OT?: Erik Kramer on his life and suicide attempt
I just came across the Adam Carolla podcast where he had Erik Kramer as a guest. For those who don't know or remember, Erik was a decent to good NFL QB for both the Lions and Bears (and others). Erik had some tragedy in his life where he attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head, but he survived!
Adam and Erik apparently good friends since they were kids where they played pop warner football, so Adam really got some good answers from Erik about his situation and where he is today. Really moving podcast IMO. Mental health wellness is no joke!
Lots of talk about Erik's NFL career, but the tragedy part starts around the 1:43 mark.
The events in his life after retiring from the NFL are pretty incredible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Kramer
Still the only Lions QB to win a playoff game since the 1957 NFL championship season.
Wow. Can only wish the very best for him.
Wow, looks like he got remarried to an evil bitch.
Holy hell, some of that is nightmarish.
I think his whole "waking up" experience is the most interesting part of the whole thing. Going from being mentally incapable of taking care of himself one day and then being totally "normal" the next... literally.
That's the most bizarre thing about his situation—I can't ever remember reading about a recovery like that from a TBI
He threw a horrific 80-90 yard pick 6 in the playoffs against GB, which led to the Scott Mitchell era. Erik Kramer wasn't going to get past Aikman, Young or (obviously) Favre, but he deserved another year.
It was a bad pick six, but remember that (1) Favre threw a pick six himself earlier in that game, and (2) the Lions still took the lead after the Kramer pick six. They led that game in the final 2 minutes.
We know what happened then, Sterling Sharpe getting so so wide open.
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On a tangent: the Lions and Packers wound up playing five times (all non-pre season) in calendar year 1994. 1993 regular season finale (which happened after NYD 1994), the playoff game, twice in the 1994 regular season, their 1994 playoff game was on NYE.
I'm going to say this from memory and then look it up to check, but I think the pick 6 was right at 100 yards and to George Teague. (It was a long time ago, you know how these things go).
Teague played at Alabama, which to this day might have been the 2nd best college defense I've ever seen, and one of the closest "it" secondary players to Woodson I've ever seen play. Teague just proved to me how much a total athletic and mental outlier Woodson really was.
Kramer and Batch were my favorite QBs of that whole era.
You are correct. Teague had a huge defensive play in the Sugar Bowl (the de facto National Title game for the 1992 season) against Miami a year prior to the Lions/Packers pick six. As you said, he was a tremendous talent.
Yes. That game was a massacre. Miami was supposed to be good and Alabama made them look like chumps. Like 97 Washington State (vs Michigan), Miami could have spent all day out there and never scored 21 points on offense.
As I recall, it wasn't a total massacre --- looked up the box score and Miami gained a decent amount of yards (326). They moved the ball but turned the ball over at terrible times all game long.
If Teague doesn't run down Lamar Thomas and strip him of the ball (and only a elite talent like Teague makes that play), Miami's already at 20 points.
What really won the game for Alabama is Miami's inability to stop the run. Alabama only completed 4 passes, but had 60 rushes for 267!!! Derrick Lassic, for a blast from the past name.
Their one TD was special teams. They did move the ball through the air, but the penalty for doing so was turnovers.
I just remember it being 1 of only 2 "big" games in my life where even when the opponent was doing everything right on offense, every play was a disaster waiting to happen.
Fair. As regards the 1998 Rose Bowl, I always thought Leaf acquitted himself well and the WSU offense was a worthy opponent for an elite defense.
Leaf should have definitely thrown the ball away on that 3rd down play. The one real big mistake, a mistake forced by the pass rush he was feeling.
Agreed. I was always disappointed with Leaf's career in the NFL. He and that offense of WSU was elite. He made plays all day that very few QBs could make. I figured him for another Marino type with that arm.
Rereading the end, I forgot how close we came to losing that game. It never felt that close.
That wsu rose bowl wasn’t anything close to a massacre - iirc they had a chance to win it late in the 4th
He was great for the Lions.
Hard to believe it has been 30 years that Kramer took the reigns as the Lion's QB after Rodney Pete was injured. He beat out first round pick Andre Ware. I just remember watching the Lions that year on television and seeing all the signs fans were holding "Erick Kramer is God". Glad he is doing well after his depression that almost cost him his life.
Have read his story before, it's insanely bizarre and I'm glad he is still with us.
Some people have a tougher road than normal. Glad he's still with us. Wishing him well.
He was the Lions QB when they beat Dallas in a playoff game after the 1991 season, taking them to NFC Championship game vs the Redskins, which they lost. However, that playoff win was and is the only post season win in 64 years for the Lions. Wish him nothing but the best in his life.
Very sad.
I do get a kick out of Lions fans though. I remember back in the days of Erik Kramer, Herman Moore, Barry Sanders, Wayne Fontes, etc. Ya'll thought you had it so bad...
You were actually perennially playoff contenders.
Some absolutely crazy stuff. I fight depression and every day is a battle. I took some shots to the head when I was younger and wonder if I have CTE. A career change 2 and half years ago probably saved my life. Honestly surprised I am still alive.
This is a terrible state of despair, it is simply incredible to survive. There are so many people in the world who die from natural disasters, but some choose to take their own lives. I found information at https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/natural-disasters/ which has collected a lot of research papers on natural disasters that at least 10,000 people die from natural disasters a year. And this is so awful. You need to appreciate the life that you have been given because it can be taken at any time without even asking you.