgers - we got to put it all in one. It's a LA thing, baby.
DEL BARCO: Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was the game's MVP. He represented LA by wearing a No. 8 Lakers jersey in honor of the late Kobe Bryant, one of the city's most beloved athletes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
COOPER KUPP: We're all here celebrating this championship. Kobe's a part of this. This is - he belongs here. And I'll tell you what, he set the standard.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CALIFORNIA LOVE")
ROGER TROUTMAN: (Singing) California knows how to party.
DEL BARCO: Los Angeles's mayor declared it LA Rams Day, and the Hollywood sign got changed to read Rams House. Seems California really does know how to party.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR News, in the city of LA.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CALIFORNIA LOVE")
TROUTMAN: (Singing) California love. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
