"With the economy being what it is, with the team not in playoff contention, it's not an unexpected development that tickets didn't sell down the stretch," said Bob Wallace, Rams executive vice president.

Considering that the Rams are coming off a 3-13 season, are without a playoff appearance since 2004, and are without a winning record since 2003, it's probably more amazing that the first six home games of the season were sellouts.

"Our fans have hung in pretty well," Wallace said.

Their patience is running thin, however. The team's most recent home game Nov. 30 against Miami was televised only because the Rams and some local corporations agreed to buy unsold tickets, many of which were then donated to local charities.

But with about 4,000 tickets remaining for the Seahawks game, Wallace said that was simply too big of a number for another Rams-corporate "bailout." The Rams waited until noon Thursday - the league-mandated sellout deadline of 72 hours prior to kickoff - to announce the TV blackout.

"This is a tough economy," Wallace said. "Companies are laying off (people). It's the holiday season. The discretionary income is much tighter. And that affects us, too."

Even in the glory days when the Rams were earning playoff berths regularly and going to two Super Bowls, the franchise always held out about 4,000 tickets per game for individual sales, the idea being that fans who couldn't afford season tickets could at least buy tickets to a game or two.

"That was a decision that was made in '95, and a policy that we've always maintained," Wallace said.

To a large degree, it is these tickets that are left for the Seahawks.

Upon moving to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams' first 100 games were sellouts, a streak encompassing 95 regular-season games and five playoff contests. But the streak ended with a Christmas Eve blackout in 2006, a 37-31 overtime victory against Washington.

Beginning with that Washington game, the Seattle contest marks the fifth time in the past 16 home games that the Rams have been blacked out. Last season, home games against Arizona, Atlanta and Cleveland failed to sell out. And with more than 4,000 tickets remaining for the 2008 home finale against San Francisco on Dec. 21, it 's likely to become six blackouts in 17 games.

When asked about the pros and cons of blacking out games, Wallace offered a correction.

"I can't think of any 'pros' in not having them on TV," he said. "We would much prefer to have our games on TV. Television and NFL Football made available to the home crowd is a staple of the league, and it's very important to us."

Blackouts don't occur often. Prior to this week, only five games had been blacked out throughout the NFL this season.

Until recently, the Rams haven't had to work hard to sell tickets. The euphoria of having NFL Football back in St. Louis carried the team for its first several seasons. Just when the newness was wearing off, the Rams morphed into an NFL power.

But as the team declined into mediocrity and worse, fan loyalty became strained.

Recognizing this, the Rams restructured their ticket office last offseason, adding five full-time sales people. A more conscious effort has been made to let fans know that tickets are available. More emphasis has been put on group sales, corporate sales, individual ticket sales, and sales of some season tickets without PSLs.

In each of the past 13 offseasons, the Rams have had a season-ticket renewal rate of more than 90 percent. But with another season of double-digit losses, selling tickets will be tougher than ever.

The 2009 home schedule includes a couple of very attractive opponents: Indianapolis and Green Bay. It shouldn't be hard to sell out those games. But visits by Minnesota, Houston and a to-be-determined NFC South opponent aren't likely to create stampedes to the ticket office. As Sunday's blackout shows, NFC West foes Arizona, San Francisco, and Seattle aren't automatic sellouts, either.

"I'm an optimist," Wallace said. "So I'm not bracing for the worst. It's the Show-Me State - we understand that. We have to show them that we value them as customers, and that we're going to turn the Football team around and try to bring some excitement. So that's our challenge."