hed – USMAIL24.COM https://usmail24.com News Portal from USA Wed, 06 Dec 2023 14:30:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://usmail24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Untitled-design-1-100x100.png hed – USMAIL24.COM https://usmail24.com 32 32 195427244 Rochelle Humes FINALLY arrives in Australia to support husband Marvin on I’m A Celeb with a pile of suitcases after panicking he’d be axed when she had to delay trip https://usmail24.com/rochelle-humes-australia-marvin-im-celeb-htmlns_mchannelrssns_campaign1490ito1490/ https://usmail24.com/rochelle-humes-australia-marvin-im-celeb-htmlns_mchannelrssns_campaign1490ito1490/#respond Wed, 06 Dec 2023 14:30:53 +0000 https://usmail24.com/rochelle-humes-australia-marvin-im-celeb-htmlns_mchannelrssns_campaign1490ito1490/

Rochelle Humes finally arrived in Australia on Wednesday after making a last-minute dash to support her husband Marvin Humes during his I’m A Celeb stint.  The Saturdays star, 34, touched down in Brisbane Airport with a pile of suitcases a week after the other campmates’ loved ones arrived.  She previously explained that she’d had to […]

The post Rochelle Humes FINALLY arrives in Australia to support husband Marvin on I’m A Celeb with a pile of suitcases after panicking he’d be axed when she had to delay trip appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

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Rochelle Humes finally arrived in Australia on Wednesday after making a last-minute dash to support her husband Marvin Humes during his I’m A Celeb stint. 

The Saturdays star, 34, touched down in Brisbane Airport with a pile of suitcases a week after the other campmates’ loved ones arrived. 

She previously explained that she’d had to delay her trip because of ‘work’ but got a scare on Monday when Marvin was nearly eliminated from the show, facing a lonely walk across the Jungle bridge.  

The JLS singer, 38, was revealed to be in the bottom two alongside Nella Rose, with the YouTube star, 26, becoming the second star to be voted off, after receiving the least amount of votes.

While the episode was airing on Monday night, Rochelle was walking the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the British Fashion Awards 2023.

Rochelle Humes finally arrived in Australia on Wednesday after making a last-minute dash to support her husband Marvin Humes during his I’m A Celeb stint

Rochelle previously explained that she'd had to delay her trip because of 'work' but got a scare on Monday when Marvin was nearly eliminated from the show

Rochelle previously explained that she’d had to delay her trip because of ‘work’ but got a scare on Monday when Marvin was nearly eliminated from the show

However, the TV presenter ditched the star-studded event early and rushed home to get ready to catch her flight to Australia, in the hopes that she would make it there on time to greet her husband.

Thankfully, she managed to make it, with Fred Siriex becoming the third campmate to be voted off on Tuesday’s show. 

Rochelle looked in high spirits as she strolled through the airport terminal after an anxious flight not knowing the results of the dreaded public voted. 

She beamed broadly as she strolled past, or it may have been a slight grimace from the strain of pushing her four giant suitcases.

With the I’m A Celebrity final looming on Sunday, most celebrities will have returned home within the week, yet Rochelle seemed keen to make sure she had enough outfit choices for her time in the sunshine. 

She looked effortlessly stylish after her long flight, flashing her toned midriff in a button front white top that she paired with cream jeans. 

The mother-of-two added to the look with suede mules and oversized sunglasses. 

Viewers at home were in disbelief that Marvin had ended up in the bottom two of the public vote, thinking that he would’ve been safe over other campmates.

Rochelle took to her Instagram Stories from her car after leaving the awards to inform her followers that she was making her way Down Under to greet Marvin when he leaves the jungle.

Rochelle looked in high spirits as she strolled through the airport terminal after an anxious flight not knowing the results of the dreaded public voted

Rochelle looked in high spirits as she strolled through the airport terminal after an anxious flight not knowing the results of the dreaded public voted

She beamed broadly as she strolled past, or it may have been a slight grimace from the strain of pushing her four giant suitcases

She beamed broadly as she strolled past, or it may have been a slight grimace from the strain of pushing her four giant suitcases

With the I'm A Celebrity final looming on Sunday, most celebrities will have returned home within the week, yet Rochelle seemed keen to make sure she had enough outfit choices

With the I’m A Celebrity final looming on Sunday, most celebrities will have returned home within the week, yet Rochelle seemed keen to make sure she had enough outfit choices

She looked effortlessly stylish after her long flight, flashing her toned midriff in a button front white top that she paired with cream jeans

She looked effortlessly stylish after her long flight, flashing her toned midriff in a button front white top that she paired with cream jeans

She said: ‘I have literally rushed out of the Fashion Awards. I only got to watch a few and I’m on my way to go and support my boy. Come on, I’ve got to! 

