The truest sign of the heart of a champion is how they react when everything does not work out the way that they had planned. It is easy for us to be strong and bold when everything is going smooth, but when we face the trials and turmoil in life, we can see what we are really all about. Do we get knocked down but refuse to stay down or do we simply stay on the ground and live in the defeat? As we look around the world today, we look for heroes and for champions and this issue’s Men of God Spotlight is one of the truest champions that we have ever known. In the face of the greatest loss of his life, he found strength from friends and family, and most importantly, he found his strength in the only One who could bear all his burdens.

Four Super Bowl appearances and the leader of one of the greatest offenses ever to take a football field, Jim Kelly has experienced the bliss of being a standout as 80,000 fans screamed his name in Buffalo. He would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, enshrined amongst the elite of the game, his rightful place in the game of football. I was blessed to get the chance to speak with Jim and learn about leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus from a man who had seen darker days than I could ever imagine.

His Life
He was born on Valentine’s Day in 1960 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He would grow up in a house full of boys and living in Pittsburg, his love for the game of football would start as he watched the Pittsburg Steelers during their amazing run in the 1970’s. He would become a standout at quarterback in high school as well as a star on the basketball team.

Q – Jim, can you tell me when you gave your life to Christ?
“Recently; April 23rd of this (past) year. My wife has been a Christian for many, many years and of course, I’ve always been a follower, a believer, but I’d never really gone into it with both feet forward. I’ve not been baptized yet as timing is everything, but I’m totally devoted to what I believe in and I’m moving forward. I started a men’s fellowship that I do a couple of times each month, a Bible study for the guys, and we’ve got about twelve guys now. So, I’m definitely moving in the right way and if I’d have known what it was like, I would have done it a long time ago.”

Q – So, what pushed you over the edge?

“There’s a lot of things. My wife being a Christian, just listening to her speak all of the time, and of course Hunter, and the beliefs, and my two daughters being Christians. I knew that was the path that I wanted to take. You can only have your so-called young years being a typical professional athlete that goes around and has fun, but there comes a time in your life when that has to change and you have to become the father you’ve wanted to be and be a husband to your wife. I’m where I want to be and I’m very happy with it.”

His Career
Jim went on to the University of Miami, where he would help lead Miami into the national spotlight. After college, Jim opted to play in the USFL for a couple of seasons before making his debut in the NFL, playing for the Buffalo Bills. The Bills, after the arrival of Kelly, would become one of the most feared offenses in the history of the National Football League. He would lead the Bills to four Super Bowl appearances and he would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the conclusion of his career.

Q – What was it like playing for Marv Levy?

“He was a guy that allowed his players to be themselves. We knew our limitations. When Marv spoke, we listened. He was a very, very great leader as far as saying the right things at the right times. He was a guy that we would go to war with. He was a guy who was big into details, making sure that we went over every detail not just once, not just twice, but three times, just to be sure that it was engrained into your mind. He’s a great person, almost like a second father to me.”

Q – What are the biggest differences today in football from when you played?

“The speed of the game, the size of the players, and the salaries that they make (laughs). The game besides that is the same. You’ve got to score, you’ve got to stop the guy and you can’t turn the football over. That’s pretty much the basics of it and that’s what everybody knows. Not much has changed except the size and the quickness of the players. Other than that, you still have to tackle, you still have to score points, and you can’t turn the ball over. For me, it’s hard to say this but defenses do win championships.”

Q – Can you describe the feeling of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony?

“To me, it wasn’t even a dream because I never even thought I could dream that big. I thought about the Hall of Fame as Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, Dick Butkus, Merlin Olsen, and Gale Sayers; guys like that. I never even thought of myself as being in the same breath, let alone being inducted on the first ballot. For me, it was extra special because my son Hunter was able to be there. Of course, in the Super Bowl in New Orleans in January, when I was picked to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I prayed every single night that come August 3rd, my son would be there to see me inducted. I knew that he would never be able to hear 80,000 screaming fans in Buffalo but he was going to do more; he was going to change the world for a lot of kids. For me, to have him there (at the induction ceremony) was the most memorable thing of my life.”

Q – What is the hardest part of being a quarterback in the NFL?

“(It’s) people expecting you to win every game. Everybody expects the quarterback to be the best and never make mistakes. Just living up to what people believe and the thing is, you can’t listen to your critics.”

Jim Kelly is a man who has seen the highs and the lows in the game of football and can still look back and reminisce with a smile. I asked him what he would change about his career and he said that he would have had a little extra easterly wind to blow the ball through the uprights in Super Bowl XXV. For many people, not winning a Super Bowl could have tarnished their career, but for Jim Kelly, he can see how God had blessed his career in other ways.

His Hardest Trial and His Faith

Jim Kelly would face his toughest test after his career had concluded. His only son, Hunter, would be diagnosed with Krabbe Disease and would go home to be with the Lord in August of 2005 at the age of eight. I could not imagine what it must have been like to have gone through something like that but feared that someone may have to go through it (myself included) and wanted to see how Jim kept going even through the loss of his son.

Q – How did you get through it?

“I had a great support staff. Number one was my wife; she’s the MVP and she’s the mother of the year every day of her life. I had great family support from her side and from my side. It took me awhile; it really did. It took having great people around me to get through it all. I don’t know if I’ll ever be over it; there are times where I still cry.”

Q – How does it feel as a father to know your son’s life is still impacting lives all around the world?

“Well, we know that his destiny was to change lives. For me, it was very difficult in the beginning because he born on my birthday, Valentine’s Day. I didn’t want to believe in it; I didn’t want to hear it. To be honest with you, I was ticked off but through it, we know that he was a chosen child who was to make a difference for others. It took me awhile, as I said before, but I finally get it. That’s the bottom line…I get it now.”

Jim and Jill Kelly, along with their daughters, have started a foundation called Hunter’s Hope. I could tell that Jim has a special place in his heart for Hunter, and even though he admitted that he did not always show his emotional side around others, you could hear in his voice that his son, as well as his daughters and his wife, mean the world to him.

Q – Do you have a favorite quote?

“In order to be in your child’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their life today. I don’t know who wrote it but I was reading my prayer book and that was one of the sayings that made so much sense. In order to be in your child’s memories tomorrow, you’ve got to be in their lives today and that is so true and that’s something I live by each and every day and I’ve been living it for many years”

Q – How can you tell that your faith is changing your life?

“I feel a little better each and every day that I wake up and I don’t have to hide anything and I don’t have to worry about anything. I just leave it all in God’s hands and know that He has a purpose and He’s making me a better person.”

Jim has risen above the challenges that life has brought before him on the field and off of the field. He sees that God is working in his life and Jill’s life and that God is doing amazing things through Hunter’s life even though Hunter is with the Lord today. He never stayed down on the field, always thriving as one of the toughest quarterbacks to put on a jersey. He never has to stay down again because he has a Savior who will always be there to lift him up.

We can learn so much about the love of God through the losses we experience. What we can also learn is that making the most of the moments we are blessed with is something that will never leave us sunken in regret. Jim learned to praise God in the storm and God showed Jim how His plan is larger than anything Jim could have ever imagined.

* To fully talk about Hunter’s Hope, we will have a special article that will appear in a few weeks that will talk about this foundation. This is a special foundation and only giving it a few words as a part of this article would not do the foundation justice. If you have a child or if you know someone who has a child or is expecting a child, please have them read our special feature on Hunter’s Hope.

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