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Ahead of the start of the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings NFC Wild Card playoff game Monday in Arizona, former Rams Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth took the mic at State Farm Stadium to send a message of hope and love back to L.A. amid the devastating wildfires that have gripped the city for almost a week.
The fires, which have killed 24 to date, consumed 38,000 acres burned and more than 3,100 structures since beginning last Tuesday, forced the Rams to move their playoff game to Glendale, AZ, home of the Arizona Cardinals. This despite earning a home game in the first round of the NFL playoffs after clinching the NFC West regular-season title.
Whitworth, who played for the Rams for five seasons, retiring after the team’s Super Bowl win in 2022 and now an NFL analyst for Prime Video, stood in front of the crowd made up of Rams, Vikings and likely Arizona Cardinals fans during the pregame to address his city’s plight.
“This week, our Los Angeles region has been ravaged by catastrophic wildfires,” he said. “Over 150,000 people have been evacuated. Our friends and our neighbors have lost homes, and entire communities have been devastated, and there’s still more work to do. The courage and bravery of our firefighters and our first responders prove that real-life heroes live among us. But I believe in the people of Los Angeles — we are strong. We will not be defined by this devastation, we will rebuild hand in hand together for as long as it takes and whatever it takes, we will build it together.
“Los Angeles. I love you. We love you, and we are with you.”
"We will rebuild LA. Hand in hand, together. For as long as it takes and whatever it takes. We will build it together. Los Angeles, I love you. We love you and we are with you.” pic.twitter.com/5EfllG4ESt
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 14, 2025The stadium, usually adorned in the hometown Cardinals’ red and white, was painted with the Rams colors and logos tonight, an odd site away from SoFi Stadium where L.A. plays its home games.
The NFL decided Thursday to relocate the game “in the interest of public safety.” It joined the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings in postponing games because of the fires, which have been exacerbated by dangerously fierce Santa Ana winds and dry conditions around L.A. County.
The Rams are playing for a chance to face the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in a divisional playoff game next Sunday at noon PT on NBC.
