Detroit – Mike Holmgren is on his own this week.
The support of his wife, Kathy, will be in spirit only. As the Seattle Seahawks’ coach said Sunday, Kathy has more important business than Super Bowl XL this week.
Kathy is a registered nurse and will accompany the Holm- grens’ daughter, Calla, to Congo on Thursday on a medical mission. Kathy Holmgren went on the same mission more than 30 years ago, and now she will be there to help her daughter.
The mission was planned more than four months ago. Only afterward did the family realize that it would be during the week of the Super Bowl and that maybe mother and daughter would be missing the happenings in Detroit.
“This is much more important than what I’m doing,” Holmgren said. “I’ll tell her who won when she gets back.”
Playing for Hamlin
The Seahawks lost one of their key players, safety Ken Hamlin, in mid-October. Hamlin was brutally beaten and suffered major head injuries outside a nightclub in downtown Seattle hours after the Seahawks defeated Houston 42-10 on Oct. 16 at home.
Hamlin was sidelined for the season, and his injuries included a small blood clot and bruising of brain tissue. But after being released from a hospital after a long stay there, Hamlin has become an inspirational presence for the Seahawks. He has been on the team’s sideline recently, and Holmgren said Hamlin has become the team’s “biggest cheerleader.”
“It’s great to have him around,” Holmgren said. “What happened was a sad event.”
