By now you know the Detroit Lions did not win the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, and they are not going to the Super Bowl.
Michigan had a collective emotional hangover (maybe physical, too) on Monday after a magical season closed with that harsh reality.
But it’s just a game. Right?
Technically, sure. But this is a game that changes America. The Detroit Lions were a laughingstock for years, a fumbling organization that squandered Heisman trophy winners and couldn’t win even with the elite Matthew Stafford throwing to the phenomenal Calvin Johnson. Every football fan in the country knew that the Lions were terrible. For decades. While our neighbors in Green Bay won championships and Super Bowls and rocked one star QB after another, the Lions festered.
When Dan Campbell muscled his way into the head coach position, he told reporters that Detroit was going to become known for their strength. He promised they’d “bite kneecaps” off their opponents.
It sounded ridiculous, and those comments didn’t get much play. But Detroit did indeed get tougher. Even Campbell himself looks stronger and more imposing now than he did two seasons ago, as if he was evolving right next to his team. News crews dug out that old footage this year and re-aired it as proof that the aggressive risk-taker had known what he was doing all along.
Sports analysts got excited before this year’s pre-season even started. Fans bought into the hype. Then the Lions devoured the Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener – the Chiefs, with the dreamy Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce duo, who were fresh off their Super Bowl win. Topped by the Lions.
What a start to the season! And what a season it was.
The Lions learned to roar, and fans filled Ford Field for home games. A huge contingent of Lions fans traveled to away games. Lions doubters changed their tune.
Michigan stood tall, shoulders back. So this is what it’s like to have a team that represents us!
America noticed, too. Taylor Swift definitely heard about the Lions, though she probably wouldn’t have cheered for them if they had made it to the Super Bowl. Newspapers far and wide including all the big ones wrote about the Lions. Look how the headlines changed over the season: September 6, 2023: The Atlantic My lifelong obsession with the worst team in the NFL September 8, 2023: CNN The Lions shock reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs as 2023 NFL season gets underway September 30, 2023: CBS Sports Packers address Lions fans taking over Lambeau Field in Detroit’s convincing victory on Thursday night January 8, 2024: New York Times How the Detroit Lions can make the playoffs January 22, 2024: Wall Street Journal The Loud Man Who Made the Detroit Lions a Super Bowl Threat January 23, 2024: USA Today What was the world like when the Detroit Lions last made the NFC Championship game?
January 23, 2024: CBS News What is the social impact of the Detroit Lions winning?
January 23, 2024: New York Times Detroit Businesses are Loving the Lions’ Playoff Run January 24, 2025: WXYZ Detroit Delta adds flight for Lions fans heading to San Francisco, swaps in larger plane January 30, 2024: AP News Analysis: Despite all the heartbreaks and mistakes, the future looks bright for the Lions and Ravens That’s quite a trajectory for the beleaguered team from “south Detroit”, as Journey would say.
Watching the Lions win as a longtime Lions fan was like being invited into a club or a family. And not a miserable club, like the one we were members of for those long decades of football nightmares. A cool kids club this time.
As the Lions pounced on the division championship, defeated the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs, and came within a whisker of the Super Bowl, they won America’s heart. We do love something new, don’t we? And a winning Detroit Lions team is new indeed.
Michigan will reap the benefits of this successful era for a long time. For starters, the team is young. They’re going to stay relevant for years. But on top of that, success breeds success, and when our team wins, we win. Our mood, our economy, our reputation – they’ll all be better off because of this. Even without winning the Super Bowl.
This year. You can reach Carol at cstiffler@mynewberrynews. com