‘So I’m literally going to watch and vote. I’m putting this on here now to remind you all to vote to save him and I am then going go to the airport and fly and make my way to Oz.

‘I’ve never been to Australia before. Fun fact, I’m actually scared of flying. So for the very first time ever flying to Australia, I’m gonna be doing it on my own. Which is very interesting. 

‘But yeah, I just wanted to remind you to vote to save him because I’m making my way to the bridge and I don’t want him on it before I get there!’

The Saturdays singer took to her Instagram Stories on Saturday evening to explain that she would be going to Oz, but had to delay her trip to fit around her work schedule.

Rochelle sat in a towel turban and a matching white dressing gown while applying her skincare as she informed her viewers that the vote to save the campmates from elimination had been opened.

She explained: ‘I know that he’s having fun. Obviously I really want to see him, that goes without saying. And I could do with a hand!

‘But I also really want him to stay in there because he’s committed to this jungle experience now. So I really want to make sure that he gets the most out of it and, you know, really stays there for as long as possible. 

‘But the predicament that I have is that all of the families, I think they landed on like Tuesday this week.’

Rochelle continued: ‘I’ve obviously got the kids and I’ve got work and I’ve been trying to juggle everything and make sure I do the Christmas stuff before I go, because they’re in school. 

‘So my mum’s going to move in for like a week. And then I’ll be with Marv until he is finished. As in whenever he leaves the jungle, they leave at certain times so I will leave with him and then meet the children.’

Marvin was nearly eliminated from the show on Monday night, while Rochelle was at London's Royal Albert Hall for the British Fashion Awards 2023

Marvin was nearly eliminated from the show on Monday night, while Rochelle was at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the British Fashion Awards 2023

Rochelle ditched the star-studded event early and rushed home to get ready to catch her flight to Australia, in the hopes that she will make it there on time to greet her husband

Rochelle ditched the star-studded event early and rushed home to get ready to catch her flight to Australia, in the hopes that she will make it there on time to greet her husband

Rochelle then made a public plea, asking the public to vote to keep Marvin in the jungle so that she could make it to Australia in time for his exit. 

She said: ‘My predicament is that I really don’t want him to walk out onto that bridge to nobody. 

Poll

Who will win I’m A Celebrity this year?

  • Nigel Farage 17385 votes
  • Sam Thompson 8044 votes
  • Fred Sirieix 4066 votes
  • Marvin Humes 1290 votes
  • Frankie Dettori 1269 votes
  • Danielle Harold 1530 votes
  • Grace Dent 547 votes
  • Nick Pickard 648 votes
  • Jamie Lynn Spears 943 votes
  • Josie Gibson 5790 votes
  • Tony Bellew 2152 votes
  • Nella Rose 830 votes

‘Because that would mean I have really failed him and I’m really trying to make everything happen but I really don’t want him on that bridge lonely. 

‘So this is me asking, please vote for him. So that buys me my day of work on Monday and then I can get straight on the flight, 24 hours and then I’ll be there.

‘I mean obviously I don’t want him to come out then either but then at least if he does, he’s got me there. So that is the plan.

‘My predicament is, whilst I would love to have been in the Versace Hotel for a week, because it looks bloody incredible. I have to work and yeah I just want to make it there on time for my boy. 

‘So please vote for him. Please keep him in. Please don’t have him lonely on the bridge. The thought of that is just no.’

After Marvin’s narrow escape from elimination on Monday, Rochelle took to her Instagram Stories once again to express her own disbelief and admitted she was ‘now extremely nervous’ that she wouldn’t be in Australia in time to meet him on the bridge.

She sat while getting her hair blow dried out after the awards, and said: ‘So that was a really close call, wasn’t it?’

She continued: ‘Oh my gosh, my nerves are shot. I’ve just got home. That has really done me, I am now extremely nervous. Oh my gosh, when I heard that, “It might be you”.’

