Kelly Stafford Credits Lions Fans For Support During Illness

Kelly Stafford has been healing up after a scary health situation over the offseason, and pushing through is something the wife of Detroit Lions‘ quarterback Matthew Stafford couldn’t have done if not for the support of her husband and her community.

In a piece written by Stafford along with the assistance of ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the road back to health was detailed in-depth phenomenally. According to Stafford, one of the things that sticks with her most is the support she was able to get from everybody in Michigan as well as Detroit as she was going through the toughest of times.

Here’s a look at what Stafford wrote in Kaplan’s piece specifically about that:

“I’ll say this: Detroit and Michigan really showed up. The Lions were incredible. They told Matthew to take all of the time and space he needed. And then, there were the fans. The amount of letters that poured into the facility — so many prayers, a lot of holy water — it was remarkable. Matthew joked that our house looked like a bootleg flower shop.

This state can be tough on its athletes, especially one that has been here so long. We’ve been here for 11 years now, and I had never really taken to this state as much as I wanted to … until now. Because the support that these people gave me — you can tell how much they love him by the support they gave me. I was truly grateful for it all.”

Stafford still has her ups and downs as she explains in the piece, but is doing much better physically, and much of the credit for her being able to rally does go to those in the community who have been able to rise her and her family up at some very low points.

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Newfound Respect

Stafford is right in that the state and Detroit can have an up and down relationship with athletes. It is said the two toughest jobs in Detroit are goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings and quarterback for the Lions. Ripped at times for his play and called out for some of his numbers on the field, nobody can dare say a word about how Matthew has handled everything that has been on his plate in terms of his family situation. More than that, he’s continued to show up and play despite his own injuries.

While his wife has had a complicated relationship with Lions fans in the past given her penchant for being outspoken on Instagram, it’s clear this experience has bonded everyone together in a very important way. Certain events have a way of bringing folks together and it seems as if this will be one of those watershed moments for Lions fans and the Stafford family.

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Solid Start

Matthew Stafford himself is playing with a newfound confidence on the field, something his wife also references in the piece. Thus far, it’s true, as Stafford has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions this season and has over 1,000 passing yards despite playing in only a handful of games. Best yet, Stafford finally looks to have an offense capable of supporting him with a solid ground attack as well as plenty of weapons to catch the ball.

Though his detractors still remain nationally, Stafford is working on silencing them one by one with solid play and winning. If he can continue to do that while remaining motivated, it’s possible his wife might have all the motivation she needs to continue her fight back to normalcy.

In the meantime, she can count on the state and its legions of Lions fans remaining behind her.

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