NBC's Mike Tirico said Detroit Lions playoff Ford Field atmosphere will stick with him

Like many Detroit Lions fans, Mike Tirico will not forget the scenes inside Ford Field last Sunday for a long time.

Tirico, the NBC play-by-play broadcaster who called the game, said he will never forget the scenes and atmosphere created by Lions fans as the team took down the Los Angeles Rams, led by former quarterback Matthew Stafford, in a nail-biting 24-23 victory to snap a 32-year drought in the playoffs.

In an appearance on ESPN's NFL podcast, "This is Football with Kevin Clark," Tirico said he showed up to Ford Field early and watched as a nearly-packed Ford Field cheered on the Green Bay Packers so they could have another home playoff game, booed Stafford during warmups, chanted Goff's name loudly and build an intimidating home atmosphere.

"That atmosphere built and built and built, right to the crescendo at the end," Tirico said. "And to have it come down to a play, and (they) make the play and they get a minute and a half to celebrate it. I think looking at the people beneath us in the booth and the folks in the stands will be the thing that sticks with me for a long time."

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The atmosphere in Detroit, which they compared to a rabid college basketball arena, has been building for a long time as the wait for a Lions playoff victory went from years to decades to generations. Tirico, an Ann Arbor native, said he also believes part of it is because the Lions' team identity matches the city of Detroit as a whole — a place that had to show resilience and have a resurgence.

"I just think that sports connect people in ways that nothing else does," Tirico said. "And that's a little bit of what happened here. So it was the stop beating us up — that Detroit vs. Everybody. That, plus watching a fun team. Because going for it on fourth down, an aggressive style of play, aggressive defense, an offense that can move the ball down the field on the ground or in the air — it was kind of a fun element to watching this team play. I think all of that together kind of built up to what it was like on that Sunday night."

Tirico and Clark both agreed a big reason for the turnaround has been Dan Campbell, who has embraced the spirit of Detroit and vowed a change after being with the team during their lowest moment in 2008. Clark said he picked that up immediately in an interview with Campbell shortly after he was hired, where the new head coach said Detroit fit him perfectly because it was "a place built around family and hard work."

Tirico picked up on the power of Campbell's ethos at the Mackinac Policy Conference where he hosted a panel on leadership that included sports leaders around the state, including Campbell. While at the Grand Hotel, Tirico said he got to spend time with Campbell and came away with the impression that the Lions' head coach was passionate, intense and a "really, really smart guy."

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Tirico expanded on the point by saying the Lions have adopted their coach's mindset and carry themselves with the same intensity and honesty during interviews and with their play.

"If I had to say anything about Dan that doesn't come through the TV, (he's) smart, cerebral, (he) connects with people from a various walks of life," Tirico said. "You could have a CEO or a backup long snapper, and Dan Campbell finds a way to connect with them. And, I think Kevin, that's what that head coach job is as much as anything right now — it's a people business and can you be a leader of men? And he may be the definitive leader of men for 2024.

Tirico will be back on the scene Sunday at Ford Field as the Lions host the Buccaneers looking for their first trip to the NFC championship game since the 1991 season.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mike Tirico: I'll remember Detroit Lions Ford Field playoff atmosphere