ATLANTA _ The Rams are one step away from winning the Super Bowl because they're a superior football team that has put together a remarkable season on the field.
But do not discount what has happened off the field for being a major reason why they're this close to winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy for only the second time in franchise history.
"It's a family-oriented team, and that's why we're here, guys just buying in, being a family," wide receiver Robert Woods said.
"We, not me," is a phrase that 33-year-old coach Sean McVay has drummed into his team with exceptional results. The players have bought in and exemplify the true meaning of the word "team."
It's that mentality that has helped the Rams through some life-changing moments this season, especially when they and millions of other residents of Southern California dealt with raging wildfires this past fall that chased many players, coaches and executives from their homes.
"It was a surreal experience having never been through something like that," said 36-year-old offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth. "I went through Hurricane Katrina in college my senior year at LSU. We weren't evacuated, but our campus basically turned into a triage and a help center. So it was something similar, but the fires were just something else. It was almost like a big bully. You just hope it doesn't come your way because if it does it's taking everything with it. It was unbelievable to see the fear most people had and how devastating fires can be."
At one point, the Rams were in the midst of moving their practice operation to Colorado to prepare for a game in Mexico City against the Chiefs. The game was eventually moved to Los Angeles because of poor field conditions at Azteca Stadium. The Rams won a thriller, 54-51, in one of the wildest games in NFL history.
"You forget the effect it has on the kids," Whitworth said. "At that time, we were leaving for Colorado so guys are leaving their wives and leaving their kids and they were being evacuated still. There's a lot of fear there. My daughter, to this day, if we walk outside and she smells smoke, she asks me if there is a fire close by. There are things that are residual that you don't really talk about. It was a scary experience and something I think a lot of people are still going through, obviously the process of rehabbing the land and the homes, but also the emotions."
The Rams aren't about to tell you that they're any more special than any other resident of the areas affected by the fires. They were trying to survive just like everyone else. But their experience in remaining together as a team is something that absolutely helped galvanize them and kept them together at a difficult time. This wasn't the kind of adversity teams often go through because of results-oriented issues; this was life and death. And while no players lost their lives or homes, they were nevertheless impacted by the experience.
Sometimes in a good way.
"That was a moment that brought us all together," quarterback Jared Goff said. "We stayed together in hotels. We went to Colorado, back to LA. It was something that was important."
Woods said "a lot of things have done stuff to this team, the wildfires being one of them. Just seeing guys move around at 3 a.m., you see the team getting hotels for guys that had to be evacuated, taking care of them all week. It was really incredible."
It was further evidence that McVay's team-first mentality would benefit the Rams.
"Sean is a big believer in putting the team first," cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman said. "No one person is above the team, and I think we've shown that this year."
"We, not me."
Words to live by.
