When the Rams ran out of the tunnel onto the field for Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, there wasn’t a fan in the stands to cheer them on. It was as lukewarm a reception as they could have imagined, with the coronavirus pandemic unfortunately forcing the Rams to prevent fans from attending games at the brand new SoFi Stadium.
And when Aaron Donald wrapped up Dak Prescott for a sack in the first five minutes of the game to move into second place on the Rams’ all-time list, there weren’t 70,000 screaming fans to celebrate the feat.
Instead, it was his teammates, coaches and probably a few staff members in attendance cheering him and the Rams on for 60 minutes in Inglewood. Donald said throughout the offseason that he was skeptical of playing without fans – not that he had a chance – and on Sunday night, his feelings didn’t change.
He compared it to playing in a “little league game” when he was just a youngster, only without his parents screaming his name.
Rams DT Aaron Donald: "It kinda felt like a little more intense scrimmage. You make a play, and there's only a high-five. It just felt like a Little League game when I was 6, 7 years old. The only that was different was my mom and my dad weren't screaming "Aaron! Aaron!"
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) September 14, 2020
Donald was as dominant as usual on Sunday night, sacking Prescott once and hitting him four total times. He absolutely wreaked havoc on the interior of the Rams’ offensive line, doing his best to create big plays for the defense.
The Rams won’t have fans inside SoFi Stadium “until further notice,” but at some point down the line, Donald will be able to celebrate a sack in his team’s new building with supporters pouring on the praise from their seats.