Rochelle then pleaded once more: ‘So I’m still going and I’m hoping I make it. But please start voting now for tomorrow’s show because I really don’t want him to go on the bridge whilst I’m in the air. So vote for me!’

I’m A Celeb airs nightly at 9pm on ITVI and ITVX  

I’m A Celebrity 2023: Meet the campmates

NIGEL FARAGE

NIGEL FARAGE

Claim to fame: Former leader of the UK Independence Party  and leader of the Brexit Party.

Phobias: Nobody likes rats, snakes and I am dreading anything to do with heights.

Biggest misconception you want to dispel?: I have been demonised over the years and so it will be nice to show people I am not nasty. 

Role in camp: Lead on starting up plenty of campfire discussions. 

Aside from your family, what will you miss the most whilst in camp?: A pint in the pub and the news. 

Best & worst attributes: I hope to cheer people up when they are down. Worst? I am impatient and I do snore. 

Dream camper: As a controversial political media figure, I never name names… But I am looking forward to meeting interesting people from all different fields 

DANIELLE HAROLD

DANIELLE HAROLD

Claim to fame: EastEnders actress.

Phobias: Rats. I hate them! 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle?: I can be a little ditzy at times but I am definitely not a ‘dumb blonde’. I want to show I can do the trials, challenges and get stuck in. 

Role in camp: Shoulder to cry on, help others if they are feeling low in camp. 

Aside from family, what will you miss most whilst in camp?: Snacking. I am a little muncher and I am going to miss my morning cup of tea, too! 

Best & worst attributes: I’d like to think I will be good if people are really struggling. I am not, however, very good at being bored, nor am I a morning person either. 

Dream camper: Ed Sheeran. If he brings his guitar into camp, he can sing for us.

FRED SIRIEIX - LEFT!

FRED SIRIEIX – LEFT!

Claim to fame: First Dates star.

Phobias: I am scared of everything. I am dying to find out how vile the food will be! 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle?: I don’t think there is anything but I am looking forward to learning more about myself during my time in the camp. 

Role in camp: I will definitely muck in with all the jobs. I don’t mind cooking or cleaning the toilets. 

Aside from your family, what will you miss the most whilst in camp? My bed. It’s super comfy. I will also miss a cup of coffee in the morning. 

Best & worst attributes: I like to have fun but I do snore and I am impatient! 

Dream camper: It’s going to be nice to meet everyone but I’d love to see Dolly Parton, The Rock or Snoop Dog in there.

NELLA ROSE - LEFT!

NELLA ROSE – LEFT!

Claim to fame: YouTuber and Catfish UK star. 

Phobias: I am fearful of everything! 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle? I am a pretty open book. 

Role in camp: Keep the morale and humour high.

Aside from your family, what will you miss the most whilst in camp? My phone… I am always on it! 

Dream camper: Alison Hammond or Adele. 

NICK PICKARD

NICK PICKARD

Claim to fame: Hollyoaks star. 

Phobias: I am a bit scared of the dark. When you go to the House of Horrors at Halloween and things jump out at you, I am not very good when I can’t see! 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle: It will be nice to go in as me and not as my Hollyoaks character. 

Role in camp: Grafter or chef, I am quite good at cooking. But I’ve never cooked on a fire before. Aside from family, what will you miss most whilst in camp: Football and my creature comforts. 

Best & worst attributes: I’d like to think I am a nice person and a good team player. I am not lazy but I do have a few bad habits like picking my nose. My girlfriend has been trying to train me to stop! 

Dream camper: Sir Alex Ferguson or Neil Warnock. 

FRANKIE DETTORI - LEFT!

FRANKIE DETTORI – LEFT!

Claim to fame: Champion Jockey

Phobias: I am not sure as I don’t walk across rooftop planks in the middle of the day nor do I have any snakes or rats in the house!

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle: None. I’ve lived in the public domain for as long as I can remember so I’d hope everyone knows me well.

Role in camp: To have fun with everyone, I am a happy-go- lucky person.

Aside from your family, what will you miss the most whilst in camp? Travelling. I have spent my whole life at airports and I’ve got to like it!

Best & worst attributes: I am outgoing and I am a fighter. Worst? I can’t sit still and I am impatient.

Dream camper: Robbie Williams would be fun.

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS - LEFT!

JAMIE LYNN SPEARS – LEFT!

Claim to fame: Zoey 101 and Sweet Magnolias star.

 Phobias: I am scared of everything.

