By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The Rams game won't be on local television on Sunday for the first time since the team moved to St. Louis because the Edward Jones dome did not sell out in time.
Even if the remaining 3,000 tickets are sold, the game still won't air locally. The team has a current street of 95 consecutive regular-season sellouts.
A blackout hasn't happened since the Rams moved to Missouri in 1995. The game was less than a stellar draw; it comes at the end of another disappointing season, against a weak opponent, on Christmas Eve.
The Rams (6-8) are extreme longshots to make the playoffs and the Redskins (5-9) are out of the running.
"We think the St. Louis fans are great fans, and they've been very supportive of us up until now," team vice president Bob Wallace said. "We're hoping we can start a new streak next year."
The deadline to sell all the tickets was noon (EST) on Thursday. The Rams have kept the run going a handful of times in the past by buying up remaining tickets, but this time decided against it.
Running back Steven Jackson was highly critical two weeks ago of season-ticket holders who sold their seats to visiting fans. The Rams had to go to a silent count on offense against the Bears and Chiefs after fans of their closest rivals scooped up prime locations and made themselves heard.
On Friday, his criticism was more muted. "It's kind of disappointing to hear that," Jackson said. "You want your fans to be in tune, and if they can't make the game to watch it on television.
"With that being said and it being blacked, hopefully our fans can make their way down on Sunday to watch us live."
Coach Scott Linehan said he understands the decrease in fan interest is a byproduct of the team's record. "Maybe people could still rally and show up for the game and cheer us on, but that's out of our control at this point," Linehan said.
"We're just focused on the players and coaches and fans that are there."
Season ticket holders with personal seat licenses occupy all but about 5,000 of the 60,000 seats at the Edward Jones Dome most of them in the upper regions. Wallace said the season-ticket base renewal base has been "spectacular," at over 95%.
The Rams were 6-10 last year and Wallace said the team knew before the year began, even with the hiring of a new coach and other changes, that some games would be tough to sell. The Redskins game was at the top of the list.
"There wasn't a lot of movement on this game," Wallace said. "We could have told you at the beginning of the season that the Bears game was going to be sold out and that the Chiefs game was going to be sold out, like we could have told you that this one at the beginning of the year was going to be a struggle."