The Athletic has live coverage of Vikings vs. Rams in the NFL wild-card playoff game.
The Los Angeles Rams won’t be playing in their home confines of SoFi Stadium for Monday night’s wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings, but the team has done everything it can to recreate that environment at their State Farm Stadium home-away-from-home in Glendale, Ariz.
Historically disastrous wildfires forced the relocation of the game late last week, a situation Rams president Kevin Demoff called heartbreaking.
“This was the right decision,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking for our fans, for our players. Our players earned a home playoff game which is a great testament to that. But this situation merits that we play that somewhere else.”
To help aid in healing that heartbreak, the team rallied to recreate the feel of SoFi Stadium over 300 miles away at State Farm Stadium (the home of the Arizona Cardinals), doing so with end zone paint schemes, free charter bus transportation for 1,500 season ticket holders and expected on-field appearances of franchise legends Andrew Whitworth, Torry Holt and Mike Jones.
And here is the view from the press box pic.twitter.com/2q9FLiGUar
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) January 13, 2025
“The buses departed from SoFi Stadium on Monday morning and will return after the game,” the team said in an email. “Rams fans also can enjoy additional authentic integrations into the game experience including the ‘Whose House? Rams House!’ chant, interactive fan elements like the noise meter, Ram It, throwback pumps, jam sessions and more. Touchdown takeovers, player celebrations and more also will be present to represent the home field environment at the Rams House.”
The Rams said the game as a whole will be used “to bring LA Together and uplift and represent their city in Arizona.” Whitworth will get the festivities started with a special message to Los Angeles fans at the game and at home, and singer Rachel Platten will play her Emmy Award-winning song “Fight Song” while a 200-foot LA Together banner drops down on a sideline.
Also on the sidelines, Rams players, coaches and staff will wear custom Los Angeles Fire Department shirts and hats, which will later be available for sale online. All proceeds from the sale will support the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and American Red Cross.
Before the game, the Cardinals’ flag crew will join Rams mascot Rampage as they run out on the field with LA Together flags to show their support for the city. From there, Holt will kick off the game as the honorary Rampede Captain to get fans on their feet, a Los Angeles weekly tradition.
Jones will be honored during the second quarter as the team’s Legend of the Game. Jones was responsible for the game-sealing, final-second tackle of Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson to win the Rams Super Bowl XXXIV.
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(Photo: Jourdan Rodrigue / The Athletic)
