The Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals face each other twice yearly, both in the NFC West. The two teams give each other tough battles every year. Still, with the city of Los Angeles battling deadly wildfires, Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill knew this was not the time for divisional rivalries to get in the way.
Just a few days before Monday night's game, the National Football League announced the game would be relocated from SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium in the interest of public safety.
Although the idea of a division rival playing a home game in the Cardinals' stadium may seem unorthodox, Bidwill is focused on doing everything he can to ensure the Rams and Minnesota Vikings' Wild Card matchup happens smoothly.
"It might be a little painful to hear, 'Whose house? Rams House!'" Bidwill joked to NFL.com late Saturday night. "But our hearts are breaking with what's going on. It's what's best for the league, it's what's best for the team, and we have to do everything we can to make sure we have a great game."
The NFL approached Bidwill about using State Farm Stadium as the neutral site for the relocated game. He remembered a lesson his father taught him many years ago.
"It's always a good time to do the right thing," Bidwill said. "If we can do something to help ... maybe this is the only thing we can do. Let's put our energy into it and try to focus on it and make it a great experience, whether it's the players, their families, or the coaches."
Rams head coach Sean McVay expressed his gratitude for the relocation and the chance for him and his team to play Monday night's game without worrying about things back home.
"I think so, that was the goal," McVay said. "The intent was, how do we make sure that we take care of priority number one, which is people's health and safety, and then also offer them the opportunity to be able to kind of just put that aside, know that people are with them that they love and care about, and then be able to focus the best we can to be ready to go on Monday night. I thought the guys handled today incredibly well, very mature. I was very impressed so that was a positive."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Rams, Cardinals Come Together For Wild Card Game.