From afar, the St. Louis Rams just seemed like a high-scoring offense that set record books ablaze, a quarterback with one of the great all-time underdog stories, a running back and a pair of receivers who are among the greatest to every strap on pads and a moniker that packaged the whole thing perfectly.

“The Greatest Show on Turf” seemed like a TV show or video game more than a football team.

Full disclosure, growing up in New England probably taints a person’s view of that historic Rams team that continues to garner a special place in the memories, hearts and minds of people around St. Louis. However, not living in St. Louis during the height of those teams also piques a person’s interest.

Those Rams come up in conversation. They’re a topic that unites individuals and ignites conversations at a local bar. They bring smiles to the faces of longtime St. Louisans and elicit blinding anger from others if you reference The Owner Who Shall Not Be Named.

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When the Missouri Athletic Club decided to host a 25th anniversary celebration for the St. Louis Rams Super Bowl championship as part of its speaker series, it presented an opportunity to ask some of the men involved why that group holds such a special place in St. Louis two and a half decades later.

Maybe it’s as simple as having record-setting performances and going to two Super Bowls in a three-year span? Perhaps it’s the fact that the Rams and the NFL subsequently left St. Louis high and dry?

There’s something about that Rams team and that snapshot in time, a three-year period from 1999-2001, that keeps it entrenched in the sports consciousness of this city and region a quarter century later.

“It was how we had success,” Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk said. “And we had success through everyone’s success. It didn’t matter who scored the touchdowns. We scored the touchdowns. The whole Bob ‘N Weave and the celebration that we did was created because we all wanted to celebrate together.

“That’s the genesis of what that team was. If one person scored, we all scored. You didn’t hear any bickering or fussing about who got the ball. Myself, Isaac Bruce and ... Torry Holt — three guys in the same era at the height of their careers — we all played together and we played with the same football.”

Holt, a seven-time Pro Bowler and member of the NFL all-decade team for the 2000s, was a finalist for the most recent Pro Football Hall of Fame class though he was not selected.

Bruce, among the NFL all-time leaders in receptions (fifth) and receiving yards (second) at the time of his retirement, went into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

Faulk, the trade acquisition and catalyst for the 1999 turnaround season, collected three consecutive offensive player of the year awards, an NFL MVP award (he finished among the top 3 in the voting three consecutive years), set an NFL single-season record for touchdowns and gained 2,000 yards from scrimmage in four consecutive seasons (1998-2001). He went into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

The NFL has produced other gasp-inducing and record-setting offenses with high-profile quarterbacks and skill position players. Some have put up even gaudier statistics.

Of course, then there’s the backstory of those Rams teams.

They’d gone 5-11 in Dick Vermeil’s first season as head coach. Then they followed that with a 4-12 season in 1998. The Rams hadn’t finished higher than third place in their division in nine seasons before 1999.

There’s the made-for-Hollywood story of Kurt Warner, the grocery store clerk turned longshot, turned backup quarterback, turned starter, turned two-time MVP and Hall of Famer.

That must be what made that team so memorable. Right?

“I think it’s a lot of things, maybe all of those things,” former All-Pro offensive lineman Adam Timmerman said. “For me, it was probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing football at any level. Whether it was flag football or college, high school, middle school, pros, any time — that season was the most fun season I ever had playing football. To do it at the professional level, that says a lot.

“I think it was the maturity of the guys that really made the team special. We had some leaders on this team as far as other players, and the coaching staff was awesome, top to bottom. Coach Vermeil’s leadership. You definitely can’t overlook that, the way he led.”

Vermeil, now 88, proudly wore his Hall of Fame sportscoat for the event. He walked around with the help of a cane, but he still spoke with the same energy, enthusiasm and passion that he showed in past interviews and news conferences.

Vermeil echoed sentiments expressed by Faulk and Timmerman, but he also credited the players’ commitment to hard work. He pointed to the small group of players, those who endured the tough times, as the key figures.

“You have to believe in a process,” Vermeil said. “I didn’t coach these guys any different than I coached Hillsdale High School. I coached people to play football, not football. They bought into it.

“It took them time. There were only nine guys that played in the Super Bowl that were under contract when we took over the team. Nine guys. That’s a lot of changeover, but those nine guys were unbelievable leaders and great reflections of our culture.”

The backstory, the great players, the unselfishness and the culture that formed within the team and the fact that it’s a positive lasting memory of the NFL in St. Louis.

Yeah, there’s a lot there beyond statistics that set those Rams apart.

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