Support for the Lions isn’t restricted to Detroit; it’s also on the West Coast.
SANTA CLARA— The tailgating scene before Sunday’s NFC Championship game was spectacular, with booming trumpets drowning out Jared Goff chants and fans dressed in Honolulu blue and silver leading a march at Levi’s Stadium.
Fans of both the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers established the tone. Among the many strange aspects of the Lions’ improbable season, their fan support from non-native Michiganders around the country may be the most unusual.
Craig Alley, a Phoenix, Arizona citizen, has been drinking Lions Kool-Aid for 15 years. His fondness for the squad originates from having family members who live there, as well as his admiration for their tenacity, which he believes they had prior to Dan Campbell. For that reason, he enjoys their current run.
They’ve been a low-end team. They’ve always been the underdog, and I feel like I’ve always identified with that, you know? Alley informed MLive. “So I’m constantly rooting for the Lions. I was a huge Peyton Manning fan, and I had to move on after he left for the (Denver) Broncos, so I developed a strong affection for the Lions.”
Dan Campbell has done an excellent job with the Lions. Everyone is just coming together. We’ve always had star players, but I don’t think we’ve ever been able to be unified about it. I believe this is our moment to shine, and we’re finally here at the NFC Championship.
Ethan Nam, a Los Angeles native, is in the same boat as Alley in that he has never visited Michigan yet supports the Lions. However, Nam’s argument was different. Nam, wearing Honolulu Blue face paint and a Los Angeles Rams No. 16 jersey, revealed that his Lions devotion is around Jared Goff.
In 2021, the Lions transferred Matthew Stafford to the Rams in return for Jared Goff and a few of draft picks, which Lions general manager Brad Holmes used to develop numerous starters. Following the deal, Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI triumph in his first season in LA.
“I feel like that trade was a win-win,” Nam went on to say. “We won a Super Bowl ring, and it’s all love for Jared Goff. Even though he beat us in the wild card game, we still adore Jared Goff.
Nam stated that, in his perspective, Los Angeles still has a sweet spot in their hearts for Goff, who led the Rams to Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots and lost 13-3. Despite failing to score a touchdown that day, Goff believes there is no shame in losing to a Patriots club coached by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, saying, “He’s (still) our guy all the way. “He’s a Rams fan since the beginning.”
Colin Landry, unlike Alley and Nam, is from Michigan and was dressed in Lions gear from head to toe. Landry, who is originally from Ann Arbor, has lived in San Diego for the past seven years. He was struck with emotion as he stood in the center of Levi’s Stadium’s parking lot, watching the Lions fans cheer.
“To have everybody here and to show that this is the type of fan base that’ll come out for this kind of thing, this feels like a family,” Landry said in a statement. “This is what we’ve all been waiting for, I’m not sure, maybe 25 years. This is what I’ve been waiting for, and it’s what I knew we were capable of. We just needed a man like Dan Campbell or Jared Goff.”
Landry, 25, has been a football lover since he could pick up a football. His passion for Lions football began in 2002, when the team drafted Joey Harrington as the third overall choice out of Oregon. Landry also expressed his admiration for Jon Kitna’s stint with the Lions, whom the team acquired in 2006.
Harrington and Kitna’s time in Detroit was marked by devastating losses and a lone 7-9 season in 2007 under previous coach Rod Marinelli. As a result, Landry is doing everything he can to enjoy the moment when the Lions are one win away from making their first Super Bowl appearance, something he believes they will be able to achieve.
Harrington and Kitna’s time in Detroit was highlighted by devastating losses and a single 7-9 season in 2007 under former coach Rod Marinelli. As a result, Landry is doing everything he can to savor the fact that the Lions are one win away from making their first Super Bowl trip, which he feels they will be able to do.
“I think if Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr (Gibbs), and (David) Montgomery can get it together, I don’t think anybody can stop us,” Landry said in a statement. “I believe the defense will be just good enough to stop their offense. I believe Deebo (Samuel) is hurt. Christian McCaffrey is slow. “I think we’ve got them.”
