Kelly Stafford skipping Rams’ opener ‘for my mental health’ after booing drama in Detroit return
By Jenna Lemoncelli,
2024-09-03
Kelly Stafford will be in Detroit this weekend as the NFL season gets underway, but she won’t be cheering on her husband, former Lions-turned-Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, in person Sunday night.
During a recent installment of her and Hank Winchester’s “The Morning After” podcast , Kelly said she plans to watch the Rams’ season opener from home following a Detroit live show on Sept. 7 — months after she and the couple’s four daughters were subjected to boos at Ford Field , where the Rams fell to the Lions in a January wild-card loss.
“Physically, I am not [attending the game in Detroit],” Kelly said. “After our amazing, amazing live show [on Sept. 7 in Detroit], I’m going to hop on a plane and head home so I can watch it with my daughters here, so that’s the plan.”
Matthew Stafford and his wife Kelly Stafford. Kelly Stafford/Instagram Matthew Stafford and Kelly Stafford with their four daughters during the 2023-24 NFL season. Instagram
Stafford spent 12 seasons with the Lions before he was traded to L.A. in 2021.
January’s wild-card game between the Rams and the Lions was the first time Kelly returned to Ford Field since the trade.
In a social media post at the time, Kelly reflected on the atmosphere and said, “The city wants to win. Everything is fair game… “Except the fans who booed my children.. other than that, I loved the atmosphere and the booing just gave my husband more fire.”
The Staffords are parents to 7-year-old twins Sawyer and Chandler, 6-year-old Hunter and 4-year-old Tyler.
Another reason Kelly won’t attend the Week 1 matchup is because her daughters said they didn’t want to attend the game in Detroit.
“I actually asked them if they wanted to go back … and they said ‘no.’ So that is another reason we won’t be returning for the game,” she said on the podcast. “…There’s a lot that goes into it… but I just think it’s the better decision for my mental health and for my daughters.
“My husband doesn’t want to have to hear me be, ‘Ugh,’ upset. Not that I think I would be because I also grew in that experience too. You forget that this is football and this is a huge deal in Detroit. I forgot that and I was so emotionally involved that I also forgot this is a playoff football game.
“I think I would be better at also preparing my daughters in a way but I just don’t think it’s worth it at this point… So it’s just better this way.”
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford gets set to run a play against the Detroit Lions during an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Jan. 14, 2024, in Detroit. AP
Winchester brought up how there was “a lot of conversation about how [Kelly] was treated” during the last playoff game in Detroit.
“Do you anticipate that it would be the same reception and is that what your concern is — or do you think you’re just more comfortable wanting to go home and wanting to watch it with the girls,” he asked.
“I think it’s a little bit of both,” Kelly said. “I have such good memories in that dome and the last memory I have wasn’t that great but it was still like, I got to see Detroit for play a playoff game, which was really cool. Because we never got there, a home game, right. So that was really cool for me to see.
“And I obviously know how passionate those fans are. I miss those fans. But, I also just want to continue to have this amazing memories of that place. Now, I think that because of all the drama that even happened after the game — that’s still going to be in people’s minds.
Kelly Stafford, wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, holds the couple’s twins Sawyer, left, and Chandler during pre-game of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, in Detroit on Sept. 24, 2017. AP Matthew Stafford and Kelly Stafford with their four daughters during the 2023-24 NFL season. Kelly Stafford/Instagram
“And I think, you always hear the worst ones. You don’t hear people that are like, Thank you for you all you so. You hear the ones that are like ‘F–k you, Kelly!’
“Obviously there are a ton of people in a stadium, but that’s what you hear and that’s what you hold onto and I don’t want to hold onto that. I’d rather watch it at home and remember all the incredible times I had there.”
The former UGA cheerleader will be in Detriot with Winchester for the first stop on their “Cleat Chaser” tour, which kicks off in Detroit and concludes in New York on Dec. 21.
Kelly explained she earned the nickname “cleat chaser” after backlash from her previous comments in June, when she recalled dating Stafford’s backup quarterback in college just to make him jealous.
“I was called that after the recent situation and I said, ‘Let’s lean into this,'” she said. “It turns out it’s not all bad if you’re doing it for the right reasons…
“If you’re doing it to lock down a man for money or fame, not a fan of that.”
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Neurotic much? If you feel the need to shelter your children from boos, that’s your call and your right. I’m willing to hear the thought process behind that. But it’s a whole different angle to demonize an entire fan base. I’m not even in agreement with the boos. I think Stafford deserved a little more respect. I know it was the playoffs and I could understand some level of hostility, given the situation and what was at stake for the Lions. But the truth is, Matt and his melodramatic wife know this, too, and could have very well accepted it as such. Either way, making an issue of this just seems pointless and quite possibly nothing more than an ego-centric cry for attention.
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