National Anthem Before Vikings-Rams Playoff Games Draws Strong Reaction

On Monday night, the wild-card round in the NFL saw its final game, the rare postseason game that gets played after the weekend. But with all eyes on State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the singing of the national anthem drew extra attention, especially with the game having been moved out of Southern California because of the proliferation of wildfires around the L.A. area. 

For Rams coach Sean McVay, the moving of the game to Arizona, and the trouble that many of the players and their families had to handle--including McVay himself--as fires threatened their homes only will serve to harden this group. 

“A lot of the things just sometimes organically occur. I think it was just something that you feel. I think the things that always resonate are when they’re authentic,” McVay said. “I always try to speak in terms of what’s applicable for that situation and it is. I think our guys understood that. I think they agreed with what my thoughts were. Every thought is collective. 

"I do believe that in spite of how unfortunate a lot of these different things are, this group is built to be able to handle different forms of adversity and overcome, which they’ve done. We’re looking forward to doing that this week.”