The National Football League was keeping its eye on the wildfires in Los Angeles and tonight finally decided to move the game out of California.
The NFL playoffs start this weekend, but there’s something much more to consider than just playing a game!
What is more popular right now in the sports landscape in the USA than the National Football League? It has the highest television ratings each week, has packed stadiums each Sunday, and is universally loved around the world. I too love the sport of football, and even though I am sadly a Jets fan, there’s nothing more enjoyable to me than NFL playoffs. However I also have common sense and I know there is something more important than football, or any sport for that matter, life!
When I saw a statement on X yesterday from the NFL saying that the league was closely “monitoring” the situation with the Los Angeles wildfires leading toward this Monday’s matchup between the Vikings and Rams at SoFi Stadium, I was stunned. They would determine in the “near future” whether the game would be played as scheduled in Los Angeles, or moved to State Farm Stadium in Arizona. Let me begin by simply stating this……What was there to monitor!!?
As of this writing of my column, Los Angeles County and some of its surrounding areas are suffering from possibly the worst wildfires in the history of the state. Some videos have made certain areas look like a scene from the apocalypse. The worst hit area is the Pacific Palisades area, which includes parts of Malibu and Santa Monica. Even areas near Pasadena have been affected as well.
SoFi Stadium is located very close to these areas. The fires have been raging non-stop for over a day, have not been contained, and have resulted in catastrophic situations. Thousands of homes and businesses have been totally destroyed. At least five people have been killed, with numerous others suffering injuries. Those numbers are sadly probably going to rise. The air quality is absolutely terrible and it’s possible these fires can continue for days.
I have to believe that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is a smart man. Heck, he gets paid a lot of money to make smart business decisions for the league. But in this case, right now Mr. Goodell is not coming across to me as an intelligent man at all! Why did it take as long as tonight to finally decide to relocate the game to Arizona?
Did he think there was gonna be some kind of miraculous recovery in the next four days? I guess it’s possible that it’s more important to preserve a team’s “home-field advantage” than risk public safety.
Mr. Goodell, does the league really think that all would have been fine in four days and all will be back to normal in California? Did he really think it would be all unicorns and rainbows and all Rams fans would be “jacked up” for a playoff game at Sofi, when some fans may have lost a home, or possibly a loved one?
I know I know we are always told that in times of distress, we can turn to sports as an alternative to reality. To get away from what’s happening around us. But in this case, to me, there was no decision to make, no reason to monitor the situation for another minute. Mr. Goodell should have announced immediately on Wednesday that the game would be moved to Arizona.
Let me ask you this, would it even make sense to hold a game in Los Angeles this weekend, or even next weekend if the Rams beat the Vikings? To hold a game at Sofi, you would need to have a lot of manpower such as police and firefighters who could be used in a lot more important situations such as eliminating any current or potential future fires and keeping the city safe. Would it make sense to have NFL fans, whether they root for the Vikings or the Rams, risk traveling to the game with horrific air quality conditions?
I am sorry, and you can call me what you want, but in this case, the game being played on Monday in Los Angeles should not even be a question in anyone’s intelligent mind..period! If the NFL is concerned they may lose some kind of extra revenue by playing the game in Los Angeles versus Arizona, well that’s too darn bad! I have been watching my television non-stop for the past 24 hours and the amount of horror stories I have seen and heard makes me want to cry.
What drives me crazy in most sports is the lack of concern some leagues have for the well-being of their fans. How many instances have you gone to a baseball game when it was pouring rain an hour before the first pitch only to be told by the time you went through the turnstile and sat in your seat that the game was postponed? Procrastination is the favorite word in some of these instances. This decision by the NFL and Goodell should not have taken so long.
I know by playing a game in Arizona the Rams will lose their “home field” advantage, but I don’t think it’s that big a deal. Most Los Angeles sports fans are known to have a very laid-back attitude when it comes to their favorite teams, to begin with anyway.
I actually was at the Super Bowl in LA a few years ago and had a chance to sit next to a few Rams fans. When I asked them if they were excited about the game, their answer surprised me. Instead of saying they waited all their lives for the experience, they said no. Their answer was it would give them a great chance for “content” on their social media pages! I am not making this up!
So now that the NFL has finally come to its senses and moved the game I have another idea, Mr. Goodell. Since you say the league cares about its fans, why not make this offer? Any fan attending the game in Arizona on Monday can be admitted to the game for free! Buy a ticket, and with proof of residency in the Los Angeles area, they can submit their tickets to the league for a full refund! Now that will show the world how much the NFL cares for its fans!
Money, money, money, the league makes a boatload, but in this case, it can just suck it up and take the revenue hit. Trust me it’ll make it up. Should the Rams advance and have the opportunity for any other home games down the stretch, do the same situation again!
It’s going to take Californians hit by this disaster months if not years to recover from this. Some will not even be able to rebuild their homes due to no fire insurance. It’s a sad sad situation that isn’t just affecting the wealthy California celebrities, but a lot of the “common man’ as well. It’s about time the NFL relocated the game and actually cared about the fans’ well-being.
It’s time to move the playoff games out of LA, to a much safer location, until things have gotten a lot better. That may not be this season, heck it may not be for a while. And by the way, the same thing should be considered should the LA Chargers have any home playoff games as well. It’s time to give back to the fans after being devastated by these wildfires! It’s time to make it all make sense….. so just make it happen!! And next time don’t wait so long to make the right decision!!
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