Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has a lot of respect for his parents Anna and Orbin Love.

Anna and Orbin, both of whom worked in the police force, raised Jordan and his three sisters – Kami, Emily and Alexis – in Bakersfield, California. As a child, Orbin’s dream was always for Jordan to become a professional football player. Despite all the criticism, Jordan’s father, a former player himself, believed from an early age that his son was destined for greatness in the sport.

As NFL fans know, Orbin’s instincts proved correct: Jordan was drafted by the Packers in the first round in 2020 as a backup quarterback to Aaron Rodgers. In the 2023 season, which was his first as the team’s starting quarterback, Jordan led them to the playoffs and completed 32 touchdown passes, the second-most in the league behind Dak Prescott.

Unfortunately, Orbin committed suicide on July 13, 2013, when Jordan was only 14 years old. After his death, Jordan considered quitting football altogether – but Anna encouraged the young athlete to continue pursuing his and his father’s shared dream.

“I was a backup quarterback and playing wide receiver, (and) things weren’t going the way I wanted, and I thought, man, I might have to give up,” Jordan recalled on The Pivot Podcast“My mom… she’s the one who really pushed me to hold on for another year and see what happens.”

Here you can find out everything you need to know about Jordan Love’s parents, Anna and Orbin Love.

Anna and Orbin named Jordan after a sports legend

Anna and Obrin welcomed their son Jordan Alexander Love on November 2, 1998.

The athlete reports that Orbin really wanted to name his son Michael Jordan after the legendary basketball star, but Anna was not so keen on the idea.

Eventually, the couple agreed to only use the professional basketball player’s last name to still pay tribute to the six-time Chicago Bulls champion.

Ironically, the Packers star has since been compared to the NBA legend by fans due to the football player’s energy and talent, as well as his occasional tongue wagging when throwing passes – a similar move that Michael was known for on the court.

Anna and Orbin served their community

For the couple, working in the police force and raising their four children was not an easy task.

Orbin was a police sergeant, Sunday school teacher, and youth pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church, while Anna worked as a highway patrol officer. Despite the challenges, both made a major impact on the city of Bakersfield through their work.

On the day of Orbin’s death in 2013, the Bakersfield Police Department posted a moving tribute on Instagram to the police sergeant, detective and officer who served for 27 years.

“Orbin’s name clearly reflected how his colleagues and community members felt about him, for he was truly loved,” the post said. “We will always remember him for his beautiful smile and as a man of faith.”

Anna’s time with the Highway Patrol also received a lot of praise. On Facebook, the California Highway Patrol for Bakersfield congratulated her and two other officers on their retirement in 2019 and thanked them for their combined 78 years of service to the community.

Orbin was incredibly proud of Jordan

Jordan told NFL.com that he and his father did everything together when he was growing up.

Orbin volunteered as an assistant coach for his various sports teams, helped him warm up before a big game, and even brought his son to impromptu basketball games with his police friends.

Whoever was listening, Orbin told them that his son would become a star quarterback.

“Anyone who knew him knew he was the happiest person you’d ever seen,” Jordan told the outlet. “He was always smiling. Even when things in his life were making him depressed, he never showed it.”

Jordan’s father Obrin died in 2013

When Ordin committed suicide on July 13, 2013 at the age of 51, Jordan and his family were devastated.

In an interview with NFL.com, the Packers quarterback talked about how his father’s behavior changed after a doctor changed his blood pressure medication a few days earlier.

In particular, Anna reported several instances of Orbin acting “weird,” and she knew something was wrong when he uncharacteristically missed one of Jordan’s games. After Anna found Orbin, a family member shared the news with Jordan, who later described it as the “darkest moment” of his life.

Since then, the professional footballer has spoken about what led to the tragedy that claimed the life of his best friend and coach.

“Our family knew it was the medication that was messing with his head, making him not act like himself, not behaving right,” he told the outlet. “When people make assumptions about depression that aren’t true, there’s nothing you can do about it. For me, knowing it was the medication is good enough.”

Anna doesn’t want to miss a single Jordan game

As one of Jordan’s biggest fans, Anna has made it a point to attend all of his football games. He recalls that this tradition began when he played college football at Utah State University.

“She’s been doing this since college when I was a redshirt freshman and knew I wouldn’t even dress to see the field, but she was there,” Jordan said The athlete in 2021. “I tell her, ‘You know I’m not playing, you don’t have to make an effort to come to these games.’ She says, ‘No, I’ll be there. I want to see you.’ So, that was great.”

He continued: “She’s been at every game. It’s nice to know she’s there. I try to find her in the stands. It’s a great feeling. She’s great. She’s incredible. Her being there just shows how much she loves me and cares about me.”

Even today, Anna refuses to cancel her commitment, even if it means she ends up at the back like she did a few years ago when Jordan made his first career start against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In a moment that quickly became a viral event of the 2021 season, NFL fans expressed their outrage after it was revealed during the Fox broadcast of the Packers’ game against the Chiefs that Anna and Jordan’s now-fiancée, Ronika Stone, had to sit in the last row of Arrowhead Stadium in the visiting team’s seating section.

Fortunately, Anna has been able to watch her son’s games from much better seats since then.

They are both Jordan’s role models

While many young athletes and NFL fans look up to Jordan, the Utah State University graduate says his mother and father have always been shining role models in his life.

“My parents are my superheroes,” he said on The Pivot Podcast“They were both cops, so I heard stories about how my dad fought crime… and then to lose him was hard.”

Although he suffered from the loss of his father, Jordan went on to say that the tragedy made him “mature emotionally” and taught him an important lesson.

“I learned at a young age that there are adversities in life,” he explained. “You want life to be perfect, you want to believe it’s a dream, a fairytale where everything is good and everyone is healthy. But life goes on and things happen and it’s not like that.”

Nevertheless, on the night he was drafted by the Packers, Jordan sincerely thanked Anna, Orbin and his friends and football players for helping him achieve his dream.

“I got through it with my family, my friends, my teammates and football,” he said. “I was able to lean on them and that helped me get through it. But I know if my dad was here, he would be super proud and would just have a lot of good things to say right now.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.