While the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to win the World Series last year and the L.A. Lakers took home the title as well, the L.A. Rams again fell short in their championship chase.
The Rams made the playoffs as a six seed and upset Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks on the road in the Wild Card Round. Their defense then kept them competitive against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers but the end result was a 32-18 defeat in the divisional round.
The Rams elected to shake up their roster and at the end of January agreed to trade Jared Goff and future draft picks to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford. The deal was finalized Thursday, the second day of the NFL’s new league year.
Now that Stafford is officially a member of the Rams, childhood friend and former youth sports teammate Clayton Kershaw welcomed him.
Reunion in LA.
A message from Matthew's childhood friend @ClaytonKersh22. pic.twitter.com/mkiulhnnSA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 18, 2021
Stafford and Kershaw’s friendship and mutual respect for each other as professional athletes is well-documented. Both graduated from Highland Park High in Texas in 2006.
They met as teammates on a soccer team while in the second grade, and went on to play basketball, baseball and football together into high school. Kershaw famously served as a center and snapped the ball to Stafford before deciding to focus on baseball.
Stafford uses ‘Kershaw’ audible
Back in 2017, Stafford paid tribute to his childhood friend by using ‘Kershaw’ for one of his audibles during a game. Rams head coach Sean McVay is known for a similarly creative approach, so it stands to reason Kershaw and the Dodgers could be heard on the gridiron this season.
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