Matthew Stafford and his Rams teammates and coaches all wore Los Angeles City Fire Department clothing as they paid tribute to the city’s firefighters during their playoff win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.
The final game of wild card weekend was moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to Glendale, Arizona because of the ongoing fires that are still engulfing Los Angeles.
A growing force of firefighters continued to battle massive infernos across the city on Monday as more powerful winds moved in and threatened recent progress against wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Planes doused homes and hillsides with bright pink fire-proof chemicals, crews prepared to pounce on hotspots across the region and dozens of water trucks rolled in to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week.
In less than a week, four fires around America’s second-biggest city have scorched more than 62 square miles, roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
The decision was taken last week to move Monday night’s final wild card game to Arizona and it promises to be an emotional evening for the LA Rams and their fans.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford wore a Los Angeles City Fire Department hoodie Monday
Rams coach Sean McVay wore a ‘LAFD’ hoodie on the sideline throughout his team’s victory
Coaches wore LAFD shirts, hats and jumpers to pay tribute to the first responders back home
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp wore ‘LAFD’ t-shirts to warm up in before the game in Arizona
Stafford paid a heartfelt tribute to the firefighters working to tackle the fires as he wore one of their hoodies on his arrival to State Farm Stadium.
Rams players and coaches also wore ‘LAFD’ t-shirts and jumpers to warm up in and throughout the game on the sideline.
It’s been a troublesome few days for Stafford and his family.
The former Super Bowl winner, who shares 7-year-old twins Sawyer and Chandler, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4 with wife Kelly, revealed that she and her daughters had to be taken into hospital.
The mom-of-four shared a photo to her Instagram story showing two of their daughters lying in a hospital bed.
‘Last night was long,’ she wrote alongside the photo. ‘Back in beds and sleeping, everyone except Hunter. Feels like she drank a Celsius.’
‘Before that tho,’ she later noted in a follow-up post, ‘they were all smiles getting to go with daddy on his work trip.’
While the former college cheerleader didn’t share more details about her daughters’ hospitalization, she did suggest the need for medical care stemmed from an illness the family had been suffering with throughout the past week.
‘Found our happy place in AZ. I promise we are happy, just still [ill],’ Kelly assured in another post, shared Sunday afternoon.
Thousands of Rams fans were seen lining up on Monday to head to Glendale, Arizona
The Rams chartered buses for fans to get to the game – with the number believed to be at least 40
Sean McVay’s team made their way to the desert on Friday night and have used their divisional rival’s practice facilities all weekend.
The Cardinals opened their training facility in Tempe for the Rams’ use, and there was a big banner that said ‘Welcome Los Angeles Rams’ with the logo of both teams on the entrance gate.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill even sent two team planes to LA on Friday to help the team’s journey to Arizona. The Rams’ players were allowed to bring their families – and even some pets – along for the ride.
Los Angeles still hopes for a sizable homefield advantage for Monday’s game, even if it’s roughly 375 miles and a six-hour drive from SoFi Stadium.
The team´s season ticket holders bought 25,000 tickets in the first hour of availability Friday and they were lined up before sunrise on Monday to make the bus trip.
A line of fans could be seen wrapping around the stadium prior to 5:30am local time.
And once fans got on the buses, they were even met with gifts, as an X post from fan Allen Sales showed a towel and foam finger on his seat.
Los Angeles won nine straight games in Arizona before the streak was snapped earlier this season.
McVay said Los Angeles requested the visitors locker room on Monday – even though they’re still technically the home team – because of their familiarity with the space.
A growing force of firefighters continued to battle massive infernos across Los Angeles
Four fires have consumed more than 62 square miles across the most affluent neighborhoods of LA, with A-list celebrity homes and restaurants among the 12,300 structures wiped out
A fire fighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows
Only a few Rams employees had been directly affected by the fires until Thursday afternoon, when the Kenneth Fire broke out a few miles from the team´s training complex in suburban Woodland Hills, sending smoke billowing into the sky with alarming speed.
Defensive lineman Kobie Turner said receiver Puka Nucua’s house was in an evacuation warning zone, so he came over and slept at his house one night.
The National Weather Service warned of ‘particularly dangerous’ dry and blustery weather approaching – especially on Tuesday, when wind gusts could reach 65mph, experts say.
A large part of Southern California around Los Angeles is under this extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.
Firefighters made progress over the weekend on the region’s two biggest fires – the Eaton Fire, near Pasadena, and the Palisades Fire, in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast.
The Eaton Fire is roughly one-third contained, while the Palisades Fire is far less contained.
The death toll is likely to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday. At least two dozen were missing, he said.
