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Although they’re set to face off against the Los Angeles Rams, sometimes, for the Minnesota Vikings, it’s bigger than football. The Vikings and the Wilf Family Foundations, led by Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, have donated $1 million to “support on-the-ground relief efforts in communities affected by the California wildfires,” the team announced on Friday.
“As we witness the continued devastation from these wildfires, our hearts go out to the tens of thousands of residents who have been directly impacted, to the individuals who have tragically lost their lives, and to the first responders who are desperately fighting to protect their community and mitigate the destruction,” the Wilf Family Ownership Group said.
Wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday. Since then, due to high wind speeds, they have spread across tens of thousands of acres. Entire neighborhoods have burned down, causing mass evacuations. The NFL announced that $5 million is being donated.
“We are heartbroken over the devastating losses experienced by so many in the Los Angeles area and inspired by the heroism of first responders and residents who have supported their neighbors,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “The NFL family is committed to working with the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams to support their local communities in their time of need.”
The NFL has moved Monday’s playoff game between the Vikings and Rams to Arizona. The decision was made in the “interest of public safety” as wildfires ravage Southern California. The game was initially scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. However, it will now be played at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, at the same time.
The league had said earlier this week that Arizona would be the contingency plan. The NFL decided to proceed with that move after “consultation with public officials, the participating clubs, and the NFLPA.”
Game relocations are rare in the NFL, but they aren’t unprecedented. In 2003, the league moved a regular-season game between the Chargers and Dolphins to Tempe, Arizona, because of wildfires. The Rams’ Monday night game against Kansas City was relocated from Mexico City to Los Angeles in 2018 because of concerns about the playing surface at Azteca Stadium. Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay believes that experience can help him prepare his team for a rare moment in NFL history.
“You acknowledge these things. But you also want to make sure that how you can control making sure that you’re doing the right things. [That] is preparing accordingly while also being mindful that this is bigger than football,” McVay said. “If people you’re directly involved with are affected. You make sure you’re tending to that first.”
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