QB Love reflects on losing ‘superhero’ dad
For young Green Bay Packers fans today, quarterback Jordan Love might seem to them like a superhero.
A player who can wow them with his side-arm and off-balance throws. A player who is unflappable on the field. A player who leads their favorite team. Love’s superhero was always his dad. The man who fought crime as a police officer. The man who taught him to throw a football and who played catch with him in the front yard. The man who would tell his colleagues at the Bakersfield Police Department that one day his son would be in the NFL. It didn’t matter if they were skeptical and would laugh at him. Orbin Love was a man who dreamt big for his son.
Love fulfilled his dad’s dream but Orbin isn’t here to see it.
Love opened up about losing his father as well as his mom’s impact on his life — another person he calls a superhero — during a recent appearance on “The Pivot,” a podcast hosted by former NFL players Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder.
Love touched on several pivotal moments in his life during the 48-minute conversation.
How he was a lightly recruited player out of high school — basketball was actually his first love and he was one of the shortest players on the freshman team — to a first-round NFL pick, the experiences as a backup for three years with the Packers, his rise as a first-year starting quarterback, his masterful playoff debut and his goals in 2024.
Jordan Love on ‘ The Pivot’ podcast: Packers quarterback calls his parents ‘superheroes’
But the most powerful moments of the talk came early on when Love shared his inner feelings after his dad died by suicide caused by what the family describes as “a medical demon” following a change in Orbin’s blood pressure medication.
Jordan Love was 14 years old.
“That was a difficult time,” Love said in the podcast. “Just losing my father, that was tough, the man I look up to, the man who raised me, losing a parent is a very hard situation.”
“You lose the person who’s taught you so much in life, it was hard,” Love continued. “It was very hard being a kid just not understanding why the situation happens. Obviously, know people pass away and life goes on.”
But Love added “for it to be your dad you never thought that were to happen. That’s my superhero. My parents were my superheroes. Both were police officers. Heard stories about my dad fighting crime. He seems like a superhero. To lose him was tough.”
Jordan Love’s mom encouraged him to continue playing football when he thought about quitting after dad’s death
Love lost his superhero on July 13, 2013. Orbin Love was 51 years old.
But his other superhero was there for him. That fall, Love then thought about quitting football in high school.
At the time, he was a backup quarterback and was playing wide receiver. He had yet to hit his big growth spurt.
“Stuff wasn’t going my way,” Love said. “I might have to give it up, and my mom knowing my dad’s dream was me being an athlete (she said) stick it out another year, see what happens. Ended up sticking it out that year, became the starting quarterback, was able to fight that adversity, get over that uphill battle and come out better from it on the other end.”
Love, now 25 years old, told the former NFL players that his three sisters and mom were his support system that year.
Love’s mom continues to support her son. She was there in Kansas City when he made his first career start in 2021 and then in Chicago this past season when he took over as the starter for Aaron Rodgers.
There might not have been anyone cheering louder from the stands at Soldier Field than Anna Love.
“My mom, she’s awesome,” Love said. “She’s a superstar. She is always looking out for me and making sure everything is good with me and my sisters. She’s awesome. A blessing.”
Jordan Love had extended support system in high school following dad’s passing
So were a couple other male role models for Love in the first year after his dad’s death.
He said on the podcast that one of his friend’s dad — Mr. Hicks — was a positive influence in his life as was his high school football coach at Liberty High School, Bryan Nixon.
“He was there and someone I always looked up to,” Love said about Nixon.
“Helped me through the journey of football. Continued to push me, told me I was going to go to college, I was going to grow into my body and become a really good player.
“I had those two guys, I had uncles, my grandpa was somebody that I look up to and checked on me after this incident and made sure I was all right.
“The list goes on, but I think the biggest one was my mom.”
Mental health resources Crisis lines
Pathfinders 24-hour local line for youth in crisis: 414-271-1560
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
HOPELINE: For emotional support, text “Hopeline” to 741-741