St. Louis fans have turned Rams football into their new religion.

Yet following the St. Louis Rams' storybook worst-to-first season, this baseball town was transformed -- temporarily at least -- into a football madhouse. And by Sunday, when the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings 49-37 in the NFC playoffs, the city was in a frenzy typical for October at Busch Stadium, but previously unseen for a football game.

The players noticed.

"It was so loud in there," wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim said. "Those Rams fans were so excited, and we wanted to show what we could do."

The frenzy intensified as the game progressed, and will probably get worse this week. St. Louis hosts Tampa Bay Sunday at the Trans World Dome, and the winner goes to the Super Bowl.

"I went to '82 World Series, seventh game, when the Cardinals won it, and it was a blast," fan Bill Sthnable said after the game. "But for football fans, this is all we needed."

"I'm not sure how it compares to a World Series because with baseball you're talking about long-term commitment from the fans," Lenny DeShurley, decked out in a No. 95 Rams uniform with his head shaved bald except for Rams horns on each side, said before the game." But this is great."

St. Louis is known nationwide for its passion for baseball. The Cardinals have won more pennants than any team except the New York Yankees. Even when they're bad, they typically draw around 3 million fans.

Football? No need to mince words -- the city's football history has been sad, wretched, even pathetic. No city has had a professional team longer without so much as a playoff win, and St. Louis hasn't so much as hosted a game.

It started in 1960 when Bill Bidwill moved the Chicago Cardinals to St. Louis. The Big Red as they were known produced some good players -- Hall of Famers Jackie Smith (tight end), Larry Wilson (safety) and Dan Dierdorf (offensive tackle), along with quarterback Jim Hart, running backs Terry Metcalf and Ottis Anderson and receiver Roy Green.

But the teams were rarely good. In 28 seasons, the Cardinals made it to the playoffs just three times -- all first-round losses, all on the road.

Bad football was better than no football. In 1988, fed up with what he perceived as a lack of civic cooperation on a new stadium, Bidwill took the Cardinals to Phoenix. Some things don't change -- in 12 seasons there, the Cardinals have made the playoffs once, though they did finally win a postseason game last season against Dallas.

When the NFL decided to add two expansion teams in 1993, St. Louis seemed a lock. But late in the process the ownership situation for the would-have-been Stallions became muddled. The in-fighting scared away the NFL, which instead gave franchises to Carolina and Jacksonville.

With a new domed stadium already under construction, civic leaders were determined to get a team one way or another. In 1994, a group led by former U.S. Sen. Tom Eagleton began meeting with Los Angeles Rams president John Shaw and other Rams officials. A few months later, the Rams agreed to move to St. Louis.

After four sub-.500 seasons, the 1999 Rams finally gave the fans something to cheer about.

"A lot of these fans are new to the bandwagon," DeShurley said. "But I don't care. There's room. Bring 'em on."

Smith, the old Cardinals tight end, said he was thrilled for the fans.