David Montgomery will be playing with a bigger purpose on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions' star running back is returning to Cincinnati, his hometown, to take on the Bengals in Week 5.
But it's not just a homecoming.
It's also a chance for his sister to watch him play.
“I think this is really special for me because my sister gets to come to the game,” Montgomery said this week, via Pride of Detroit. “Almost a year ago—maybe a year and a half—on Valentine’s Day, my sister got in a really bad car accident. Now she’s paralyzed from the neck down. She, obviously, can’t move, but this will be the first game that my sister can actually see me play with her own eyes. So I’m super, super excited about that, and I’m just happy that she’ll be able to be there.”
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Montgomery starred in high school at Mount Healthy in the Cincy area before going to be a college star at Iowa State.
He has only ever played the Bengals away from Cincinnati until now.
“I think it’s just going to be a rush of emotions,” Montgomery said. “I have never played in Cincinnati since leaving Cincinnati, which will be cool. Playing against the team that, when I grew up, that was the team, was like my team. That was a hometown kid. A bunch of my family members are coming.”
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The Lions continue to utilize their impressive two-headed backfield of Jahmyr Gibbs and Montgomery.
On this day, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Lions try to get Montgomery in the end zone.
There'll be a lot of his favorite people in the stadium rooting him on, and even with Detroit being the visiting team, there'd be some serious Cincinnati pride to see Montgomery find the end zone.
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