It looked like it was meant to be. Grant Wistrom, a native of Webb City, Missouri, a four-hour drive from St. Louis, who had gone to Nebraska and helped the Cornhuskers win three National Championships while earning two unanimous All-American honors, was chosen by the Rams in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft.
But…
"I'll be completely honest with you, at first, I was a little disheartened," Wistrom said. "Just being a young man living in Missouri, I thought that was going to be an opportunity to step out and live in another part of the country and just experience something a little bit different.
"And then also, the Rams were the losingest team in the previous decade. So those two things combined, I wasn't overly excited about it. But at the same time, I was like, 'Alright, this is where I'm going. Let's go there and do everything we possibly can to help turn this organization around.'"
Wistrom would eventually help the Rams do so, but not without some challenges. Playing in 13 games as a backup and on special teams, even though the coaches did name him as the team's Defensive Rookie of the Year, his career didn't begin as he would have hoped. On or off the field.
"I had two really old guys on the D-line with me that were kind of sour and bitter, and they did everything they could to make my life a living hell," Wistrom said. "And I totally get that. I appreciated it. It made me better. But there wasn't a lot of coddling going on in the defensive line meeting room.
"I knew I was drafted to play defensive end. I think they expected me probably to compete a little bit more. The sixth pick overall, you would expect that guy to come in and contribute right away, hopefully end up being a starter. But I wasn't that guy my rookie year. So I think I was probably a little bit of a disappointment my rookie year to the Rams and also to myself."
With he and the team putting that and the 4-12 record behind them, Wistrom moved into the starting lineup in 1999 and contributed twice as many tackles, more than twice as many sacks, and two trips to the end zone. The first came in Week 6 in Atlanta when he intercepted a Chris Chandler pass and returned the ball 91 yards for a touchdown.
"I got basically stonewalled at the line of scrimmage on my pass rush," Wistrom laughed. "And I'm not sure who batted the ball up in the air. It was either D'Marco Farr or Ray Agnew, and then Ray thought he had rights to the ball. But I out-jumped him and just was like, 'Man, I got this thing now, I'm going to take it.'"
Helping the Rams win the game, 41-13, Wistrom did so again 10 games later against Chicago when he had another pick-six on a 40-yard return in the 34-12 victory.
"I believe it was a screen pass or a swing pass trying to get it to Curtis Enis," Wistrom said. "I was a tight end in high school and I've got pretty decent hands, so if the ball is near me, I'm pretty confident I can catch it.
"And luckily, I forget who the quarterback was at the time [Shane Matthews], but he got it within my wingspan and I got two hands on it. If it touches my hands, I'm pretty sure I'm catching it."
Speaking of which, the Rams caught on fire that season. Winning nine games more than the previous year en route to the Super Bowl XXXIV title, they had the combination of the NFL's No.4 defense and No. 1 offense, debuting the "Greatest Show on Turf."
"You know, Kurt Warner comes out of nowhere. You trade for Marshall Faulk. You draft Torry Holt. And you have (offensive coordinator) Mike Martz pulling the strings with all those toys back there," Wistrom said. "So that was what turned it around, our offense.
"Our defense, I think we were probably better than average. But when you're up by 28 points seven minutes into the football game, it makes it really easy to play defense."
Following the Super Bowl, Wistrom caught on fire himself. Beginning in 2000 and over the next four seasons, he collected 32 sacks, 372 tackles including 201 solo stops, and three more interceptions to go along with knocking down 14 passes.
"Once again, you go back to when you're up by 28 points seven minutes into the football game. It makes it really easy to play defense. You know they're going to have to throw the ball at that point. It really makes their offense one-dimensional. So I think a great offense helped in my development. That sounds kind of weird," Wistrom laughed.
"Also, just the familiarity with the game. It's such a huge change going from college to the NFL. At that time, college football wasn't a professional organization like it is now. So you weren't a true professional then. And just that learning curve, even as far as what's expected of meetings, what time do I need to be here every day?
"And so when those things are removed and you're not thinking about everything so much, and you're just going out and reacting, you know what's coming at you. Either in meetings, practice, the weight room, and especially on the field, you're not thinking about things. That's what it takes to succeed in the NFL. You just have to be so dialed in that it's reactive and instinctive instead of trying to be out there thinking through things."
After not being sure that playing near home was a good place to begin his career, and then struggling as a rookie, the Show Me State-native showed the Rams fans that first impressions – theirs and his own – weren't always the best ones.
During his six seasons in St. Louis, Wistrom helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl twice and bring home a Lombardi Trophy.
"The Super Bowl in itself, being in it… At first when I was like, 'Dang it, I'm going to stay in Missouri and play football.' When I was drafted, that was my attitude," he said. "But then being a part of the team that won a Super Bowl for my home state was just about as good as it gets. And then we go and do the parade afterwards, and just that was amazing.
"Then a week later, I'm judging the Miss USA pageant. So all those things just tied together. That's why you play the game, to win the Super Bowl, and just all the other amazing things that come with it."
Becoming a free agent in 2004, Wistrom signed with the Seattle Seahawks and appeared in his third Super Bowl the following season. Nine years in the league, three NFC titles, one Super Bowl ring, what makes him most proud of his career?
"I was a good teammate," Wistrom said. "I think that my impact on the team went much further than my stats. I mean, my stats weren't outstanding and I was a good defensive end. I would never make the Pro Bowl or anything like that, but as far as going out there and maximizing my talent, playing hard, trying to lead by example, being a good locker room guy, and also being a contributing member of the community, those are the things that I'm most proud of in my football career."
Moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, earlier this year, Wistrom and his wife, Melissa, have a son, Wyatt, who is in college studying graphic design; and a daughter, Charlie, who will be a freshman this fall at the University of Nebraska, and playing on the school's soccer team.
He is the part-owner of Champs Roofing & Exteriors, focusing on business development.
"The gentleman that came to me with the idea, Michael Johnson, I'm involved with him in some other businesses, and wherever he's at, he's the smartest guy in the room. If he says, 'Hey, Grant, we need to do this.' I'm not asking questions," Wistrom said.
"In Nebraska, my name still carries some weight, so I go out and just build relationships with insurance agents. Just let them know what a great job our team does, that we stand behind our work, that we're not storm chasers. And once you build that brand so that when something does happen, somebody does go to file a claim, hopefully we're the first person they call.
"The job that I do, the highlight of my day is walking into an insurance agent's office that may have watched me play 30 years ago and that has a memory they want to talk about. Maybe they were at the game with their dad when they were a kid. And just getting to relive that with them or signing autographs, taking pictures with the people, just taking a few minutes out of my day to hopefully make somebody else's better.
"I've been blessed and just go out every day and appreciate what I've been given, and try to give a little bit back."
