Rams’ Matthew Stafford supports Clayton Kershaw in first Dodgers start of 2025

Before he was a Super Bowl Champion. Before he was the starting quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams. And before he was even drafted into the NFL as the first overall pick out of Georgia, Matthew Stafford was a high school kid at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas, who was a young teammate of future Los Angeles Dodgers Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw.

That's right, before the duo were leading parades in Los Angeles, Stafford and Kershaw were teammates, classmates, and friends, to the point where they have multiple pictures together from their time growing up together in the Lone Star State.

How would one know what? Well, by simply tuning into the Dodgers' Saturday night showdown against the Los Angeles Angels, as, during Kershaw's big return to the mound for his first game of 2025, Stafford was in attendance, watching his long-time friend do what he does best while decked out in LA blue and white.

Unfortunately for Kershaw, he did not give his pal the best showing of his career, as he allowed five runs in the first four innings and was pulled from the game after throwing 83 pitches. While the Dodgers tried to rally back, with Kike Hernandez hiting a solo bomb to make the game 5-4, in the end, Shohei Ohtani struck out with two ks on the board, and Kershaw's chance of secring the win officially went out the window.

And yet, after fighting so hard to get back to the majors, does Kershaw really care that he gave up five hits, five runs, three BBs, and a home run in his big return? His ERA won't remain at 11.25 for the remainder of the season, and as he gets more and more comfortable, his game will begin to improve, too.

Like Clayton Kershaw, Matthew Stafford is nearing the end of his career, too, but hey, after watching his friend parade through the streets of Los Angeles last fall, maybe he's got some extra inspiration to make this Rams campaign a season to never forget, too.