St. Brown Loves What This Lions Fan In Hospice Did
There isn't a single person in Michigan who hasn't been keeping up with the Lion's Cinderella story of a season. As Michiganders, we've been subjected to heartbreak after heartbreak when it comes to this team, yet despite it all, we are still (begrudgingly) here. Lifelong fans are finally getting their payoff as this season has been worth all that pain.
There is one man in Michigan who is celebrating his way. 83-year-old Larry Benjamin of Saginaw has gone viral after his son posted a photo of him rocking freshly dyed bright blue hair. Larry claims Amon-Ra St. Brown's hair inspired him after he saw the wide receiver dye his hair for last week's game. Larry has been astonished by the response to his hair.
The photo has by all definitions blown up, receiving attention from ESPN, NFL GameDay, the Lions' official accounts, and most importantly, Amon-Ra St. Brown himself. In a locker room interview, St. Brown acknowledged the photo and had this to say,
"It’s just awesome to see that. It’s humbling as a player to know that you can touch other people’s lives just by playing a sport and being who I am...I’m actually going to try and reach out to him tomorrow if I can… But it’s definitely a cool thing to see."
St. Brown followed through on that promise and gave him a personal call to tell him he loved his hair, and also sent him a signed jersey that reads "To Larry the Man. Keep being a beast! Best fans in the world! One pride!" Talk about making a guy feel special! If you want to check out the jersey, you can view it here.
Larry suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis, which target the lungs and can make breathing difficult. But Larry isn't letting that stop him from celebrating the game on Sunday. How is he celebrating? With a nacho party.
"I got neighbors, relative - we're going to have a big ol' nacho party...it's going to be super."
You enjoy those nachos, Larry. The community support for the team has been the best part of their historic season, and to have the support reciprocated by the team makes this season even sweeter. The Lions play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday at 3:00 on NBC and Peacock.