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T
HE TRIP THAT changed the
course of the 2021 NFL season
started with an unusual forecast
for Los Angeles: gloomy, with a
significant chance of rain. The
weather matched the mood of
the Rams football team, after
the Packers ended their season
with a bludgeoning at Lambeau Field.
Veronika Khomyn knew her fiancé, Sean McVay,
needed to get away. So she called Melissa Whitworth,
whose husband, Andrew, played left tackle for McVay.
“Do you want to get out of here?” Khomyn asked. No
hesitation. Of course they did.
Both couples—and all four of the Whitworth chil-
dren—departed that Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. They f lew to
Cabo San Lucas and settled in at the Chileno Bay Resort.
The plan: relax, swim, sleep and down more than a few
drinks with fresh fruit and mini umbrellas in them, all
to forget a second forgettable season following their
Super Bowl appearance in February 2019. None of them
knew then the dizzying chain of events that phone call
would set in motion. “Honestly, it’s not even believable,”
Melissa says. “But it’s the truth.”
Retired NFL guard Clint Boling was home in
Atlanta,when he realized mutual friends were vaca-
tioning in the same place and wanted to connect them.
He sent Andrew Whitworth a text: Matthew Stafford
wants to play golf with you. Whitworth replied: Give him
my number.
Originally, the Lions QB had intended to vacation
at Baker’s Bay in the Bahamas. But with a hurricane
approaching he made a last-minute, fateful switch.
Stafford and Whitworth met Saturday morning at
the Chileno Bay Club Golf Course.
Whitworth could sense Stafford’s heightened stress
level. Both play regularly and boast low handicaps,
scoring in the 70s. But on this day, even in paradise,
something seemed off. His phone buzzed and buzzed
and buzzed.
Sensing an internal conf lict, Whitworth spoke from
his own experience. In 11 seasons with Cincinnati, the
Bengals had made six postseason appearances without a
single victory. He had become a pillar, both in the com-
munity and at left tackle on the offensive line. Change
was scary, yet necessary, and one person had made it
less terrifying: McVay. W hitworth didn’t want to sway
Stafford. Whitworth told him, “Listen, I want you to
think on this, because it’s the rest of your life; it’s your
legacy. You should go where you feel most comfortable.”2022 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSSUPER BOWL LVIJOHN^ W.^ M
CDONOUGH