Reminder: Matthew Stafford is an honorary Wolverine
Yes, I know he's a Georgia Bulldog, but we should have a soft spot for him. That's not just because of his time with the Lions, but because he once did this in 2012: 1) he attended a CS Mott fundraiser at Steve Hutchinson's invitation, 2) he donated a VIP package including six tickets to a Lions game, 3) he paid $15,000 to buy back the donation and gave it to a young Mott patient and her family who happened to be sitting next to him at the fundraiser. He did all this despite having no ties to U of M or Ann Arbor.
Stafford's good peoples and he deserves all of the success that he never would have gotten to experience playing for the dysfunctional shitshow known as the Detroit Lions.
January 23rd, 2022 at 11:48 PM ^
Stafford is a good dude. If anybody was going to knock Brady out of the playoffs, I'm glad it was him.
January 24th, 2022 at 12:00 AM ^
100% with you and the OP in your praise of how good a person Stafford is. A few weeks ago I was hoping the Buccaneers and Rams somehow didn't face each other until the NFC Championship so to enjoy a longer playoff run for each.
But right now I'm so very happy for Stafford that his long-awaited dream of a Super Bowl is still possible. He's all class and that's always been the case for him.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
Would be cool in Georgia to see Stafford win the Super Bowl. With World Series and College Football championships, the people in Georgia will lay claim to a Super Bowl win by one of their Dawgs.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:07 AM ^
I was born and raised in GA and still have a ton of family there. You are absolutely spot on that they're already claiming this Stafford run and basically looking at it as destiny for one of the best sports years in Georgia history.
Sidenote: My 16 yo daughter (born in GA) and I were absolutely thrilled with the Braves WS win. Second one for me, first in her lifetime. Definitely bummed about the CFP since she's also a Michigan fan, but such is life. At least my GA friends and cousins are happy.
January 24th, 2022 at 12:19 PM ^
My daughter is a Cubs fan -- born in Chicago and moved here in 6th grade. She was in the Battery during the clinching game, along with like a million fans (exaggeration). She lives just a mile away and went back the next day to buy some WS Champs gear. It was crazy down here!
January 23rd, 2022 at 11:51 PM ^
Reminder: Tom Brady is an actual Wolverine
January 23rd, 2022 at 11:51 PM ^
(Nothing against Matthew Stafford)
January 24th, 2022 at 12:15 AM ^
His wife is a nut, though.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:06 AM ^
Some respect is due, she's had serious health issues.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:39 PM ^
And had those taken care of at UM to whom she was quite grateful
January 24th, 2022 at 5:35 AM ^
Maybe she is. Or maybe she's the kind who doesn't sit quietly while her loved one is getting shit on by an anonymous and sometimes stupid public. Since I don't know the lady, it would be difficult to make any kind of intelligent judgement.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:41 AM ^
Your reasonable takes will not be tolerated here on the inter webs!
/s
January 24th, 2022 at 8:06 AM ^
That is typically unfortunately true and not sarcasm.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:53 AM ^
Well she is definitely up there on the crazy / hot graph index. She is way too opiniated on social media for many things non-Stafford related. I get the stick up for your spouse bit, but she has done way more and then apologizes later - put the phone down Kelly!
January 24th, 2022 at 8:43 AM ^
and you appear to be an asshole
January 24th, 2022 at 9:05 AM ^
You would be lucky to have her for a variety of really good reasons except for the fact you would not always agree and you couldn’t handle it.
She’s loyal, strong, a good wife and mom. She embraced Detroit and donated time and resources to the community. She watched a portion of the community blame her husband for the Lions and handled it with grace. On her way out the door to the city of LA and a Super Bowl contender she expressed her love of the community and left a big donation for those in need.
She seems like a pretty extraordinary gal to me.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:59 AM ^
She also complained about how unfair it was that she had to quarantine in their giant house with a lake in the backyard. While people were losing their loved ones, losing their jobs, and going through mental health issues because they were truly alone in quarantine. Many people really suffered during the pandemic, she is not one of them. But she wanted everyone to know that she was.
January 24th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
This was actually the basis of my comment. The “dictatorship that we call Michigan” stuff was too much for me. To each his own.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:42 PM ^
You have no idea what mental strain or stress she was under. Perhaps there were health issues etc. considering she did almost die of cancer.
Seems people LOVE to think "if you have money you can't complain" like it somehow solves all problems, mental and physical.
January 24th, 2022 at 2:16 PM ^
Acoustic neuromas are hardly life-threatening. They’re not even malignant. And yeah sorry but when you use the word “dictatorship” to refer to strict public health policies you lose my sympathy.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:43 AM ^
Who among us hasn't thrown the occasional pretzel at an opposing fan?
January 24th, 2022 at 2:08 PM ^
I put a small dab of nacho cheese on an MSU fans back once to the amusement of most of our section.
He worked really hard to earn every bit of it.
Not one of my more mature moments but I don’t regret it.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:13 AM ^
Matt is just lucky to escape the Lions. He's always been a good QB on a bad team. Now that he on a good team he will probably make it to the Super Bowl. But I don't think the Rams can beat the Chiefs, even if they get past the 49ers.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:31 AM ^
This is what irks me. Why did Stafford and Suh get to escape but Barry and Megatron couldn't?
