Rams coach Sean McVay and family evacuated their home due to wildfires

Wildfires ravaging the LA area have forced thousands to flee their homes. Rams coach Sean McVay and his family were among those who had to leave.

“Here’s what it looks like,” McVay told reporters Friday. “As soon as I found out that my wife and little boy are good — you don’t want that to happen, but if it does, those things can be replaced. Fortunately, they kept those things under control, but as soon as I got off the field and because of where they were, I saw them right away. That was all I needed. It felt a lot more real — I don’t want to say that because you don’t want to downplay how important it is and how many people were affected, but when you start seeing it physically as the smoke was going up yesterday, there were a lot of guys who live nearby that hit home in a different way . As soon as I knew Veronica and Jordan were good, I was good too.”

With all that, the Rams have to prepare for a playoff game. They left for Arizona today. They face the Vikings at State Farm on Monday night. McVay explained how the team is balancing the personal situation with the upcoming competition.

“I think first of all you acknowledge the personal stuff (and) make sure the guys are good,” McVay said. “Once you’re able to address and be aware of that, let’s now focus on what we can control in terms of being fully and completely present, having a real sense of urgency and enjoyment in our preparation. As I said before, the biggest thing was as soon as I found out that my wife and son were fine – you certainly never want that to happen and you sympathize with the amount of people that are affected, but you realize that the people are the most important thing and all the other things are replaceable if the worst-case scenario occurs. Not for realization, but if it comes to life.”

McVay praised the league for doing the right thing by moving the game, and expressed gratitude to the Cardinals for opening their facility to the Rams.

“What a unique circumstance, what a unique situation, but I believe this group handled it as best as you could. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the process of everything that happened,” McVay said.

While catastrophic fires have caused a lot of disruption, situations like this often result in the game becoming an escape, with players jumping at the chance to escape the stress of recent days and embrace a few hours of normalcy.