There are some events that are much bigger than just a rivalry in football. The Arizona Cardinals perfectly embody the notion of sportsmanship by going above and beyond to help the Los Angeles Rams settle into their home court for Monday night’s game.
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The wildfires forced the NFL to move the playoff matchup between the Rams and the Los Angeles Vikings to Glendale, Arizona, at State Farm Stadium.
In this situation, the Cardinals are doing much more than just lending their facilities to the Rams, who are their division rivals.
The Cardinals did things in style by sending two of their planes to Los Angeles to transport the Rams. This included the players, obviously, but also team staff, families, as well as… six dogs and two cats!
To train in preparation for Monday evening’s game, the Rams were also able to benefit from the Cardinals’ training facilities.
“We thank the Cardinals and (team owner) Michael Bidwill’s family for being so proactive in preparation for Monday’s game. We could not have prepared, played and transported our players and their families without their help,” responded Rams president Kevin Demoff via his X account.
-An almost local stadium
The Cardinals also quickly turned around to make sure the Rams felt right at home by filling a 200-gallon truck with blue and yellow paint to paint the on-field logos in Rams colors, both at center field as well as in the end zones.
Napkins bearing the image of the Rams will also be given at the entrance and the in-house announcer will be that of the Rams. The videos on the giant screen will also be those of the team.
Another small note, even if the Rams are considered the local team, they will by choice occupy the visitors’ locker room, so as not to break their routine when they play in Arizona.
Not a first
It must be said that the Cardinals have become accustomed to these situations. In 2003, they hosted a game between the Dolphins and the Chargers (then based in San Diego) on 24 hours notice due, again, to wildfires in Southern California.
In 2020, the 49ers could not play in their stadium in Santa Clara during COVID and the Cardinals had their stadium loaned for three of their home games, in addition to practices.
