Christopher Kube always said he’d take his father and brother to the Super Bowl one day.

About two decades later, he’s got them going to another high-profile league event.

Members of Christopher’s family — his father (David), stepmother (Krista) and three of his four siblings (Jonathan, Jessica and Jennifer) — were slated to be on hand at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the 2025 NFL Draft. They were to be directly involved in the festivities, too, set to announce the Detroit Lions‘ second-round pick Friday.

The Kube family is receiving the opportunity through the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit organization partnered with the NFL designed to support those who have lost a family member in the military. Christopher, an Army veteran, was killed during his deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, in July 2007. He was 18 years old.

“This is all his doing,” David said of his family being invited to the draft. “If it wasn’t for Chris and his situation, we wouldn’t have been involved with TAPS. I think Chris is doing this, and we’ve got to do it for his honor.”

‘A die-hard Detroit fan’

Christopher, born in Shelby Township, grew up watching the Lions, Red Wings and Tigers. The state of the economy in the early-to-mid 2000s made it difficult for his family to attend games, but Jonathan, about two years younger than Christopher, remembers keeping up with their favorite teams through the television broadcasts.

“Very animated with all the games,” Krista recalled while smiling.

The Lions made the playoffs six times during Christopher’s life, though each appearance came before his 12th birthday, and only one of those postseason runs featured a victory; Barry Sanders led Detroit to the NFC Championship Game during the 1991 season, when Christopher was 3 years old.

But the lack of local success didn’t stop the family from throwing annual Super Bowl parties, which always included pierogies and chicken wings. Those gatherings resulted in some of the family’s favorite memories with Christopher, who hoped his Lions eventually would grow into a contending team he could root for in February.

“He was a die-hard Detroit fan for all the teams,” Jonathan said.

‘Telling us to do this’

David said Christopher was “a little bit troubled” in his youth, but things turned around dramatically after he enrolled in and later graduated from the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy near Kalamazoo. Christopher enjoyed the military-like structure, and he returned home as a “totally different kid,” Krista said. He also came back with a plan to enlist in the Army, which he did in October 2005 at 17 years old.

In preparation for boot camp, Christopher would go on runs throughout his neighborhood. David would trail him in a car, using the odometer to track how far he had run.

The Kubes have been connected with TAPS since Christopher’s death, which was the result of his Humvee being struck by an explosive device. While deployed in Baghdad, Christopher volunteered to become a member of the Personal Security Detachment, responsible for conducting combat patrols and providing security for battalion leadership and distinguished visitors.

Representatives of TAPS contacted Christopher’s family during the 2024 football season, asking them if they’d be interested in attending Detroit’s Salute to Service game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in November. The family agreed and got to meet “every single player” on the Lions.

“What a great bunch of guys,” David said. “It was a great honor to the fallen servicemen.”

TAPS reached back out to Jonathan following the Jaguars game and inquired about the family’s interest in traveling to Green Bay to announce a pick at the draft. The Lions are currently slated to be on the clock at No. 60 overall, the fifth-to-last selection in the second round.

“When families come to TAPS, they work with people on our Survivor Care Team. They’re made aware of all the different services that we have; the opportunities to have a peer mentor, to really understand how they can walk the journey with other survivors,” said Diana Hosford, the vice president of the sports and entertainment arm of TAPS. “And then there are different programs within the organization.

“We have an education program; we have a women’s empowerment program. I have the sports and entertainment program. Families will reach out to us and tell us they’ve had meaningful memories with a certain team or athlete, and we go ahead and make that connection.”

The plan is for David to speak on behalf of the family and for Jonathan to announce the name, position and school of Detroit’s choice. David is admittedly anxious about being on stage in front of such a large crowd — he remembers how many people (approximately 775,000 throughout the week) were in attendance at the draft in Detroit last year — but he’s not going to let nerves get in the way of honoring his son.

“His spirit is telling us to do this,” David said.