Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love shared his early experiences with football in a recent article he penned for the Player Tribune. Love revealed that he had considered quitting the sport at just 14 years old. This period was particularly challenging for him, as it followed the tragic suicide of his father after his freshman year of high school.
In his article, Love expressed that when football season rolled around that fall, he felt a strong urge to step away from the game. He didn’t feel like he belonged; in fact, he described himself as the smallest player on the field, mentioning that during his freshman year, he stood at about 5’6″ and weighed roughly 136 pounds. He wasn’t even making the junior varsity team, serving instead as a backup quarterback on the freshman squad.
Love’s mother played a pivotal role in him continuing his football journey. He shared that she noticed his struggles and motivated him to stay. “She said, ‘Give it another year. If you don’t enjoy it at the end, then we’ll stop,'” he recounted.
Despite not transforming into a star athlete right away, Love mentioned that playing football allowed him to escape his troubles, even if just temporarily. “I couldn’t say no to my mom,” he reflected. “I left the car and went to practice.” It was during those hours on the field where he felt a sense of relief, a break from the heaviness he carried.
Ultimately, he credited his mother with keeping him in the game, saying, “Without her support, I wouldn’t have made it to where I am now.” Love emphasized that football and the friendships he formed through it helped lift him out of a dark and lonely space. As he steps into his fifth season with the Packers and third as their starting quarterback, he aims to continue building on last year’s success, where he completed 63.1% of his passes for 3,389 yards, with 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
