The Los Angeles Rams are calling the Arizona desert home this weekend, as their wild-card round clash against the Minnesota Vikings was moved to State Farm Stadium due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
Although the Cardinals' home stadium will be painted in Rams blue and gold on Monday night, Los Angeles coach Sean Payton asked Arizona if his team could keep a bit of familiarity on game day.
According to NFL Network's Bridget Condon, the Cardinals obliged Payton's request. The Rams will use the visiting locker room on Monday, and the Vikings will use the auxiliary locker room.
Sean McVay requested the visiting locker room for Monday night's game because of the familiarity.
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) January 11, 2025
The Vikings will be in the auxiliary locker room.
The Cardinals are going the extra mile this weekend to play hosts to their NFC West rival. They sent two planes to Los Angeles on Friday to bring about 300 people—family, friends and a few pets belonging to Rams players—to the Phoenix area for the game. Arizona also used about 1,500 gallons of paint to repaint the field at State Farm Stadium to make it look exactly like the Rams' home field at State Farm Stadium.
McVay and the Rams weren't victorious in their first trip to State Farm Stadium this year, falling 41–10 to the Cardinals in Week 2. But they were one of two teams to beat the Vikings in 2024, handing them a 30–20 loss on Thursday Night Football in Week 8.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sean McVay Had Surprising Request for Rams' Locker Room at Cardinals' Stadium.