LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl was won by a team playing at home.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Unintelligible) Rams' house. (Unintelligible) Rams' house.
FADEL: The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals last night to win the team's first Super Bowl since moving back to the West Coast. NPR's Nathan Rott reports from Los Angeles.
(SOUNDBITE OF FIREWORKS)
NATHAN ROTT, BYLINE: Unofficial fireworks filled the air over Inglewood and the newly minted SoFi Stadium after the Rams' come-from-behind win. Fans stream from the $5.5 billion sports complex, whooping and chanting for one of their two new professional football franchises.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Rams' house.
OMAR HERNANDEZ: Whose house?
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Rams' house.
HERNANDEZ: Welcome to LA. Welcome to LA.
ROTT: Omar Hernandez is an LA native who's lived in Inglewood for the last nine years.
HERNANDEZ: I see the whole [expletive]. Gentrification, all that - you know what? I don't like the stadium, to tell you the truth. But you know what, bro? This one right here feels sweet, bro. It feels sweet.
ROTT: It's been a long time coming for Los Angeles football fans. The nation's second largest city spent two decades without a team before the Rams moved back from St. Louis. They came into the Super Bowl LVI favored over the upstart Bengals, who got to the championship on a pair of game-winning field goals. But they were down late until, with a minute and 25 seconds remaining, quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Stafford from under center, steps back, throws the fade, back shoulder. Cooper Kupp's got it. Cooper Kupp brings it in. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown LA.
ROTT: Kupp, who was selected the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player, gave post-game credit to the rest of his team.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
COOPER KUPP: They're team awards. You don't - at receiver, you don't - you aren't a successful receiver without all the other 10 guys on the field doing their jobs.
ROTT: Los Angeles hadn't won a Super Bowl in nearly 40 years, and to do it in a home stadium with South LA greats like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar playing the halftime show, well, take it as proof that LA's still got it.
Nathan Rott, NPR News, Los Angeles.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STILL D.R.E.")
DR DRE: (Rapping) Low-lows, girl. Still taking my time to perfect the beat, and I still got love for the streets. It's the D-R-E. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
