Inside Levi's Stadium, Detroit Lions collapse leaves fans crushed, in tears

SANTA CLARA, California – A brutal Lions collapse in the second half allowed the San Francisco 49ers to overcome a 17-point deficit Sunday night, devastating Detroit fans, including thousands who traveled to Levi's Stadium from far and near and witnessed a promising season end one victory shy of the Super Bowl.

Free Press reporters and photographers captured the hope of so much of the day, followed by the crushing ending of a game that started out so promising.

Agony as the clock ticks down ...

Detroit Lions fans in Levi's Stadium watched in agony as time ran out in their team's loss to the 49ers.

And the west coast fans just got louder as their team inched toward a spot in the Super Bowl. When the victory was official, they erupted. Lions fans stood motionless as the excitement faded.Then some shouted expletives, others left minutes before the final.

Sadness and disbelief went through James Williams' mind.

“We had a couple chances to put points on the board, and we didn’t. I think that kind of hurt us a little bit,” said Williams of Detroit, who stood in a stadium concourse at the end. “It is what it is, we’ve been living with it.”

Regardless, the Lions making it this far is great for the team and city.

“We ran into a great team, and they just happened to be better today,” Williams said.

But it doesn’t end here, he said.

“Go to bed today, get up tomorrow and get ready for next year,” Williams said.

Tears for a little Lion

With two minutes left and the Lions trailing by 10, a little boy wearing Detroit colors descended from the upper levels of the stadium, in tears. His father and other Lions fans comforted him, as 49ers fans cheered on the winning team.

James McClain, 53, of Detroit, watched as the 49ers milked the last few seconds on the clock. A San Francisco fan walked by, waving his hand in his face.

But McClain wasn't letting the outcome take away from a special season.

"We battled it out, we even went to the end ... we couldn't pull it off though. 31-34, still a good game."

He admitted that the really strong first half, he started to get his hopes up for the team's first Super Bowl appearance.

"It was a good season, we haven't had a season like that in a long time. Go Lions!"

Fans: We're not in Kansas any more

Earlier in the game, fans learned they sure were no longer in Ford Field.

Raucous San Francisco fans roared "Niners!" as a handful of Detroit Lions-clad men and women slowly made their way through a packed concourse. A flurry of boos rained down when the Lions took the field for final warmups, only to be surpassed by cheers for the 49ers when they exited the tunnel.

Chris Ehmann of Lake Orion and Chad Day of Oxford attended both home Lions playoff games. But they knew, on the road, the Lions faced a whole new challenge.

Wearing a full-body Lions suit, Ehmann said he wasn't worried.

"We have a big contingency of Lions fans. There's a lot of blue out there. So the momentum that they got from the two home wins, everything's going to carry through," Ehmann said.

Day agreed, adding he was confident coach Dan Campbell would have the players ready to ignore the "white noise" of the opposing fans.

No matter what happened, it was crucial to see it in person.

"You want to see the wave of blue. It's FOMO at this point man," Day said.

Inside the stands, expletives of love

Detroiters Jennifer Ingram and Nikki Parrish did not miss a chance to scream “Go Lions!” inside the stadium. If their blue pompoms don’t shout their passion for the Lions, their energy said it all.

“Go (expletive) Detroit!” said Ingram, who left Detroit 10 years ago to work in the Bay Area. “I'm super excited for my home team to take it all the way. I left Detroit 10 years ago, and for me, this is like a monumental occasion. And to see so many Detroit fans throughout the stands is energizing and exciting.”

Surrounded by 49ers fans chanting, “Go Niners,” Ingram said she was looking toward the future.

“Jared Goff is from this area,” Ingram said. “I hope he comes home and feels proud of what he's accomplished and takes us all the (expletive) way.”

Hoo boy, she thought. These tickets. But then she saw his face

Pamela Evan Scott said she tossed and turned for two nights after buying a pair of tickets to see the Lions face the 49ers. But, looking into the beaming face of her husband, Will Scott, she said the steep price was worth it.

"I've had to watch him watch the Lions lose for season after season after season. His birthday is in two weeks, and I had to have him here," Pamela said, smiling. She did not reveal how much she dropped for the tickets.

"Just the joy of seeing him, with this facial expression, and just the excitement. ... There's not a word to express the joy."

Asked how Will's mood is after a Lions loss, Pamela didn't hesitate.

"Horrible, horrible, horrible!" she said, as Will laughed.

The Detroit natives, who've since relocated to South Lyon, are season ticket holders. But Pamela is relatively new to the fandom. Will is a lifer, accustomed to the ups — and many more downs — of dedicating oneself to the Lions.

"I was there when they were 0-16, a season ticket holder, faithfully," Will said.

"You want (a Super Bowl run). You desire. I desired it every year."

A split house, but it's his dream

Pontiac native Levi Hirsch used to watch games on a black-and-white TV. He moved to the Bay Area in 2004 after meeting his now-wife, Sonya Taylor-Hirsch, who became a football fan in 1982. Since she's from the area, she supports the 49ers.

“We dreamt of this game today,” Hirsch said. ”I've been to probably over 100 Niners games with her. Never did we think that we're going to get a Niners-Lions in the championship.”

