Before the start of the NFC Wild Card playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings on Monday in Arizona, former Rams Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth took the microphone at State Farm Stadium to send a message of ‘hope and love in Los Angeles amid devastating wildfires. who have taken over the city for almost a week.
The fires, which have claimed 24 lives so far, consumed 38,000 acres and more than 3,100 structures since they started last Tuesday, forced the Rams to move their playoff game to Glendale, Ariz., home of the NFL Cardinals. Arizona. This is despite winning a home game in the first round of the NFL playoffs after clinching the NFC West regular season title.
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Whitworth, who played for the Rams for five seasons, retired after the team’s 2022 Super Bowl win and now an NFL analyst for Prime Video, stood before the crowd that included Rams, Vikings and probably Arizona Cardinals fans during the pregame to address the plight of his city.
“This week our Los Angeles area was ravaged by catastrophic wildfires,” he said. “More than 150,000 people have been evacuated. Our friends and neighbors have lost their homes and entire communities have been devastated, and there is still work to be done. The courage and bravery of our firefighters and first responders prove that true heroes live among us. But I believe in the people of Los Angeles: we are strong. We will not let this devastation define us, we will rebuild together, hand in hand, for as long as it takes and whatever it costs, we will build it together.
“Los Angeles. I love you. We love you and we are with you.
“We will rebuild Los Angeles. Hand in hand, together. For as long as it takes and no matter what. 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, 2025
The stadium, usually adorned with the red and white of the hometown Cardinals, was painted tonight with the colors and logos of the Rams, an odd site far from SoFi Stadium where Los Angeles plays its home games.
The NFL decided Thursday to move the game “in the interest of public safety.” He joined the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers and the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings in postponing games due to the fires, which were exacerbated by dangerously high Santa Ana winds and dry conditions around of Los Angeles 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.
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