Impossible no more, Detroit: Fans rejoice as Lions keep unprecedented playoff run rolling

The Detroit Lions are one win away from the Super Bowl.

Tell even the most bullish Lions fan that statement at pretty much any point over the last 60 years, and they would probably suggest you put down the blue Kool-Aid and seek medical attention.

But now, after the Lions 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, the Motor City is ready to believe in what for so long proved impossible.

"I've been waiting my whole life for this,” said Nick Haddad, 28, of Livonia, minutes after the game. “I was born in ‘95, I have literally never seen a playoff run before.”

“This makes me feel like I’m top of the world.”

Mark Doutsas of Royal Oak was one of the many Lions fans giving total strangers high-fives as he exited Ford Field. Doutsas admitted even he was skeptical three years ago when the Lions announced the hires of Dan Campbell as head coach and Brad Holmes as general manager. Now, basking in a second playoff win, those doubts are long gone.

“Just what the history is like here, even when we hired Dan Campbell. I love him, but I (was) like, why are we hiring a tight ends coach?” Doutsas said. “But as soon as the first interview happened, I was thinking this was the beginning.”

As streams of fans, all draped in Honolulu blue and silver, poured into the Ford Field concourses after the Lions sealed the victory, chants of “Let’s go Lions!” and “Jared Goff!” broke out constantly. Total strangers embraced, all sharing in the revelry.

For a considerable portion of Sunday's game, the Lions appeared to teeter on the edge. Tampa Bay tied the game with seconds left in the second quarter, giving the Bucs the ball and momentum.

Yet in what would be the final half of Lions football played in Detroit this season, the faithful came out in a strong way.

Egged on by a dancing decibel meter showing how loud fans cheered throughout the game, the Lions supporters continuously grew louder as the game progressed. In the last crucial moments, Ford Field was deafening.

It wouldn’t be a Lions game without some (or a lot) of tension – when Tampa Bay regained possession down eight points with just under two minutes left, Haddad admitted he feared the worst.

That wouldn’t happen – third-year linebacker Derrick Barnes’ clinching interception gave Haddad and Lions fans around the world reason to keep the faith.

“I work in the area, and I could tell just leading up to the game, there’s an energy around here,” Haddad said. “Everybody’s getting together behind the Lions.”

Before Sunday, the season already amounted to one of the greatest for the franchise. Tying the record for most wins in a season, winning its first home playoff game since 1991 and providing a wildly entertaining brand of football clearly appealed to a fanbase desperate for success.

Fans eschewed the cold, snow and grey of January in Michigan to celebrate ahead of the game. They packed local bars and tailgating lots, blasting music and grilling food before heading for their seats.

Discussing the fans after the game, Campbell described why this season means so much to Detroit.

"Here man, it's harsh winters, auto industry, blue collar. Things aren't always easy. I just think, that's what we're about," Campbell said in the post-game press conference.

"You want something the city can be proud of. You can look at those guys and say, 'man, I can back those guys. I can back that team. I can resonate with those group of guys. Kind of salty. They don't quit, they play hard'...I think these guys, they have a kinship with this city and this area."

Before and during the game, fans expressed confidence in the Lions borne from Campbell and the vibe he's helped create for this team.

"He's Detroit versus everybody," Detroiter Donna Yaldo, 39, said of Campbell during a pregame tailgate inside Comerica Park.

More than 66,000 fans attended Sunday's game. But that's nothing new: the Lions averaged more than 65,000 fans for their regular season home games this year − essentially selling every seat. Even with at-times astronomical price increases, demand for season tickets next year is through the roof − as of mid-December, there were more than 9,000 people on the waitlist.

There's an old joke Lions fans told during the many recent forgettable seasons: someone would leave a couple of tickets under the windshield of their car before heading into the store, figuring someone else would take them as a freebie. When the disgruntled fan returned though, they'd find another four tickets had joined the original pair.

These are not those Lions.

"Everything inside, I feel like I'm lifted up, man. Honestly, I feel like there's helium inside of me," said Jacob Morningstar, 33, about an hour before kickoff. He traveled hundreds of miles from Kentucky with his seven-year-old son Gavin to attend their first home Lions game.

"I try not to buy into the hype that the Lions will crush, crush, crush, because I don't want to jinx anything. But man, these Lions are... solid this year."

Now the Lions move on to face the top seed in the National Football Conference, the San Francisco 49ers. The last time the Lions made it to the NFL championship, way back in 1957, what team did they have to defeat to make it to the final game?

The 49ers.

For generations of Detroit Lions fans, hope became a dirty word, one burdened by the pain of too many losses. But now, as they prepare to watch next week's game – Ford Field is hosting a watch party – Lions lovers can't help but feel the tug of anticipation.

“I’m a diehard, so it’s special to me,” Doustas said. “I’ve loved the Lions my entire life. I’ve never seen it happen, never been this close. I’m excited.”

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X, previously called Twitter, @Dave_Boucher1. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions fans elated as Detroit defeats Bucs, one stop closer to Super Bowl