Super Bowl 2022: Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp dedicates win to Kobe Bryant
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Cooper Kupp dedicates LA Rams Super Bowl win to Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Rams' wide receiver Cooper Kupp has dedicated his team's Super Bowl 56 victory to Kobe Bryant.
A five-time NBA champion, the Los Angeles Lakers great died aged 41 in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
After scoring two touchdowns in Sunday's win, Kupp was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player and wore a Lakers Bryant jersey during the Rams' trophy parade on Wednesday.
"Kobe is a part of this," said Kupp. "He belongs here, he set the standard."
In the six years since returning to LA from St Louis, the Rams have built a star-studded roster and beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to claim the team's second Super Bowl win.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, 30, added: "We built a super team. If we can bring the super team back, why not run it back? We could be world champs again!"
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, 34, led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory in his first season with the team, helping Kupp to a breakout season.
The 28-year-old was the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year and he, Stafford and Donald were all presented with keys to the city.
With the showpiece being staged at SoFi Stadium, the Rams also became the second team to win the NFL's championship game in their own stadium, after Tampa Bay last year.
The game was also the first Super Bowl to be staged in the LA region since 1993, and the Rams were based in St Louis when they previously lifted the Lombardi trophy in 2000.
Thousands of fans lined the streets of LA for the city's first trophy parade since the LA Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2014
The trophy parade featured the Rams' cheerleaders
Rams' fans celebrated the franchise's first Super Bowl win since 2000
The Rams were based in LA from 1946-1994 before returning in 2016
LA's city skyline provided the backdrop to the Rams' trophy parade
Rams and Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke (yellow t-shirt) was part of the celebrations
Quarterback Matthew Stafford (left) led the game-winning drive while Andrew Whitworth claimed his first Super Bowl win aged 40
Fans watched the trophy parade on a giant screen at Exposition Park, outside the Los Angeles Coliseum, which held the first Super Bowl in 1967
The players were given an ecstatic welcome when they arrived at Exposition Park
Rams star Aaron Donald and several of his team-mates were shirtless by the time they arrived on stage
And Donald (white bottle) led the celebrations as players toasted the team's success
To honour the Rams' win, the Hollywood sign has even been temporarily converted to read 'Rams House'