Damar Hamlin Shares His Mindset On Returning To Cincinnati Less Than A Year After Near-Death Incident

Where were you when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on Monday Night Football against Cincinnati in 2022? 

I was at a gym refereeing a men’s league basketball game, and we had a break in the action. I remember walking over to a TV, and seeing Tee Higgins collide with Hamlin as he fought for extra yards. After seeing Hamlin fall to the ground unconscious from the bone-crunching force, I thought, “Wow, what a hit.” I left to go back to the courts, thinking Hamlin would surely come back to his senses in a few minutes.

Hamlin's teammates, most of America, and I had no idea if Damar Hamlin would survive that infamous collision on Monday Night Football January of 2022. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

But after several more check-ins on the game and as time moved on uncomfortably, I realized just how serious - and life-threatening - the hit was. That night, I grappled with the fact that I might have just witnessed the death of a professional athlete on live TV. 

Fortunately, that’s not what happened. Hamlin pulled through and made a miraculous recovery, and is back to playing football this year. Despite appearing in only one game thus far (while being a healthy inactive for the others), the fact he’s even on an NFL roster one year later is nothing short of miraculous.

Damar Hamlin Is Not Intimidated By Returning To Cincinnati

On Sunday, he and the Buffalo Bills venture back to Paycor Stadium, the same field where his life hung in the balance. You wouldn’t blame the guy for being nervous about heading back to a field where a traumatic event happened.

But once again, Hamlin continues to surprise us all. 

“I’m super thrilled. I’m super excited. I’m a thousand emotions. I’m every emotion, all the good ones and the bad ones. But there’s strength in that,” Hamlin told the Associated Press. “And I think there’s strength in walking through the fire, and walking into your fears.”

“My focus is on getting a win,” he added. “That’s going to be my message to all of my teammates.”

Hamlin shared his mindset heading into the matchup on an appearance of “The Voncast,” hosted by his teammate Von Miller.

“I think it's going to be super electric, and I think it's going to be nothing but love,” Hamlin said.

There’s a reason this guy is the odds-on favorite to win the NFL’s “Comeback Player of the Year Award.” This guy’s mindset and story are nothing short of remarkable.

The battle in the jungle begins on Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. While not everyone watching will root for one of the teams, everyone watching will be a Damar Hamlin fan.