Gary Young, a 45-year-old from Pomona, Calif., was named the Los Angeles Rams' Fan of the Year for 2024. He's a lifelong fan that has Rams horns tattooed on his head to resemble the team's helmet, and he was honored on the field during Thursday Night Football versus the Vikings. His brother, Lance, surprised him with the honor.
On Monday, Young was given field experience tickets, and got to watch pregame warmups up close. It was "the first time I've left a tailgate early," Young said.
"It's a crazy honor (to be named fan of the year) because there's so many fans that do so much for the fan base, for the community," Young said. "To be honored with this, it's kind of like the Super Bowl of being a fan. This is cool, I got my Heisman (Trophy), I got my Lombardi."
Young's fandom started at birth and has extended to the next generation. He was part of the movement that helped bring the Rams back to Los Angeles, and hasn't missed a home game since their return. He is co-founder and president of the "Die Hard Rams Booster Club," and helped build SoFi Stadium for two years as a sheetmetal worker. Young organizes game day tailgates, fan meet-ups and community service events that help less fortunate families and the homeless.
A typical game day starts at 4:30 a.m. when Young and his family pile into an already-loaded tailgate truck and head to the stadium. He helps everyone get parked and then starts cooking. Somewhere between 200 and 500 people usually come through their tailgate that spans 17 spots in the parking lot.
"Every game is different, you plan ahead and get out there and every day brings a different task or challenges," Young said.
The fans at those tailgates come from "all walks of life," and came together through a variety of different avenues. The group began in section 2H at The Coliseum when the Rams first returned to L.A. His family members and the surrounding fans "were all wild and crazy," Young said, and that turned into its own little family.
From there, they made the "Die Hard Rams Booster Club" with the fans they'd met at the temporary stadium and during the movement to bring the Rams back to L.A. The tailgate crew has grown naturally from there with fliers, mutual connections and stragglers coming around on game days.
"I was told by a wise man, 'keep your circle with like-minded individuals and everything will be successful,' and so far so good," Young said.
The club has even branched out to provide community services. They donate to the Ronald McDonald House, sponsor two families every year for Christmas, raise money to feed the homeless on skid row and are giving away 50 Thanksgiving dinners to Pomona-based families in need this year.
It's a group that truly cares about each other, their communities and the Los Angeles Rams.
Young's head tattoos took 18 hours to complete, as they are surrounded by iconic Rams images including Super Bowl hardware, players and historic moments for the team. He's also inked other Rams images on his body to "pay tribute" to the team's Super Bowls along with his booster club and fandom.
Young's family is full of Rams fans, and he's experienced a lot of the teams greatest moments alongside loved ones. He was at the Rams' Super Bowl LVI victory over the Bengals in 2021, attended their Thursday Night Football thriller against the Chiefs in 2018 and was there for the Rams' last game in Anaheim in 1994 against the Raiders.
Despite all the history he's witnessed, Young said that being honored as the Fan of the Year was "probably at the top of the list."