January 24th, 2022 at 9:09 AM ^
Because the Lions with Stafford were willing to admit they were giving up and starting over, and Stafford had trade value.
The Lions just weren't willing to trade Barry or Johnson, even though their chances of winning were zero.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
Sanders and Johnson didn't have to keep signing those contracts keeping them here.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^
Barry escaped to retirement.
January 24th, 2022 at 12:34 PM ^
Well, Barry did win the one and only playoff game, but he walked away before he could be traded. Same with Calvin......
January 24th, 2022 at 6:32 AM ^
This is what irks me. Why did Stafford and Suh get to escape but Barry and Megatron couldn't?
January 24th, 2022 at 8:26 AM ^
Because Suh and Stafford signed contracts with other teams when they had the chance to do so. Barry and Calvin did not. Had they decided to sit out a year and forego the paycheck that came with a franchise tag, they would have been free. They did not have the no-money fortitude to do so.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:32 AM ^
When did Stafford sign with the Rams?
January 24th, 2022 at 10:02 AM ^
It was soon after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.
January 24th, 2022 at 9:31 AM ^
Just the facts. Nothing but the facts. Don't stop him. He's on a roll.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
They didn't even have to sit out a year. Get franchised and play their year and then they can leave.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:47 AM ^
It because Suh left for a ton of money that the Lions would not/probably could not, afford to match. (They also had the chance to foresee this coming and draft Aaron Donald but decided not to). Stafford did as well as he could and requested a trade since the team was going to clearly be rebuilding...again, and he, rightfully, did not want to be around for it. Calvin and Barry, to some "quit" on the team, again, to some, not to me. I get, entirely, why the both did what they did, when they did. Some fans feels some sort of way about it and feel like they betrayed the team, but I can't hold years of being beaten physically and mentally against them when taking into account their long term health.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:35 AM ^
Drafting Ebron over Donald was a criminal act. How any NFL front office could have identified Ebron as the missing championship piece is beyond my comprehension.
That '14 draft was pretty interesting. I wonder what ever happened to that Manziel character?
January 24th, 2022 at 7:42 AM ^
The Rams can definitely beat the Chiefs. LA's pass rush is scary. LA's weapons on offense are as good as anyone's. They just won a game against GOAT and the defending champs after turning the ball over 4 times. I'd say Rams are the favorite now.
As for the Chiefs, they are fun to watch. But remember what happened to them against Tampa Bay last year. They can certainly be beaten, and needed a miracle to beat (an admittedly good) Buffalo team.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:26 AM ^
1.Chiefs OL is much better than last year.2. Mahomes is healthier than he was last year. 3. Bucs were beat to hell. No Godwin, Wirfs, and banged up Jensen. Brown flipping out.
Chiefs to me are the favorite. Especially considering Rams safety play. Mahomes escapability mitigates Rams pass rush.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:07 AM ^
Living in Cincinnati, a lot of locals here are picturing a good game with the Chiefs next week. I have to say Joe Burrow is one tough dude. He got beat up and kept his composure throughout the game with the Titans. Will it continue? Who knows, but they did beat the Chiefs once this year.
From a purely scientific stand point, I have moved a lot over the years, and have brought Super Bowl and/or World series appearances with me to every city I've lived in. Based on this alone I like Cincinnati's chance. haha.
January 24th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^
Move to Detroit please
January 24th, 2022 at 2:53 PM ^
As much as I would like to live in Detroit again, avoiding family drama outweighs my need for sports success. haha
January 24th, 2022 at 2:07 AM ^
The Lions were basically a prison sentence. He deserves his new lease on life with the Rams for sticking it out with Detroit as long as he did.
Fly free, young Stafford!
January 24th, 2022 at 7:43 AM ^
And we can thank the sheer incompetence and stupidity of the fucking ford family for have the most successful prison in the NFL for the last 60+ years!
January 24th, 2022 at 9:10 AM ^
It takes special skill to be as bad as the Lions have been for as long as the Lions have been the way the NFL is structured.
Eminant Domain law should come into play regarding ownership.
January 24th, 2022 at 7:51 AM ^
Royal and Sol is close enough to maize and blue, too.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:06 AM ^
Would much, much rather see him win it all instead of seeing Mahomes win a second and restart all the chatter of a Chiefs dynasty. Stafford seems like a really good guy who's been through a lot, both professionally as well as personally. I wanted Tampa to win, but I wouldn't be upset to see Stafford win it all.
Something that would be very, very cool to think about: If the Rams win next week, it will be the second year in a row that a team gets to play in and host the Super Bowl simultaneously. That had never happened prior to last year, and now its possible that it happens two years in a row. And its also entirely possible that the Chiefs, for the second year in a row, are a "road" Super Bowl team.
When it rains, it pours.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:08 AM ^
no, he's not. calm down.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:48 AM ^
Exactly, this might be even worse than OSU fans claiming Burrows is a buckeye.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:55 AM ^
my favorite was sparties claiming a replacement-level chump like nick foles.
EDIT - downvotes for the osu fan / joe burrow comment? what a strange place this is.
January 24th, 2022 at 4:45 PM ^
Everyone knows Joe Burrows is an Athens (Ohio) Bulldog.