MARK YOUR CALENDAR, L.A. RAM FANS

A rally and parade were planned for downtown St. Louis today to honor the Rams.

The parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. CST downtown. After the parade, a rally will take place at Kiener Plaza. Ram players and coaches were expected to speak at the rally. After the rally, the city will set off about $15,000 worth of fireworks.

Even before the Super Bowl began Sunday, city officials were ready to celebrate. Blue and gold bunting was placed atop lamp posts lining the parade route. Ram banners flew along the route as well.

The events were planned by St. Louis 2004, a civic group seeking wide-ranging improvements to the region over the next four years.

The total cost of the celebration was not immediately known.

The tab will be divided among several St. Louis civic and corporate sponsors.

NO TUXEDOS IN TENNESSEE

Fans in Nashville moaned “No!” in unison when the Titans fell a yard short on the final play of the game.

About 2,300 stunned fans at the Wildhorse Saloon watched the clock run out on the Titans’ chances.

Despite the loss, fans mirrored their cohorts at the Georgia Dome in a standing ovation, surrounded by confetti thrown only minutes before when it seemed the Titans might win.

“It was a real letdown,” said Debbie Pettigrew of Nashville, who painted her face blue with a white “T” for the game. “Another 10 seconds and we probably could have done it.”

Sunday was the first time she had ever painted her face for a game, Pettigrew said.

“It will be the last time,” she said after the loss.

Cannons shot confetti each time the Titans scored and the dance floor was packed with fans in Titan jerseys. Others wore bright red wigs, mimicking the so-called “Flame Pit” in Adelphia Coliseum.

“We got so high and we got so low,” Sheila Crisp said.

A parade to welcome home the Titans will take place in Nashville on Tuesday, ending at Adelphia Coliseum.

Sunday, some fans lined up at the saloon in freezing temperatures at 8:30 a.m.--two and a half hours before the doors opened--to watch the game on a movie screen at the club best known for its country music dance show on television.

After the Super Bowl, police kept traffic off Second Avenue to prevent a repeat of the week before, when honking cars cruised past boisterous sidewalk celebrants in a spontaneous street party to celebrate the Titans’ AFC championship victory.

Some cars still honked, and some fans still screamed, but others simply drifted back to their cars or stopped for dinner at nearby restaurants in a much-less jubilant mood than the week before.

WILKINS GETS A KICK OUT OF GAME

Jeff Wilkins and his sore left knee got quite a workout.

The kicker was the St. Louis Rams’ biggest question mark heading into the Super Bowl because of chronic tendinitis in his plant leg. And that was with good reason, considering his performance in the Ram victory.

Wilkins made three short attempts in the first half for the only points in a 9-0 lead. But he also was wide right on a 34-yarder.

“I made it through, and that’s all that matters,” Wilkins said. “All I needed was one game, and I made it through.”

Wilkins said he will undergo surgery in a week or so. The injury has affected his kicking all season.

The Rams needed Wilkins a lot more than usual because of unaccountable breakdowns inside the 20, especially in the first half.

Results: mixed. A fifth attempt was botched when holder Mike Horan mishandled the snap and put the ball on its side instead of a point, and Wilkins never got off a kick.

Both Wilkins and Horan blamed overly slick balls for the kick he didn’t get to try.

“The ball boys wouldn’t even let us touch them so that we had an idea of what to expect,” Horan said. “They’re a lot different than practice balls, and even the new ones we brought out to use this week.”

Wilkins had no excuse for the 34-yard miss. He missed only one of 13 attempts inside the 40 in the regular season.

“I just mis-hit it,” he said.

He also shrugged it off, despite the magnitude of the game.

“It wasn’t a perfect day,” Wilkins said. “But in the past I’ve let things bother me more than I probably should. This time I didn’t let it bother me.”

All the work didn’t seem to overly affect him. Wilkins forced a touchback after kicking off after his third field goal near the end of the half, and also reached the end zone to open the second half.

Twice in the playoffs, Wilkins talked the Rams out of signing 43-year-old Nick Lowery, who hasn’t kicked since 1996. Lowery came to Atlanta on his own, and brought his kicking shoe just in case.

But during the Super Bowl buildup, Wilkins reasoned it was just “one dang game.”

SOMEWHERE, PETE ROSE IS SMILING

The bookies got it right--and it cost them a bundle.

A Super Bowl that ended just the way the oddsmakers predicted--with St. Louis winning by seven points--left the sports books and the bettors feeling less than satisfied Sunday.

Long lines of bettors swarmed to the cashiers’ windows at sports books along the Las Vegas Strip to collect money after the game. But in most cases they were merely getting back what they had wagered.

Those who bet on the Rams minus the 7 points stood in the same lines as those who bet on the Tennessee Titans plus 7 points.

Neither side was a winner, but they weren’t losers either.

“Most people are just getting refunds,” said Cesar Robaina, who sets the odds for many Las Vegas sports books. “It’s not horrible, and it’s not like the town lost millions. But it’s obviously not a good result.”

Although it will be several days before the betting results are finally totaled, oddsmakers say the biggest sports betting event of the year turned out to be a dud this time around.

The Rams were a solid seven-point favorite all week long, and the betting line never wavered.

“I suspect from a player’s standpoint, they’re not too happy either,” Robaina said. “Nobody wants a push.”

At the Imperial Palace, book manager Jay Kornegay said bettors swarmed to the pay windows to get their money back as soon as Kevin Dyson’s outstretched arm fell short at the goal line.

“We’re almost as busy now as we were before the game,” Kornegay said.

“We’ve got long lines of people here getting their money back.”

--Compiled by Houston Mitchell