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle?: I think this is a nice chance to show who I really am.

Role in camp: Hopefully I will be the one who can support everyone. 

Aside from family, what will you miss the most whilst in camp? A normal bathroom, air conditioning and my bed. 

Best & worst attributes: I think my best quality is it takes a lot to hurt my feelings; but I am impatient and my family would say I get in a bad mood a lot. 

Dream camper: Nicole Kidman, she is my favourite actress in the whole wide world, or Reece Witherspoon.

SAM THOMPSON

SAM THOMPSON

Claim to fame: Made In Chelsea star and radio presenter. 

Phobias: I am not a creepy crawly guy and I hate anyone or anything touching my neck. 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle?: Since the age of 21, I’ve spent my whole life on TV and so I feel whether people have a good or bad opinion of me, it’s probably warranted!

Role in camp: I’m a ‘yes’ man so cooking, cleaning I will do whatever they want me to do. 

Aside from family, what will you miss most whilst in camp?: I know this sounds lame but gaming. 

Best & worst attributes: I’d like to think I am the court jester and I don’t take things too seriously, so if anyone is having a bad day I would like to put a smile on their face. Worst? I am quite forgetful and I am bad at focusing on things. 

Dream camper: Stephen Fry. I think I would self-combust if he was going in the jungle! 

JOSIE GIBSON

JOSIE GIBSON

Claim to fame: This Morning presenter.

Phobias: Insects and I freeze every time I see a spider and I am not sure what I am going to do if I am in a trial with them! 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle?: I would like people to know I am very clever at knowing useless information! 

Role in camp: Mum. I am very motherly and I also love chatting to people. 

Aside from family, what will you miss most whilst in camp?: Getting up to blow dry my hair and putting a bit of make-up on! 

Best & worst attributes: I am an optimist and I love meeting people from all walks of life. Worst? I can be quite nosey and I am worried about my temper if I am too hungry. 

Dream camper: Dawn French, I love her. 

MARVIN HUMES

MARVIN HUMES

Claim to fame: JLS star.

Phobias: Heights. I have pulled out of a skydive with JLS in the past because I was too scared! 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle: To show I am not just a member of a boy band. It will be nice for people to learn more about me. 

Role in camp: I’d like to think I will be a shoulder to cry on and a mediator. 

Aside from family, what will you miss most whilst in camp?: My fantasy football app! I am obsessed with it! Four weeks without music is a long time, too. 

Best & worst attributes: I’ve got three children under the age of ten and you definitely need a lot of patience for that! Worst? Rochelle would probably say I get ‘hangry’ if I don’t have enough food. 

Dream camper: Paddy McGuinness – I’ve done Soccer Aid with him before and I know he’s funny, he gets stuck in and he is hands on.

GRACE DENT - LEFT!

GRACE DENT – LEFT!

Claim to fame: MasterChef star and food critic. 

Phobias: Horrible people. 

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle: People think I am quite forthright and scary but I don’t think I am scary! Hopefully people will see this. 

Role in camp: Shoulder to cry on and I am a practical cook so I can help out. 

Aside from your family, what will you miss the most whilst in camp? My three cats and my make-up bag. I love a bit of glamour. 

Best & worst attributes: I would like to think I am funny! My worst quality is lack of sleep. I like my sleep. 

Dream camper: Queen Camilla. She would be very practical. And Madonna – she could perform tracks from her Greatest Hits tour! 

TONY BELLEW

TONY BELLEW

Claim to fame: Former champion boxer

Phobias: Like most normal people, I am scared of almost everything.

Biggest misconception you want to dispel in the jungle: People will portray me as something I am not because of the profession I have had. I am just a normal person.

Role in camp: I’d like to think I am domesticated so hopefully I can help out.

Best & worst attributes: I do get hangry…who doesn’t! But I am easy going and I get on with everyone.

 

 

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Bills legend Jim Kelly used to be mad about all he’d lost. Now he’s grateful for all he has https://usmail24.com/jim-kelly-bills-cancer-baptism/ https://usmail24.com/jim-kelly-bills-cancer-baptism/#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 19:16:53 +0000 https://usmail24.com/jim-kelly-bills-cancer-baptism/

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jim Kelly, loser of four Super Bowls, one son and an upper jaw, stands in the pool in his backyard, water up to his midsection. About 25 family members and friends from his fellowship group circle the pool. Next to him is Matt Gold, the pastor of Alden Community Church. “To see […]

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Jim Kelly, loser of four Super Bowls, one son and an upper jaw, stands in the pool in his backyard, water up to his midsection.

