In 1903 the Wright brothers’ first flight ever went about 300 yards .  Twenty-four years later Charles Lindbergh flew The Spirit of St. Louis 3600 miles nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris.  America applauded and St. Louis roared.

In 1995 the NFL Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis.  Twenty years later the St. Louis Rams completed the round trip relocating to Los Angeles from St. Louis.  America sighed and St. Louis cried.

St. Louis contends that once Stan Groenke fully bought out his previous partners it was all but wheels up for the franchise to head west.  And after a series of legal steps and missteps, a lawsuit hit the NFL yesterday like the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome used to hit Archie Manning.

The massive lawsuit filed by St. Louis against the NFL over the relocation of the Rams will (barring a settlement) culminate with a full-blown trial, which is due to begin just as the Rams prepare to host a Super Bowl in their new stadium.

In short, the Rams felt that they had every right to break their agreements and stadium lease in St Louis in 2015, while St. Louis did and still does not.  The Rams cited serious deficiencies in their then existing stadium, serious revenue shortages in their proposed riverfront new one, population stagnation, and lack of predicted future growth as legal and otherwise reasons to take flight.

The Rams took their case to the NFL heavyweights to ask for permission to log a flight plan.

The NFL publicly granted that permission while knowing that Groenke had purchased a massive amount of land in LA to relocate the team there and surround it with a multi-billion dollar entertainment and housing complex.

This became known in a phone call between the Rams owner, a few other owners, and none other than the Commissioner who presides over wrongdoings and punishment in NFL matters,

Roger Goodell.  During the conversation, Kroenke said, “I’m going to buy two parcels of land and build a stadium in L.A.,” and that he’s trying very hard to stay under the radar screen and keep it hidden. Goodell said, “We will respect your confidentiality.”

The judge, who made the ruling from the bench (which means the evidence pointing to it was clear), concluded that clear and convincing proof exists to support a finding that those individuals operated fraudulently.

At the heart of it, Rams COO Kevin Demoff gave Goodell talking points regarding the land purchase for his pre-Super Bowl press conference in 2014. Here’s part of what he said, “Stan is a very successful developer. He has billions of dollars of projects that are going on around the country in real estate development. So I think instead of overreacting, we should make sure we do what’s necessary to continue to support the team locally as the fans have done in St. Louis.  There are no plans to my knowledge of a stadium development.”

And, soon thereafter St. Louis’ heart was broken.

And, now the plaintiffs in the litigation shall have access to information regarding the financial worth of Commissioner Roger Goodell and five NFL owners: Rams owner Stan Kroenke, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Giants owner John Mara, and former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.

The financial info is necessary as a barometer to determine the punitive damages if the defendants are ruled guilty and restoration is to be paid.

The old saying is “money talks.”  But, old people with money don’t like others talking about their money.

The city of St. Louis, which feels like their community was harshly and unfairly criticized, won a game yesterday v. the entire NFL.

But, they should remember that the entire USFL once won an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and got treble the damages caused by the heinous NFL actions.

The damage awarded by a jury was exactly one U.S. dollar.

The lawyers got rich.  The NFL got richer and richer.  And, the USFL got three dollars to fold into their wallet before they folded their league.

So, stay tuned.  If nothing else, one should admire the spirit of St. Louis.