By Jim Gehman, Player Engagement Insider
When in Rome…

After the Rams organization relocated from St. Louis to Los Angeles last offseason, Cody Davis and his wife, Ashley, had to search for a new home. This offseason, they're taking some time to experience what there is to see and do in Southern California.

"We have (our one-year-old son, Kane,) going to daycare one day a week, so that's our day date as parents," Davis, a fifth-year safety said. "We have kind of a bucket list of items whenever we go to a new place. After the season ended we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios, and both of those were really amazing.

"We wanted to go to a live (television show) taping and got online and decided on The Price Is Right and were lucky enough to get some tickets."

Attending the legendary CBS game show – which aired on February 24th – proved to be a long but worthwhile day for the couple.

"We had to wake up about 5:30 a.m. to start getting ready. Take him to daycare and then take the hour and a half commute during the busy time in traffic," Davis said. "So, we got there at 8:30, and then you probably wait in line about three hours to get into the show. We brought jackets and stuff, luckily, but it was still pretty chilly that day.

"It actually went by faster than it sounds like, but it was still three hours. You're getting your nametag, you're getting pictures taken of you, filling out forms, and then you get interviewed (by a producer who talks with every member of the audience). And then you just wait."

Only nine people out of an audience of 300 are selected to be contestants on the show hosted by Drew Carey. But just as with the Rams during the season, the Davis' had a game plan.

"We researched online about how to get chosen. They say that it's kind of a combination between if you made shirts, that interview about your story and how excited you are. So, we kind of threw all that at them," Davis laughed.

Around 11:30 a.m. the audience was escorted into the Bob Barker Studio and the Davis' were seated in the center of the second row. Prior to the sixth and final game, it happened. "Cody Davis, come on down!"

"I didn't know if I was going to be picked or not," Davis said. "Definitely when it starts getting later in the show, you're like ah, probably not. It's probably not going to happen. And even when it did happen, I was like man, I get one shot to bid.

"I get up there and amazingly I got lucky enough to get it which is pretty hard being the last contestant. You have to bid first and I just knew somebody was going to one dollar me over my bid and get me out of the running. But it didn't happen luckily enough and I got closest to the bid (on coffee equipment and a kitchen island cart)."

After stepping on stage and shaking hands with Carey and Chris O'Donnell, an actor from the CBS TV series NCIS Los Angeles, who was there as part of 'Celebrity Charity Week,' Davis played the Punch-A-Bunch game and won $5,000.

Safety @CodyDavis wins cash and prizes on The @PriceIsRight game Punch-A-Bunch #PriceIsRight #PunchABunch  pic.twitter.com/paPQSAdmKA — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 24, 2017

Davis and Carey had an opportunity to talk during the break while the stage crew was setting up the Big Wheel. "He was just saying how cool it was for me to be there," Davis said. "He said he's part-owner of some sports teams like the Seattle Sounders. I took the chance to invite him out to practice or a game.

"It went really fast. I thought there was going to be a lot of time in between games, explaining what they were about to do. But basically, as you see it on TV, that's almost as fast as it goes. They don't stop to explain anything unless somebody messes up, which I think Drew messed up one time and had to re-film one small, little part. And, of course, they edit out some of it. But it was pretty fast and furious once you get into the studio. The show, it was just super fun."

The Davis' capped off their day date/game show experience by donating the full money value of the prizes and cash to Compassion International.

"It's a Christian organization," Davis said. "They deal with poverty-stricken children, supporting them in the name of Jesus. That's through healthcare, clothing needs, living needs and also education. We went through and looked up some of the top organizations that kind of lines up with our beliefs and who we want to help out. I thought it was a great organization to choose."