The Los Angeles Rams have designated Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks as their "Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer" game, an expansion of efforts the past eight season to increase breast cancer awareness.
Each NFL team will designate a home game in Weeks 5 through 7 as their "Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer" game, supporting the fight against multiple cancers.
In "Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer" games players are allowed to wear cleats, shoelaces and wristbands in any color representing the type of cancer awareness they support or have been impacted by.
Twelve Rams will wear colored cleats for the game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum:
-- receiver Tavon Austin, guard Jamon Brown and defensive back Blake Countess pink (breast cancer)
-- safety Marqui Christain pearl (lung cancer)
-- safety Cody Davis and tackle Cornelius Lucas orange (leukemia)
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-- defensive end Morgan Fox black (skin cancer)
-- punter Johnny Hekker lime green (lymphoma)
-- tight end Tyler Higbee light blue (prostate cancer)
-- receiver Cooper Kupp grey (brain cancer)
-- receiver Josh Reynolds maroon (multiple myeloma)
-- receiver Robert Woods (sarcoma)
"Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer" games are played with game balls with the Crucial Catch logo.
Multi-colored equipment for players include helmet decals, captains' patches and quarterback towels.
There will be multi-colored ribbon pins for coaches and teams. Game officials will wear multi-colored caps and pins. There will be multi-colored goal post padding in the end zones, multi- colored ribbon stencils on the field and Crucial Catch wall banners.
Game-worn Crucial Catch merchandise and footballs will be autographed and auctioned at NFL Auction, nfl.com/auction.
The NFL does not profit from the sale or auction of Crucial Catch merchandise, a league official said. Charitable contributions are donated to the American Cancer Society to support its Community Heath Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity program, which provides outreach and cancer screenings to individuals in underserved communities.
A health care center in each NFL market will receive a $50,000 CHANGE grant to increase access to screenings and additional cancer prevention and early detection programs.
The Rams CHANGE grant will be used to fund adult heath screenings at the Venice Family Clinic's Irma Colen Health Center in Mar Vista from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday.
One hundred fans who have fought or are currently battling cancer will be recognized in the west end zone as the players take the field. Volunteers from the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority will pass out pink breast cancer awareness ribbons to fans as they enter the stadium.
The Coliseum torch will be lit by Chris Draft, a Rams linebacker in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and two Team Draft Survivor Series representatives. Team Draft is an initiative of the Chris Draft Family Foundation dedicated to raising lung cancer awareness, increasing research funding and shattering the misconception that lung cancer is a smoker's disease.
Draft was assisted in establishing Team Draft by his wife, Keasha Rutledge who died from lung cancer in 2011.
The Rams will wear their royal blue and gold throwback uniforms. An online fan vote in May selected this game over those Sept. 10 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Sept. 17 against Washington and Dec. 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles to wear the uniforms worn by the team from 1973-99.
The uniforms consist of royal blue jerseys with yellow accents, yellow pants with blue and white stripes and blue helmets with yellow horns.
NFL rules limit teams to wearing throwback uniforms to two home games per season. The Rams will also wear the uniforms for their Dec. 31 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Actor and singer-songwriter Jordan Fisher will sing the national anthem. Fisher is also a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars."
Recently retired Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Arturo Blancoromero will be honored for his 22 years of service, including deployments to the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor.
Blancoromero was awarded the Purple Heart, two Combat Action Ribbons, two Navy and Marine Commendation Medals, four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal and an Iraq Campaign Medal.
The Rams honor a past or present service member at each game.
Los Angeles Police Department Officers Berny Gonzalez and Andy Salcido will be honored as Community Quarterback Award winners for their volunteer efforts on behalf of Operation Progress, a nonprofit organization that pairs students with LAPD officers to help them become educated, capable, ethical and productive people who will lead, mentor and positively contribute to society at large.
The Community Quarterback Award is a volunteer recognition and grant program that awards funding to volunteers and their nonprofit organizations. Each winner's organization receives a $5,000 grant.