About 25 family members and friends from his fellowship group circle the pool. Next to him is Matt Gold, the pastor of Alden Community Church.

“To see today happen is such a sweet, sweet day, brother,” Gold tells him. “I love you and I think we can all say we’re proud of you and how far you’ve come. And where you’re going is even better.”

As Gold alludes, Kelly is not who he was.

The charisma and presence that once made him a leader of leaders is still there. His left fibula is not.

It was removed in 2018, broken into four pieces, and used to reconstruct his upper jaw which had been infested by squamous cell carcinoma. In a 12-hour surgery, arteries and blood vessels also were taken from his arm and moved to his jaw. A prosthesis with false teeth was implanted.

When the cancer was diagnosed, it was Stage 4. A doctor gave Kelly less than a 10 percent chance to beat it because it was so close to his brain.

“I know you’re a Christian and you believe in miracles,” the doctor told him. “That’s a good thing because you’re going to need one.”

Kelly has heard about miracles since he crashed through a glass door when he was 6 years old. A shard slashed his neck, requiring 40 stitches.

On the last play of his college career, his throwing shoulder was torn apart on a violent hit, jeopardizing his ability to ever complete another pass. Nearly 4,000 completions and four decades later, the shoulder remains held together with three metal rods.

The jaw surgery was one of four cancer surgeries and 20 surgeries overall, give or take. Kelly has two plates and 10 screws in his back as well as one plate and six screws in his neck. There’s a screw in his left knee and mesh in his abdomen where he had double hernia surgery twice.

Two years ago, Kelly had ankle replacement surgery, but the joint became badly infected. Last year doctors opened him again. He says it looked like lasagna and can provide graphic photographic proof. A second ankle replacement was necessary.

Between the first and second ankle replacements, there were pimples on his nose and chin that wouldn’t go away. Basal cell carcinoma. One surgery removed half his left nostril, and the other took a significant chunk of his chin.

In May, he had a stroke in his left retina. Then his blood pressure was taken — 210 over 120. He had to return from a trip to Ireland eight days early. Then came a hospitalization, a heart monitor, a sleep study, meds — doctors are still trying to figure it out.

In the meantime, he needed an esophageal dilation to expand his esophagus because food often got stuck in his throat.

He enjoys conversation, but it isn’t always easy. Kelly adjusts his hearing aids frequently. His jaw and mouth hurt if he talks too much.

Almost everything hurts. At one point doctors had him taking 16 Advil a day. “Drink lots of water,” they told him.

Now he’s on more potent pain pills and they take the edge off.

Somehow, with or without his meds, Kelly smiles easily and broadly. The smile looks a little different than it used to, but it’s never conveyed more joy.

He has a zeal for every opportunity, probably every breath.

Gold puts one hand on Kelly’s chest and the other on his back.

“It’s a privilege to baptize you, my brother, in Jesus,” Gold says. “In the name of the Father, and the Son and Holy Spirit.”

Kelly holds his breath. Gold guides him backward and under.


Jim Kelly celebrates his baptism in front of pastor Matt Gold. (Courtesy of Jill Kelly)

This wasn’t the first time Kelly was baptized, but it was the first time he had a say in it. He was initially christened 63 years ago at St. Eusebius Catholic Church in East Brady, Pa., a no-stoplight town on the Allegheny River that’s 57 miles from Pittsburgh and 30 miles from the closest McDonald’s.

When he was about 4, Kelly, the fourth in a line of six brothers, picked up a football and threw it to his father with so much force, his father said, that it stung his hands.

There was an audacity about him, even as a kid. Kelly and his thrill-seeking brothers would jump off a 75-foot-high steel bridge into the Allegheny, which was 20 feet deep. When he was 11, he met his hero Terry Bradshaw and told the Steelers quarterback he would take his job one day.

For most of his childhood, Kelly was an altar server at St. Eusebius. When he grew to 6-foot-3 — seven inches taller than the parish priest — he was allowed to become a lector instead.

By then, Kelly was an athlete of renown at East Brady High. He scored more than 1,000 points in basketball — making the sign of the cross before every free throw — and earned all-conference honors in football as a quarterback, safety, punter and kicker.

