Despite the best NFL efforts, the Rams 'home' game will feel like an away game

It was bound to happen. As soon as wildfires erupted around Los Angeles, California, the NFL and the LA Rams understood that the Wild Card Round game of the 2025 NFL Playoffs scheduled to be played at SoFi Stadium was a risk to commuters, fans, and even NFL personnel who planned to attend the event. Not only was it deemed unwise to concentrate so many people at risk by attending the stadium, but the excess burden of housing the influx of people at a time when hotels and lodgings were already strained with supporting firefighters and emergency personnel.

The NFL acted quickly, and designated State Farm Stadium at nearby Glendale, Arizona as the alternate site for the final game of the Wild Card Round. But then there was the matter of logistics.

Spearheading the need to transport so many Rams fans to a distant stadium, LA Rams COO Kevin Demoff stepped up and handled the multi-tasking of securing answers and options and then communicating vital details to fans and the NFL community at large. But even his efforts may have fallen short if not for a wave of persons volunteering their time and energy to aid the cause.

Even the Arizona Cardinals stepped up, sending two airplanes to transport the Rams staff and players to Arizona, and opening up their training facilities to the Rams to allow them to prepare to face the Minnesota Vikings.

It was a series of heartwarming gestures that assuaged the multiple concerns that continued to spring up for the team facing a tsunami of challenges just to play the game.

Rams will be the home team on paper, but . . .

Some teams simply travel very well. The Rams fans are well aware of the fact that the seats of SoFi Stadium can be filled with visiting fans during the NFL Playoffs. So it falls to reason that a game that was transferred to Glendale, Arizona would pose more of an obstacle to Rams fans who are already suffering from fires than the fans of the Vikings.

And just minutes before kickoff, ESPN NFL analyst Kevin Seifert confirmed that per ticket sales data provided by Vivid Seats, the crowd at State Farm Stadium is projected to be 54 percent Vikings fans, and 46 percent Rams fans. That creates just one more hurdle for the Rams players to overcome:

While it would be great to play in a stadium stuffed with Rams fans, the key to this game is about the players on the football field. Hopefully, the fans can let the players know that they are there and support them in the game.

As always, thanks for reading.

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