Yahoo Finance Detroit Lions Cheer on Quarterback's Olympic Hurdler Wife Melissa Gonzalez During Team Watch Party
Matthias Hangst/Getty
Melissa Gonzalez could feel the love all the way from Tokyo.
While competing at the Tokyo Summer Olympics on Saturday, the 27-year-old hurdler set a Colombian national record when she ran a 55.32, qualifying for the semifinal round of the 400m hurdles.
Although he couldn't be there in person, her husband David Blough — a quarterback for the Detroit Lions — was rooting her on the entire time during a watch party with the rest of his team.
A video posted on the team's official Twitter page shows Blough, 26, was his wife's biggest cheerleader as he watched her race from the front row of one of the Lions' team meeting rooms. "We gotta go, Mel!" he kept shouting until she crossed the finish line, before cheering along with the rest of his teammates.
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"It was about the best birthday present you could ever ask for in her just being there," Blough said in a news conference on Saturday, according to ESPN, as he celebrated his 26th birthday. "We're so thankful."
He later took to his Instagram Story with a photo of González celebrating her victory, writing, "My heart!"
LFG 😤 pic.twitter.com/9cu4NKTuEX
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) July 31, 2021
Gonzalez also rejoiced in her big moment on Instagram, while passing along a special message to her husband. "On to the Semis! Thank you everyone for all the messages and love and encouragement and support staying locked in for the next round!" she wrote, adding, "Also Happy happy birthday to my ♥️ @david_blough11."
Blough and his teammates previously gave her some words of encouragement, wishing her luck as they came off the field following Friday's practice. "Thank you for all you've done," he wrote to his teammates, sharing the video on his Instagram Story.
"Melissa, we want to wish you the best of luck tonight. Go give them hell," Lions Coach Dan Campbell said in the clip. "Go get this. We'll take care of your husband for you. Good luck."
David Blough/Instagram
"Melissa, David never talks about you, we have no idea what's going on," fellow quarterback Jared Goff joked. "Good luck tonight. Do your thing, we'll all be watching."
"Love you, honey," Blough said in his short but sweet message, noting on Saturday that he also sent her a personal video after her race, which made her "emotional and cry."
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Gonzalez and Blough are high school sweethearts and both attended Creekview High School in Carrollton, Texas. Although she was born and raised in the United States, she has dual citizenship in Colombia.
To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