Athletically, he believed he could do anything, and he rarely was proved wrong.

Penn State, Linebacker U, wanted him as a linebacker, and it was easy to see why, given his grit. But Kelly wanted to be a quarterback — he wanted to be a star — so he went to Miami. With Kelly breaking school passing records, the Hurricanes began a new tradition. Miami became known as Quarterback U.

When the Bills drafted him in 1983, he was despondent at the thought of moving to Buffalo. He didn’t try to hide it, which offended their loyal, downtrodden fans. Palm trees seemed to have a better chance of taking root and thriving in Buffalo than Kelly.

Badass that he was, Kelly pictured himself as a Raider. There was talk of a trade, but the Bills would not give him up. The Houston Gamblers of the USFL offered an option, and Kelly took it for two years until the league folded.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

‘It was a perfect storm’: How Jim Kelly’s USFL seasons changed the course of the Bills and pro football

When Kelly finally arrived in Buffalo in 1986 to announce he was joining the team, the past was irrelevant. Fans, holding signs and cheering, stood on overpasses above Kensington Expressway on his route from the airport to the news conference. During one game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, fans hung a sign that read, “Kelly is God.”

By his second season, Kelly was a Pro Bowler, unnerving opponents with brazen decisions and high, arcing, pinpoint passes that were equal parts art and science.

His trademark, though, was toughness. Early in his career, he sacrificed his well-being for any possible gain. Eventually, he embraced the concept of selective self-preservation. By then, though, it was the only option. Kelly had roughly nine concussions by his brother Danny’s estimate.

“There is, in my mind, zero doubt who the toughest football player I’ve ever seen is,” says Frank Reich, his backup. “That’s Jim Kelly.”

For six seasons, Kelly was the NFL’s only quarterback calling most of his own plays in the Bills’ revolutionary no-huddle offense, known as the K-Gun.

“He was at his best when you just gave him the keys and said, ‘Take us down the field,’” says Reich, who now is the coach of the Carolina Panthers.


A five-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Jim Kelly led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls. (Rick Stewart /Allsport)

He led game-winning drives and then he led the party train. In the leadups to Super Bowls, Kelly was accused of having too much fun. But he wasn’t behaving differently than usual. After practices, the Big Tree Bar beckoned. The typical routine after a home game was dinner at Ilio DiPaolo and then a rip-roaring party at Kelly’s house or “Kelly’s Irish Pub,” as the sign behind the bar said.

Reich knows Kelly like few people. Before Kelly’s senior year of high school and Reich’s sophomore year, they attended a camp at Penn State with hundreds of other football players. Over the week, they bonded, even though they were as likely companions as a cat and dog.

“He’s wearing a bandana,” Reich recalls. “He’s this flashy, obnoxious, brazen, really confident guy. And I’m a quiet kid from this little farm town. But we connected on a lot of levels, especially our passion for the game of football and our love for our families.”

They were reunited in Buffalo eight years later and for the next nine years they spent more time with one another than they did with anyone, spouses included. They were road roommates and had a lunch date every Friday at the Orchard Park Cafe, where the waitress didn’t need to ask what they wanted — soup for Reich, a cheeseburger for Kelly. Reich, all humility and grace, was the ideal backup to the flashy quarterback, balancing Kelly with practical ideas about football and life.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

The Comeback, No. 10: A backup QB, a gutsy call and a march to history for Buffalo

Those close to Kelly knew his faith diminished as his status grew. Kelly avoided discussing spiritual matters with most teammates, some of whom tried to press the issue. Reich, who spent seven years in a seminary after his playing career and became a pastor, was more subtle than most, which led to more openness from Kelly.

But even with Reich, there was resistance.

“He was like, ‘Maybe someday, but not right now,’” Reich says. “I’ve got too many fun things to do to think about things like that.”

Fortune always smiled on Kelly. Until it scowled.

He took the Bills to four straight Super Bowls, making him one of a kind. But he lost all four, also making him one of a kind.

In the first, Super Bowl XXV against the Giants, Kelly led a 61-yard drive that began with 2:16 left and the Bills trailing by one — what should have been the game-winning drive. Only the infamous 47-yard kick that sailed wide right prevented his victory.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

My favorite player: Former Miami Hurricanes and Buffalo Bills QB Jim Kelly

In Super Bowl XXVI, Kelly threw 58 passes and might have taken as many hits in a thorough loss to Washington. He didn’t know where he was when he threw two of his touchdown passes that day.

