Detroit Lions cornerback Justin Coleman just happened to pick up a Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe jersey from a sporting goods store in Seattle while he was playing for the Seahawks.
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Having grown up in Georgia and then playing in Seattle, Coleman wasn’t much of a hockey fan. But he liked the jersey, and bought it. Little did he know that he’d soon end up playing in the same city that Howe earned the nickname “Mr. Hockey” in.
“I was probably thinking about what type of outfit I was going to wear for the game and then we went to a Fanatics shop,” Coleman said. “They had old hockey jerseys. They had random Mighty Duck jerseys.
“But that jersey kind of stood out. I actually wanted every jersey in there that was a hockey jersey.”
Following last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, Coleman broke out the Howe jersey before he left the venue. He’s still learning when it comes to hockey, but there’s always time!
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“I mean, I’m not a big fan,” he said. “I don’t know too many names. I only know about three names total in hockey. OK, I know Howe now. I know (Alexander) Ovechkin and — (the third) it’s not catching me right now.”
He does have a collection of hockey jerseys going, numbering between 10-15 now.
“I don’t have that many,” he said. “I just started getting into it. I’ve like 10, 15 of them. It’s just — I don’t know. It’s just something I caught on to that being it’s long sleeves in this cold weather, it’s perfect.”
Whenever Coleman makes it to Little Caesars Arena for a Red Wings game, he’ll have the appropriate wear to fit right in.
“That was a good start with it,” he said of the Howe jersey. “It was nothing specific to it. I just saw the jersey, I liked it. I had no idea I’d end up here, but it just turned out to be a major coincidence.”
