GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams felt right at home Monday night in their NFL wild-card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings — even if their new stadium featured an unusual amount of red and was nearly 400 miles east of their regular venue.

The NFC West champion Rams were the home team against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium, home of the division rival Arizona Cardinals. The game was postponed on Thursday, days after devastating wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area.

“When we made this decision, the league came together,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview on ESPN. “And we’re preparing for what we call contingency plans that include two stadiums per week, and that was a perfect fit as far as the location for Los Angeles Rams fans.”

“I’m proud to say that 45,000 of them made the journey here, which to me is just extraordinary.”

The Los Angeles fans filled large parts of the parking lot before the game, thousands of them crowded together. Both end zones were painted in the Rams’ blue and yellow color scheme and the team’s logo was displayed at midfield. As fans entered the stadium, they were greeted with Rams towels.

A banner reading “Thank You Firefighters and First Responders” was visible in an end zone, and a banner reading “LA Together” was visible before the game.

State Farm Stadium — with a capacity of 63,400 — appeared nearly full at kickoff.

“There’s a feeling on the team – this is for LA,” Rams running back Kyren Williams said Saturday. “This is for the hope back home that they can hold on to, that the Rams will be the people that can take them away from whatever they’re going through for a few hours.”

Game postponements are rare in the NFL, but not unprecedented. Arizona is a popular location for last-minute moves.

In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular season game between the Chargers and Dolphins from San Diego to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, to avoid wildfires in Southern California. In 2020, the San Francisco 49ers spent about a month in Arizona due to COVID-19 restrictions at home in Santa Clara County.