Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford on Opposing Fans Taking Over SoFi: 'It Is What It Is'
The Los Angeles Rams will have nine road games and eight home games this season, one of the realities of the NFL expanding the regular season to 17 games prior to the 2021 campaign. But those nine road games will hardly be the only time that the Rams are playing in a hostile environment this season.
It's become a regular occurrence that other West Coast fanbases -- the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders, among others -- will infiltrate SoFi Stadium and make it a hostile environment during what are supposed to be home games for the Rams. Heck, even Philadelphia Eagles fans did it last week, despite Lincoln Financial Field being 2,733 miles away.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams are often outnumbered at their home games.
USA Today
Quarterback Matthew Stafford was asked this week whether it bothers him and his teammates when it feels like they are playing on the road during one of their home games at SoFi Stadium.
“Doesn't bother me per se, but it's definitely easier when I can go on my own cadence at our home games and be able to dictate the tempo a little bit better, but it is what it is," Stafford said.
"I don't care where we play. You got to go out there and do whatever it takes to win the game," Stafford continued. "But it definitely is an advantage for the offense when you can communicate at a higher level and hopefully for our defense with some crowd noise, all that kind of stuff helps make it tougher on their offense.”
Perhaps there will be more Rams fans at SoFi Stadium in Week 6, as Los Angeles hosts the Arizona Cardinals. But in Week 7, the Pittsburgh Steelers come to town, and you can guarantee that more than half of the crowd will have Terrible Towels with them, likely forcing Stafford and company to resort to using the silent count.
On one hand, having to play your home games with suboptimal crowd makeups probably makes going on the road to places like Seattle seem less intimidating. On the other hand, crowd noise can lead to false starts and penalties that help sway close games. The 2-3 Rams don't have much margin for error if they want to be a playoff team, and the added factor of not having a home-field advantage certainly isn't ideal.
But this is the reality of taking the Rams from St. Louis and moving them to Los Angeles, while simultaneously doing the same with the Chargers from San Diego. Both teams have a world-class facility to play in at SoFi Stadium. They also are often doing so in front of opposing fans, because it takes a generation -- at least -- to build up a passionate fanbase. Perhaps in 25 years, things will be different for the Rams.
