Meet the Freeway Fan, the Rams’ traffic-preaching inspiration
The highway fan is undisturbed by traffic, insensitive to noise, intrepid in his quest.
The Freeway Fan is cheering for a team that isn’t there, fans who often can’t see it, a city that doesn’t always understand.
The Freeway Fan survives on a strong voice, strong banners and eternal hope.
“I love the Rams and I really feel like we can go all the way,” Poko Taufahema said. “This is my way of showing it.”
Millions of people are seeing it this week as Taufahema slowly transformed the House of Rams into the Highway of Rams. In preparation for Sunday’s NFC championship game in Seattle against the Seahawks, with his inspirational messages and solitary cheers dancing above anonymous masses of metal, the Freeway fan has become a blue-and-yellow-horned SigAlert.
“I’m just trying to support my team,” Taufahema said.
Which he does in an extraordinary way.
For most of the last week, Taufahema left his job as a security guard at the cemetery and went to the overpass crossing the 101 Freeway between the Balboa Boulevard and White Oak Avenue exits. It’s an overpass generally known for being the site of frequent protest banners, but Taufahema goes there on a different mission.
He painstakingly hangs various Rams banners on the overpass fences, then stands behind them on a concrete walkway, waving a yellow Rams towel and leading the highway cheers from noon until sunset.
“The key,” he says, “is good shoes. »
Rams superfan Poko Taufahema shows his team spirit in the crosswalk on Amestoy Avenue over the 101 in Encino.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
As night falls, Taufahema packs up the props and returns to start again the next day, and the next day, and the next day. If the Rams had his resilience and endurance, they would never lose.
“I figure, why not use this space to promote something that brings people together? he said. “And right now, it’s the Rams.”
The viaduct is perfectly located to inspire the Rams, whose headquarters are nearby and whose players pass under the bridge daily. It’s also perfectly located for maximum visibility, as it spans one of the most traffic-congested stretches in the region.
Taufahema initially shared his plan 10 days ago with his wife Jasmine after the Rams won the playoff game against the Carolina Panthers. It was a crazy idea though, considering she recently threw a surprise Rams-themed party for Poko’s 30th birthday, Jasmine saw his passion and helped build the banners after visits to the Dollar Tree and Walgreens.
“I completely believe in my husband,” she said. “I have seen his dedication, his work ethic and the heart behind his dream, and I will always support him for having the courage to pursue what he loves.”
Rams super fan Poko Taufahema holds a team flag as he stands on a pedestrian bridge over the 101.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Poko is a perfect example of the long-awaited rise of Rams fandom. When the team returned here in 2016, many locals had long since become attached to other teams. Some fans simply didn’t have a team and only cheered for their favorite player. Poko, a former high school and college defensive lineman whose career was cut short by a foot injury, was part of the latter group. He was a die-hard Aaron Donald who never really thought about cheering for the team.
But the Rams, with their tenacity on the field and immersion in the community, slowly won Poko’s heart. By the time they won the Super Bowl after the 2021 season, he was so enamored with the team that he attended the championship parade and climbed through a hole in the fence to get a close-up view of his favorite players.
“I even shook Leonard Floyd’s hand,” he said proudly. “It was so awesome, I love this team.”
He now owns several Rams jerseys and countless other Rams memorabilia, including a Rams necklace and foam fingers. He attends several Rams home games a year even though he doesn’t have a season ticket.
“When it comes to the Rams, I find a way,” he said.
It has become obvious.
On the first day of his current quest, it was just Poko and Jasmine and their three children, hanging out along the driveway after hanging signs that included a Rams mantra, “Earn the Right.”
They didn’t know someone was watching them. Yet the moment the signs were put up on the chain-link fence with ties, the Taufahemas realized everyone was looking at them.
The horns began to sound. People stuck their heads out of windows to shout encouragement. Even the police joined in the applause on their loudspeakers.
“All of a sudden we started hearing horns and people,” Poko said. “They were reacting to the signs in ways I never imagined.”
Rams fan Evan Flagg waves a flag in support of the team ahead of its NFC championship matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Although the Rams have built such a following that SoFi Stadium is no longer consistently dominated by opposing fans like in previous years, Rams fans are generally quieter in public than, say, Raiders fans, so Taufahema was excited to hear them show up.
“We have a reputation for not representing our team like other places,” he said. “It was so great to see all the change.”
Not everything was great. Some people also made obscene gestures and shouted nasty things at them from their open car windows.
“It made me crazy, but I couldn’t do anything,” Taufahema said. “It was all about the Rams.”
And the Rams took notice, spotting a video of The Freeway Fan on social media and inviting the Taufahemas to headquarters the next morning to give them more banners to display.
Poko and his family were alone again on the second day of the makeshift cheering section, but last Friday everything changed.
Fans saw the videos and several of them joined the viaduct party, including one who brought a flag to Poko. On Saturday, some of those fans alerted Poko to the departure times of the team buses for LAX, and so he was at the overpass again by early afternoon, cheering at the honking buses as they zoomed past below.
Three days later, after their dramatic win over the Chicago Bears, linebacker Byron Young tagged the viaduct on his social media, and Poko looked incredible.
“The players love it, they love why I do it, and it makes me so happy,” Poko said.
The Rams, who are celebrated for their community involvement, understand and embrace what Taufahema stands for.
“A lot of the past year has been about showing up for our city and bringing Los Angeles together,” said Rams marketing director Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick. “Seeing the people of this area galvanize and support our team in so many different ways is inspiring and their dedication and efforts give us the fuel to earn the right to play another week for Los Angeles.” »
Poko Taufahema holds a Rams flag as he stands next to other Rams fans on a pedestrian bridge over the 101.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
This week, the Rams’ mantra changed to “Not Done Yet” as the site became more popular, and if the Rams aren’t done yet, neither are the Taufahemas. If the Rams head to the Super Bowl, Poko and Jasmine return to the overpass.
“Poko has already thought about his ideas,” Jasmine said. “He has confidence that they will follow through.”
But first. The Rams must survive a hostile crowd in Seattle, although with blaring horns and hurried shouts rising above the din of daily traffic, they will now know they have much of their giant city behind them.
The Seahawks can have their 12th man.
The Rams have The Freeway Fan.
