A LOOK AT PAST, AND FUTURE(?).

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL 

SAN DIEGO - It had to be a strange day for people of Orange County, watching the Chargers and the Rams get together -- a rare convergence of the ghosts of pro football past and perhaps its future.

The Rams, the St. Louis Rams, made their first appearance in Southern California since they left after the 1994 season and, save for the uniforms, didn't look much different from that outfit that won four games before packing up the moving vans.

All that was missing Sunday from their 38-24 loss to the Chargers was a band of Melonheads in the stands. As for the Chargers, well, if pro football is ever coming back to Anaheim, at least this entry wouldn't have a quarterback nicknamed Jittery Jim and a star tailback who tells his coach to go run ``47 Gap.''

The NFL has been gone from the Los Angeles region for more than a decade, and marauding masses have yet to take to the streets demanding its return, and league owners continue to yawn at the prospect of coming back.

Still, it was clear that for a few thousand, the Rams being back in the neighborhood was worth the sacrifice of a two-hour drive south.

``It's like a family,'' said Himaya Veazie, who drove from Los Angeles sporting his No. 12 James Harris blue-and-yellow jersey that set him back $300. ``When a sibling relocates, you still talk to them from afar.''

Nowadays, it's hard to tell the Rams grew up in LosAngeles. The team still maintains its office in West Los Angeles, on Pico Boulevard across from Rancho Park, but the Rams sign and logo are long gone. The office's main purpose is to keep tabs on Georgia Frontiere's empire. It houses an attorney, accountant, secretary and team president John Shaw, who has the good sense to work half the year from his Brentwood home.

But Sunday, you didn't have to look too hard to find Rams fans who didn't hail from St. Louis. They were visible in their Jack Youngblood, Eric Dickerson, Harold Jackson, Rosey Grier, Jerome Bettis, Jackie Slater, John Cappelletti and Roman Gabriel throwback jerseys.

Still, there isn't a Rams fan from Los Angeles who doesn't have a cross or three to bear -- the deep freezes in Minnesota, the playoff failures of Chuck Knox, and the interception that Nolan Cromwell had right ... in ... his ... hands in the loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV are good places to start. And then the Rams up and move to St. Louis, and win a Super Bowl.

Between pulls on a Budweiser, Sergio Seto of Boyle Heights said ``it was like losing my first-born.'' Then he reconsidered. ``Well, not that bad. But this is what I got to say to Georgia,'' he said, grabbing his crotch.

Presumably, the reception for the Chargers would be different in Anaheim.

They have been seeking a new stadium in San Diego for nearly four years, and while there are proposals on the table in Chula Vista and National City, the city's financial and political quagmire -- a nearly $2 billion pension deficit and the indictments of eight public officials -- means the county will have to come to the city's rescue. The Chargers can begin discussions with cities outside the county Jan. 1 and can buy out the remaining years of their contract after the 2008 season.

If the Chargers can get the financial deal they want in Anaheim, they'd be the first team back in the Los Angeles market and still have a tether remaining to San Diego and another out to the Inland Empire. And with this team, which already this season has had one player shot by police, another indicted for drug trafficking, another arrested for domestic violence and another busted by the NFL for steroids, comes a ready-made marketing campaign for L.A.: If you think Raider fans are tough. ...