LOS ANGELES — The Rams’ official Super Bowl parade ended early Wednesday afternoon at the Coliseum. But the unofficial celebration snaked its way back toward Crypto.com Arena later that evening, as Aaron Donald – wearing a shirt after spending much of the day without one – and Robert Woods made a procession to their courtside seats.

They were easy to recognize: Standing applause accompanied every step the star defensive lineman and wide receiver took.

It was a flipped script from Super Bowl Sunday, when the Lakers sat in the stands of SoFi Stadium, watching the Rams rally to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the final minutes. LeBron James might have enjoyed the experience as much as anyone, drinking his own branded tequila in a suite and dancing in celebration to touchdowns – especially the one by his friend, Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

“I was there mostly on the football side for Odell: I mean, that’s my little brother,” James said Tuesday. “I try to be down for him and be with him and give him any sense of motivation and advice throughout the years. And to see him win a Super Bowl was amazing.”

James had been to the Super Bowl before in 2005, when the New England Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida. James wasn’t rooting for any team; he simply went to be a part of the spectacle which he said gives him the same sort of excitement as waking up on Christmas.

One of his favorite parts this time was the Super Bowl halftime show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Eminem.

“There was a time where the NFL wouldn’t even allow rap music to be played inside arenas, or hip-hop music to be played inside arenas,” he said. “Obviously, I know we’ve had Black artists. You’ve had Prince and Beyonce and Whitney Houston and things of that nature, but to have a performance like that, where Black, hip-hop artists are performing at the Super Bowl? I had a moment of like, chills. … I had a proud moment to be there and to see hip-hop being represented at the highest spectacle of any sport.”

James also played a dual role in a Super Bowl commercial for his home arena’s namesake sponsor, featuring him talking to a younger version of himself. He quibbled a little bit with the teenage LeBron living in a messy room – “my room has never been dirty in my life,” he said – but said relatives and old friends marveled at the computer-generated version of his phenom years.

Related Articles

“It wasn’t trippy to me because I got an opportunity to see it, kind of like what it was gonna be beforehand, but it was to my mom and my best friends from back home,” he said. “My mom couldn’t understand how she was seeing her son from 20 years ago once again.”

James tweeted that he would like to see the 2020 Lakers and 2020 Dodgers do a three-way parade with the Rams, but he said it was more of a passing thought than a real suggestion.

Coach Frank Vogel said he felt “a real void” from missing out on a championship parade due to the pandemic. Even though James knew what the Lakers were missing, having been through three championship parades himself, he said he felt more for the teammates who had never won a title before and never got that experience at all.

“Obviously, getting the ring the following (season) and things of that nature, some of the guys that came back after they were with different teams and got they ring but the parade is like, it’s really a culmination of everything,” he said. “You really get to rejoice and celebrate with the fans in a more intimate setting, so I feel bad for like my teammates who didn’t get the opportunity to have that feeling.”