“Then he went to Hawaii and played in the Pro Bowl when he still had a concussion,” says his brother Danny, who lived with Jim for 10 years, served as his manager and was best man at his wedding.

Next came two losses to the Cowboys. In Super Bowl XXVII, Kelly was knocked out of the game in the second quarter by a Ken Norton tackle that bent his knee and his steel knee brace in ways never intended. In his final chance, the Bills led the Cowboys at halftime of Super Bowl XXVIII but gave up 24 second-half points.

Those Super Bowls made him mad. Losing one was one thing. But two? Three? Four? Didn’t he and his teammates do everything they could do?

Nearly 30 years later, he still hasn’t watched those games.

Kelly ended his career with a concussion, carted from the field.

At his retirement news conference, he acknowledged a “little void” from not winning a Super Bowl but said the good from his career outweighed the bad tenfold. He could always screen out what bothered him. Still can.

At his side that day was Jill, who became his wife the previous May. Already parents to a daughter, Erin, they were expecting a second child soon. More than anything, Jim wanted a son. Two weeks later on Jim’s birthday, Jill gave birth to a boy — Hunter James — and Jim was the happiest he’d ever been.

“It was awesome, totally awesome,” he says. “My brother Danny had a son born 11 days before Hunter named Zac, and I already knew Hunter would play quarterback and Zac would play wide receiver.”

As an infant, Hunter cried and cried until the cries turned to screams. At 4 months, he had difficulty swallowing and experienced seizures. A blood test revealed he had Krabbe leukodystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Doctors told Jim and Jill their son wouldn’t live to see his second birthday. Hunter proved them wrong, living 8 1/2 years, but he never walked, talked or even smiled. He required constant care.


Jim Kelly with his son, Hunter, who was born with a fatal genetic disorder. (Courtesy of Jill Kelly)

Devastated, Jim prayed for a miracle. While Jill relied on her faith and grew in it, Jim retreated from his. Jill wanted to be present for her son always, but Jim, in his desperation, looked to escape. He immersed himself in his work, first as a game analyst for NBC, then as a studio host for ESPN. He didn’t say no to many speaking engagements or appearances.

Jim was in a dark place, doleful, he says, that he never would be able to play catch with his son. Reich told him Hunter would have a resurrected body in heaven, a body that would enable him to play catch with his father. To Jim, the concept was light.

But Hunter’s plight put a strain on the Kelly marriage. Divorce, they both believed, seemed inevitable.

In 2004, Jill’s mother, Jacque Waggoner, became aware that Jim had cheated on Jill. For one week, Jacque prayed and fasted. Then she wrote a letter to Jim and asked him to meet her in a mall parking lot. She handed him the letter. He glanced at it and drove away. Then he pulled over and wept while reading every word.

He confessed to his wife and asked forgiveness from her and from God. It was then, he says, that he felt the weight of a piano lifted from his back.

“I was certainly angry at him,” Jill says. “But I was more joyful and thankful than anything else because Jim saw this need for God, and moving forward, everything would change.”

From then on, Jim wouldn’t call himself a Catholic. He would call himself a Christian.

After Hunter’s last strained breath in 2005, Jim was angry and understandably confused. But he also was growing.

A while later, Kelly told Reich they needed to talk. On the way to a dinner at Ilio DePaolo, Kelly told him he was in the midst of a transformation. When they arrived at the restaurant, the conversation continued in the car for about an hour. “He was the same guy — funny, brash, still liked to have a good time,” Reich says. “But he was different.”

In 2013, some of Kelly’s teeth hurt. Multiple root canals didn’t help. That’s when his dentist figured out teeth weren’t the problem.

As much of a struggle as it would be physically, Kelly’s cancer diagnosis was another spiritual challenge.

“With everything that happened in my life, from losing the Super Bowls, Hunter, and now this, I was mad at God,” Kelly says. “I wondered why he was doing all these things to me. … It was really hard for me to totally accept it when I was diagnosed with cancer.”

The first step in his cancer treatment was surgery to remove the tumor. Things looked good for a while, but the following March, the cancer came back. He had 35 radiation treatments and four bouts of chemotherapy, was put on a feeding tube and lost 66 pounds.

