Stafford played quarterback with the Lions for the first 12 seasons of his NFL career.
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‘Detroit Born LA Raised’ jackets were seen on the children of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford as they entered the stadium with their mother, Kelly, on Sunday night. Stafford is making an emotional homecoming to the Motor City for the playoff game against his former team.
Lions team owner Martha Firestone Ford met the twin Stafford girls, Sawyer and Chandler, through their mother. Ford was given an advance look at the coats bearing the Dodgers’ “LA” insignia.
After the Lions picked Stafford with the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, he played for 12 years in Detroit before being traded to the LA Rams.
Actually, Stafford was traded for Jared Goff, the starting quarterback for the Lions right now, which made the playoff game more intriguing.
Even though Stafford’s fans in Detroit still adore him from his days with the Lions, the two-time Pro Bowler faced the kind of angry reception one might anticipate before a playoff game.
Not only did the crowd boo Stafford when he ran onto the field for the last time during pregame festivities, but he also faced harsh jeers when the Rams offense took the field for their opening drive of the game.
Stafford stated on the Rams official website prior to the game that he wasn’t necessarily anticipating a warm welcome back to his old haunts.
To be quite honest with you, I have no expectations,” Stafford remarked. For me, the most important thing is to simply go have whatever experience it is going to be. I hope that the people of Detroit, as well as the city, appreciate how much they have meant to me, my family, and my time and career.
However, he continued, “I know that I’m the bad guy coming to town, so I’m not new to the situation.”
Prior to her husband’s return to Detroit, Kelly, Stafford’s wife, also spoke up about a supposed jersey restriction in the days preceding the game. The supporters, not the team, were the ones who initiated the alleged ban.
‘Please don’t wear a Lions-Stafford jersey to the game,’ a post on Instagram stated. Now is not the moment to be humorous or adorable. This has to do with business and driving the last nail into the coffin of SOL. It’s not intimate. Just business!
‘Well, this is terrible since it’s the polar opposite of how we feel about this city, but Matthew has always been the bigger person and will continue to be that,’ Kelly wrote in response to the post in the comments. “Wishing for a fantastic match with no injuries.”
When news of her 2019 struggle with a brain tumor broke, she became one of the few well-known wives in the NFL.
After a 30-hour surgery to remove the benign tumor, the mother of three had to endure a difficult recuperation phase during which she experienced balance problems.
Kelly was a cheerleader and Matthew was the star quarterback at the University of Georgia when they first got together.
The Lions used their first-overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to select Stafford.
After getting married in 2015, the pair has a daughter named Hunter and twins Sawyer and Chandler.
