Sunday was an incredible day for the Stafford family.
Kelly Stafford, wife of former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, detailed the emotions of his first game with the Los Angeles Rams in the premiere episode of her new podcast, “The Morning After with Kelly Stafford.”
“I have never been so nervous for something,” Kelly said. “I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink. I couldn’t do anything.”
The Rams’ 34-14 win Sunday over the Chicago Bears was the culmination of an offseason filled with high expectations for the quarterback after a blockbuster trade sent Stafford from Detroit, who drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, to Los Angeles.
“Matthew handles this pressure far better than I do,” Kelly said. “There was obviously very high expectations coming into this game and this season and he crushed it, which was so fun to watch.”
Kelly, who met Matthew while they attended college at the University of Georgia, gave a look into the emotional day and also a sobering comparison to Matthew’s time with the Lions.
“He looked like he was having so much fun, which I haven’t seen that side of Matthew on a football field in a very long time,” Kelly said.
“I felt like my husband has a renewed love for this sport again.”
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Kelly said she felt and saw a difference in Matthew’s energy as soon as he walked onto the field and gave a fist pump, something he normally wouldn’t do. It continued after the game when he did something for the first time ever.
“For the first time ever after the game, he looked up at the suite with a big smile with both hands in the air,” Kelly said. “It was just an incredible thing to witness.”
Kelly also revealed the text message she sent to Matthew before the game.
“Know that I understand that this is like a big leap of faith for you, but no one deserves this chance more than you, so go out, but more so go out and have some f—— fun,” she said. “I felt like football hadn’t been fun for him in a very long time.”
Waking up the next morning after the win, Kelly asked Matthew how he was feeling.
“And he turns over and gives me like this little smirk,” she said. “He’s like, ‘I think this is gonna be fun.’
“I hadn’t seen that from Matthew in a very long time.”
Kelly previously teased her podcast on social media, saying she would discuss Matthew’s games, but that each episode would center around the morning after a different event or experience.
Other moments in this week’s episode include what she misses and won’t miss most about Detroit. There are also guest appearances from the woman NBC incorrectly identified as Matthew’s wife during the “Sunday Night Football” broadcast and WDIV-TV (Channel 4) reporter and family friend Hank Winchester.
Kelly also teased that Matthew will eventually make an appearance on the show.
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