PASADENA — As the Pasadena High School football team began to wrap up its football banquet on Wednesday night, celebrating their CIF-SS Division 13 championship season, heads of the players began to turn toward the door of Brookside Country Club.
Standing by the entrance was Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, his trusty Dodgers cap backward on his head. The Bulldogs players began to tap their friends and mouth the quarterback’s name.
Soon, the surprise guest was announced. Stafford walked up to the podium, congratulated the team on its season and expressed his sympathy to those families in attendance who had been impacted by the Eaton fire that roared through Pasadena in January.
Then, he announced that he and his wife Kelly, in partnership with the Rams, would be donating new jerseys and equipment to the team, as well as the Pasadena Panthers youth program, for next season.
“Obviously this is a unique situation that happened recently, and an area and a school and a group of guys that’s been through a lot,” Stafford said after the event. “So for myself, Kelly and the Rams to kind of all band together and get something done for these guys and some of the youth teams out here as well, it’s near and dear to my heart. I love the game of football. It brings us all together. It gives us a team to be a part of. And it’s fun to be a little bit a part of their team now.”
Stafford then stood to the side by the Super Bowl LVI trophy and took pictures and shook hands with all the players, coaches, support staff and family members in attendance, part of the community that Stafford just agreed to return to last week.
Five days ago, Stafford, 37, agreed to rework his contract to return to the Rams for a fifth season. Despite entering the offseason under contract for two more seasons, it was no guarantee that Stafford would remain with the Rams. As the two sides negotiated, Stafford was given permission to speak with other teams and gauge his value on the open market.
But ultimately, Stafford and the team agreed to terms to extend his stay with the Rams.
“I’m excited to be back,” Stafford said. “I’m excited to be able to do things like this in a community that I’ve been in for four years now and hopefully will continue to be in for a long time. I’m definitely excited for the opportunity not only to play and do all that but to get involved and really start figuring out places and things I can do to give back.”
Stafford declined to discuss why he decided to return to the Rams, or about his other options as he navigated the contract negotiations. But he was amused when informed that Rams general manager Les Snead had described their reunion as a “renewal of vows” earlier Wednesday.
“Les is a man of interesting words. I love Les,” Stafford chuckled. “Whatever he wants to say, he can say. I just know I’m excited to be back.”
Back with the team, and back making inroads in the community, just as he did during his first stop in Detroit earlier in his career.
“It’s what it’s all about,” Stafford said. “Troy Aikman came and spoke to my high school once. I was a Dallas kid and I thought that was really cool. … Being able to shake their hands and wish them good luck and congratulations all at the same time, it’s a fun thing.”