NFL tickets are expensive. Playoff tickets for a team that has been starved of postseason success are obscenely pricey.
For one dad in Detroit, though, the opportunity to attend a Lions playoff game with his 8-year-old daughter was worth every penny – even if it cost him a prized piece of memorabilia.
Bryson Machonga sold his signed Matthew Stafford jersey (and other items) so that he could buy tickets to the Lions-Commanders game. Stafford saw the story in the Detroit Free Press and wanted to help out the Lions fan who gave up a jersey he held onto for more than 10 years to create a lasting memory with his daughter.
Stafford went out of his way to get Machonga a replacement. And not a signed Rams jersey. He sent the fan a jersey he wore during the 2014 season and signed it, thanking Machonga for his support.
“To Bryson, Thanks for all the support!” the message read on the jersey. Stafford autographed it on the 9, too.
A photo of the jersey can be found here in the Detroit Free Press’ story.
“I was over the moon. … Disbelief at the start. But then it just turned into resounding joy, excitement,” Machonga said, via the Free Press.
“It just reconfirmed who Matthew Stafford is. He had no reason to go about doing this. He had no gain. He’s not our quarterback anymore … he went out of his way in a playoff week.”
Stafford is one of the good guys and this incredible gesture is the latest example of that. What a cool thing for the Rams QB to do, and all while preparing for his own playoff game, too.
