Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly says her children cried when Lions fans booed her and husband

It wasn't a warm homecoming for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford in his return to Detroit for the first time in the NFC wild-card matchup, with Lions fans booing their former star any time they could.

But Stafford's wife, Kelly, said the booing wasn't just exclusive to her husband, saying she and her children were booed by the home crowd. On her Instagram story, Kelly Stafford commented on the fan response to her and her family's return to Detroit.

"It's sports," Kelly wrote. "The city wants to win. Everything is fair game. Except the fans who booed my children."

Stafford also said other than the booing she loved the atmosphere inside Ford Field for Detroit's 24-23 win, as the booing added more fuel to the fire for her husband.

Kelly Stafford explains Detroit crowd booing her and family

Stafford gave more explanation to the situation on her "The Morning After Podcast". When asked about it, she said she didn't expect a standing ovation for her husband, especially since he won a Super Bowl with the Rams after leaving, and it was a playoff game the Rams and Lions were playing in.

"You are specifically booing my husband when he ran on that field, and that's OK," Stafford said. "I truly don't know what I expected. But I wasn't surprised."

However, what Stafford didn't like was when her husband appeared to be injured late in the third quarter of the game after taking a hit to the midsection and his head hitting the turf hard, and she said some Lions fans were cheering for it. She then said one of her children was crying prior to the game because of the booing her and her husband were receiving.

"My girls and I are not playing the game. I know that my girls are not getting booed. I am, and I can handle it," Stafford said. "But when I have my girls next to me, there's something to be said of like, maybe not?"

Stafford said after she spoke with Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford, the walk to the Rams side of the field "was not fun," but it was better when she was around the rest of the Rams' family in attendance. One of the team personnel with Stafford said they had never experienced a moment like this when it came to fans booing the family, and Stafford said "it is what it is." She explained to her children what was happening, too.

"I go, 'Oh guys, they're not booing you. They are not booing you. They're booing mommy. They're very passionate and excited about this game. They want their Lions to win, we are on the other team,'" she said. "'They're not booing you, they're not booing your sisters, they're booing some of the things that have gone on in the past and we just have to move, we have to move past it, and we have to focus on the good,'"

Despite the booing, Stafford said on Instagram she's still rooting for the Lions in the playoffs and wants them "to bring home a Lombardi."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matthew Stafford's wife says Lions fans made her kids cry with booing