Ex-Canton resident surprises his Lions-loving daughter with priceless gift

Kinsley and Bryson Machonga will be attending Saturday’s Detroit Lions playoff game after Bryson’s Facebook post helped him secure two tickets.
As a resident of Appleton, Wisconsin — a short drive from Green Bay — 8-year-old Detroit Lions-loving Kinsley Machonga is in the 1% of her second-grade class who doesn’t cheer relentlessly for the Packers.
“Kinsley absolutely loves the Lions,” said her dad Bryson, who lived in Canton for over 10 years, graduating from Plymouth Christian Academy and Madonna University, before moving back to his native Wisconsin with his wife Lauren in 2013.
“When her school has special Packers days, all the kids wear Green Bay jerseys, but not Kinsley.”
A huge Lions fan through thick and thin (mostly thin) since 2002 when his family moved from Madison, Wisconsin, to southeast Michigan, Bryson Machonga’s passion for Detroit’s Super Bowl-less team rubbed off on his oldest of three daughters, who is often seen wearing her Amon-Ra St. Brown jersey throughout Packer Country.
Lauren and Kinsley’s younger sisters — Gigi and Mia — are also huge Lions fans.
Worth the price of tix
“Once the Lions clinched the No. 1 seed, I thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to take Kinsley to Saturday’s playoff game,” Machonga explained. “I knew the tickets were going to be costly, but I figured it would be something neither Kinsley nor I would ever forget.

“We’ve been to Lions games when they played at Lambeau Field, but Kinsley has never attended a game at Ford Field.”
On Jan. 7, Machonga created a Facebook post, asking his friends for help in securing two playoff tickets — a tall order given the humongous demand for tickets.
A few days later, however, Machonga secured two tickets to Saturday’s game thanks to friends CT and Dawn Bergs.
Spectacular surprise
He surprised Kinsley by presenting her with a letter explaining the adventure they are about to experience.
When Kinsley reached the last sentence in the letter, her face was engulfed by an ear-to-ear smile. She then gleefully hugged her dad tightly, like Alex Anzalone wrapping up a running back.
“To help pay for the tickets, I sold an autographed Matthew Stafford Lions jersey and a few other pieces of memorabilia, but the experience will be worth it,” Machonga explained Friday afternoon, while making the close-to-eight-hour trek with Lauren and his three daughters from Appleton to Lauren’s parents’ home in Canton.
“Gates to Ford Field open at 5 p.m., so we’ll get there no later than 5:30 so we can soak it all in.”
‘Spend time with daddy’
(Watch Kinsley learn she is attending Saturday’s playoff game by clicking here.)
Kinsley, who hasn’t stopped smiling since learning she’d be attending Saturday’s game, has created a Wish List, of sorts, for Saturday.

In addition to wanting to high-five a player, see Amon-Ra, King David (Montgomery) and Jamyr (Gibbs), Kinsley’s list is highlighted by, “Spend time with daddy”.
Show and Tell will be extra special next week for Kinsley Machonga once she returns home to Packer Country.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.