Jim wanted it to be a private battle, but Jill knew he needed support. She went public with his condition and he was blitzed with kindness, messages, good thoughts and prayers from people he didn’t know, people from places like Afghanistan and Germany, and even New England and Miami.

Danny oversaw everything. The brothers Kelly pushed Jim to fight. Reich sent daily inspirational texts. Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith brought jigsaw puzzles; Dan Marino brought stone crabs. Donald Trump, with whom Kelly was familiar from his USFL days, offered the use of his New York apartment during Kelly’s treatment there. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote checks. Kelly’s daughters, Erin and Camryn, brought smiles, laughs and hugs, and didn’t let him see the rest.

In the summer of 2014, Kelly was declared cancer-free. Four years later, it was back. In March of 2018, his jaw was reconstructed. More surgery followed in June.

In early 2019, doctors told him the cancer was gone.

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In cold-weather games, Kelly didn’t wear a glove. He liked the feel of his big bare hand on the ball, ring finger on the second lace, pointer finger near the tip.

These days, that right hand is still forceful. When he shakes hands, Kelly still can make knuckles crack.

He is stronger than he should be, as if the strength comes from somewhere else.

Given his history, Kelly’s energy is beyond remarkable. He is a pinball bouncing off bumpers — bing, bing, bing. There is his work for Hunter’s Hope charity, overseeing Jim Kelly Enterprises, inspirational speaking engagements, appearances, his football camp, his golf tournament, hunting trips, fishing trips, keeping up with old teammates (they have a group text that pops during Bills games) and hosting regular family get-togethers at the second home he calls “Hunter’s Lodge,” a cabin on 150 remote acres about an hour south of Buffalo.

The competitiveness that helped him become a Hall of Famer remains but now it manifests itself in pool, cornhole, poker, darts — whatever you’d like, he’s game. And he’s good, really good.

Kelly is like that old tree that has lost branches and bark but somehow has grown more robust.

Back in the day, Kelly knocked back his share, maybe more than his share, of Crown Royal. Beer, too.

Not anymore. He’s given up alcohol except for the occasional glass of wine.

His vice these days? Chocolate shakes. When he calls ahead to George’s Hot Dogs with an order in the name of Hunter, they know to bring the shake out to his truck.


Jill and Jim Kelly have been through a lot, but she says, “We are more in love and closer than we have ever been.” (Courtesy of Jill Kelly)

He and Jill are in a good place.

“We are more in love and closer than we have ever been,” Jill says.

“She prays for me,” Jim says. “She prays over me. She’s my everything.”

Jim’s heart, understandably, still aches for Hunter.

He has a special relationship with Zac now. He’s brought him to Super Bowls, a national championship game, New Zealand and on hunting trips.

“He’s taken him under his wing like he’s his own son,” Danny says.

“If Hunter was still here, my prayer would be that he would turn out to be like Zac,” Jim says.

Jill says Jim has been intentional about showing love to his daughters, including caring for Erin in her current struggle with Lyme disease.

“Maybe it’s because he wasn’t able to do as much with Hunter,” Jill says. “But he’s a different man, a totally different man, more humble, compassionate, mindful and concerned. Sometimes, I sit back like, ‘Who is that person?’”

At least 12 times a day, Jill hears it.

Sometimes it’s a whisper. Sometimes it’s as loud as a quarterback’s play call.

“Lord, help me,” Jim says.

Over time, he believes prayers have been answered. The way he sees it, the first Super Bowl loss prepared him for the second, which prepared him for the third, which prepared him for the fourth. All of them prepared him for the loss of Hunter. Which prepared him for the loss of his health and his physical wholeness.

And all of it made him ready for spiritual elevation, and the opportunity to elevate others.

“If God decides tomorrow is my day, I’m ready,” Jim says. “In the past, of course, I would have been mad. I would have been scared. But now I’m not worried one bit. And I know I will see my son again.”

Kelly initiated his fellowship group about 15 years ago. About 20 men — many who were not Christians when they showed up — meet on Monday evenings. They study the Bible. They talk about their lives. They watch “The Chosen.” And “Monday Night Football.”

Kelly had been thinking about getting baptized for years. Jill did it shortly after Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe disease. But the timing was never right for Jim until September.

So finally, Pastor Gold raised Kelly from the water.

And as if he scored the game-winning touchdown in a Super Bowl, Jim Kelly lifted his arms in the air.

(Top illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; photos: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images, John Iacono / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)


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