LA’s Answer to the Super Bowl Shuffle
Lisa Guerrero: It seemed like a good idea at the time
The Los Angeles Times
The coffee I was sipping while perusing latimes.com this morning almost came out of my nose when I got a load of Last Call and the horrible/fabulous “Ram It” video. Not for the obvious reason that it is possibly the most embarrassing music video ever made, but because I am personally responsible for it.
Let me explain -– and apologize.
From 1983-87 I was a Los Angeles Rams cheerleader. We were known as “The Embraceable Ewes,” the “Los Angeles Rams Cheerleading Entertainers” (that was the official nickname) and the “Less Hot Professional Cheerleaders of Los Angeles” (that was the unofficial nickname).
The Raiderettes were hotter than we were due to their bigger pom-poms.
At that time, besides cheering, I was modeling and beginning an acting career. On a plane home to Los Angeles after shooting a commercial in Atlanta, I sat next to a gentleman who was a video producer. We got talking about what a huge deal the “Super Bowl Shuffle” was for the Bears the year before (1985) and I said wouldn’t it be great if the Rams did a video too?
A couple weeks later, we were at Anaheim Stadium shooting “Ram It.”
Unfortunately, I’m in it. Fortunately, I’m unrecognizable. About 2:45 into the video, I’m the tall skinny blond (!) in the back row, second to the left. By way of explanation, I was a bleached blond with acrylic nails and about 10 pairs of white pumps. It was the ’80s and what can I say? I also loved the Go-Go’s, so sue me.
As I recall, the only starting player of note who refused to participate was Jim Everett, making him look like a genius in retrospect. As bad as “Ram It” truly is, you simply cannot deny the genius musical stylings of Eric Dickerson (4:15 into the video). Spectacular.
On a separate note, who knew that the Rams organization would become a virtual breeding ground for embattled “Monday Night Football” sideline reporters?
The release of the video was met with a lukewarm response, which makes it even more curious that they also released a “Making of ‘Ram It’ -– Behind The Scenes” video. Believe it or not, that’s floating around somewhere too, and it’s even more brutal than the original — and, like, 30 minutes long!
Needless to say, “Ram It” was no “Super Bowl Shuffle.” And, as has been pointed out before, if the players had concentrated more on football than choreography, they might have actually won a Super Bowl themselves. Maybe not.
On a sad note, while watching this video (which I haven’t seen in 15 years) I noticed linebacker Carl Ekern on his motorcycle about the 3:50 mark. In 1990, two years after he retired, he died in an accident near Ridgecrest. He was 36 years old.
I hope “Carl-E” is up there somewhere smiling and rapping in that big football field in the sky.
