Kenneth Walker overcame blood clots to win ‘surreal’ Super Bowl MVP playing in front of dad for first time

The Seattle Seahawks comfortably claimed its second Super Bowl in franchise history on Sunday.

Seattle’s defense stood tall, dominating Drake Maye and the New England Patriots, winning the game 29-13.

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The Seahawks shut the Patriots out for three quarters, before a Maye-Hollins touchdown in the fourth quarter ended the chances of a first ever Super Bowl shutout.

Seattle’s running-back Kenneth Walker III took home the MVP award, the first RB to do so since 1998 when Denver Bronco’s Terrell Davis won it for his performance in Super Bowl XXII.

Walker rushed 27 times for 135 yards, and had two receptions for 26 yards. It could have been a lot more.

He had a 49-yard touchdown run called back by a holding penalty on center Jalen Sundell with 2:01 remaining in the game.

Walker’s performance was key to Seattle’s victory, and his award is made to feel much better knowing there was once a time he thought he may never play football again.

Walker III overcame blood clot scare to continue pursuing career in NFL

Entering his senior year at Arlington High in Tennessee, his football career almost ended before it even started.

In 2018, he woke up struggling to breath, leading to an emergency room visit and a diagnosis of bloodclots in his lungs.

Doctors told him that he would never be able to play football again.

“When the doctor told me I couldn’t play no more, I just thought football was over, it’s what I was doing all my life,” Walker told reporters after the game.

“It was a shocking moment, but you know my dad worked with me throughout that whole process and he was in the hospital with me as well as my mom.

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“Going through that, it just made me grateful for each and every day just to be able to go out there and strap up and play this game and just still be alive.”

Seeking additional options, Walker turned to blood thinner medication that allowed him to get back on the football field.

Walker won Super Bowl MVP playing in front of dad for the first time

As if overcoming adversity and winning Super Bowl MVP wasn’t enough, the Walker family celebrated a huge achievement at Super Bowl LX.

Walker’s dad, also named Kenneth, was watching his first ever live game of football, and it wasn’t his son who sold it to him.

“My dad, he comes out to Seattle and watches games, but he never actually goes to the game because he doesn’t like crowds. 

“This was his first NFL game and we won a Super Bowl so it means a lot to me and I know he is proud of me for real. 

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“I wasn’t the one who convinced him [to go to the game], it was actually my agent.

“I didn’t think he would come, but he did and they ended up mic’ing him up and everything so he got out of his comfort zone.”

“If I would tell myself as a kid right now, I wouldn’t have guessed that I would be the one to win the MVP,” Walker said, via NFL.com. “So, this is a surreal moment, and it doesn’t happen without the guys in the locker room.”

Seeing your son win Super Bowl MVP is undoubtably a special feeling, and fans will be looking forward to seeing Kenneth Jr’s mic’d up content from the Super Bowl.

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