Taylor-Hirsch had season tickets for 20 years. While she supports the 49ers, she supports her husband’s dream.

“This is his dream,” she said. “I'm very happy for him but, ‘Go Niners.’ ”

Hirsch, grabbing his chips and drink in a tailgate lot full of 49ers fans, has felt nervous throughout the Lions season and playoffs.

“We've only won one game and since 1991, everything negative comes to my mind. I get nervous about all of this stuff. If they win, I'm going to cry,” Hirsch said.

An early start for a fan and a coach

When Joe Otto, 44, of Clarkston, walked out of his hotel in the San Jose area Sunday morning, he noticed a Tesla surrounded by cones. Watching, he said he saw San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan get in and drive away.

Both arrived at Levi's Stadium around the same time: about 12:30 p.m., six hours before kickoff of the game. Can't arrive to the biggest Lions game in decades too early, especially amid the sun and balmy breeze welcoming fans to 65-degree Santa Clara.

Cars lined up in parking lots as fans poured in Sunday morning to kick off the tailgate in the gorgeous atmosphere. Despite the home team’s red splashing in and around the stadium, Detroit Lions fans pridefully draped themselves in Honolulu Blue.

Giant speakers led up to the entrance as fans prepared their tailgates. Temperatures may have felt a little cooler to some of the locals wearing jackets and sweatshirts. Michiganders, however, were in shorts, cutoff shirts and fewer layers than typical for a January game — a complete change-up from the first two Lions playoff games in Detroit — played inside, yes, but celebrated outside in sometimes frigid temperatures before and after the games.

"I'd rather go to the NFC Championship game than actually go to the Super Bowl, so to me, this is the game to be at," Otto said. "Super Bowl's a little commercial; this is more special."

Otto joined Randy Blomberg, Blake Blomberg, and Justin Harrell on a grassy knoll designated as the go-to spot for Lions tailgaters. It's as far away as a fan can get and still park in the vicinity of the stadium. But after this group flew more than 2,500 miles, a short walk wouldn't matter.

The crew noted they expected Lions fans to represent at least a quarter of the people at the stadium. While they might not bring the noise like the hometown crowd, Blomberg expected more than a few "Ja-red Goff" chants.

Two hours before the game, Lions blue contrasted easily with the red seats inside Levi's Stadium. A slew of fans lined the railing around a corner of the end zone, watching Goff warm up with wide receivers.

The 49ers put the AFC Championship on the big screen, so fans could watch what team their squad might face in the Super Bowl.

More: Live updates: Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers in NFC championship game

Eminem serenade a half mile from the gates

As Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” blasted from a white cargo van, more than 200 Lions fans cheered, drank and grilled out about a half mile from Levi’s Stadium before the game. A man pushing a cart walked past a shopping cart filled with blue tissue paper, beer and a sign that says "Let's go Lions." Honolulu Blue flags flew from PVC pipe poles, kids played catch, men smoked cigars and everywhere were jerseys of Lions legends new and old.

Despite the distance, enough fans made the trek that at least one 49ers fan commented on the numbers.

"It hasn't settled in yet that we're here," said Raul Bueno, 27, of Dearborn, who came with his mom, Ana Borjas, 50, of Brownstown.

"It's crazy how many fans are here ... our whole flight, all Lions fans, Jared Goff (chants), yelling the fight song. It's crazy. It's so surreal."

Californians now, but Lions first

Gautam Kareti and Sahil Parikh might live in Valencia, California, now. But the Rochester and West Bloomfield natives had to come out to see something that's eluded them for essentially their entire lives before this year: The Lions knocking down wins in the playoffs.

"Seeing one was one of the best sports moments we've ever had. We have to be here," Parikh, 40, said.

Kareti expected Lions fans to make up at least 30% of the stadium. Years of deplorable play hardened these fans, making them appreciate this moment all the more.

"Even if the Lions lose 10 seasons in a row, the enthusiasm in July will always be high. Football is just too precious of a sport," Kareti, 45, said.

"This situation, yeah, I mean it's the cherry on top."

A very special fan from Chelsea

Flying all the way from Chelsea, Michigan, Harry Owsley V could not contain his excitement for his first away game. Owsley, 10, has lenz microphthalmia syndrome, a condition that resulted in him being born without eyes. He uses a cane, reads Braille and loves to listen to the Lions and any other sport on satellite radio.

"It makes it very accessible for him, he follows players and knows all the stuff," said Miranda Owsley, his mother.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs is his favorite Lion but Harry's passion radiates for the whole team, especially during key moments that spark his adrenaline.

“Two minutes to go, in the fourth quarter, down by a couple of points, they know they need a touchdown. Field goal won’t do them any good. And like, I feel like they go on a two-minute drill,” Harry said, describing his favorite moment to experience as a Lions fan.

His father, Harry Owsley IV, has been a longtime season ticket holder through the good and bad games. He wanted to make sure his son had the experience of a lifetime.

“He’s the biggest fan there is. It’s like a late Christmas gift for him,” Owsley IV said.

More: Lions fans watching from Detroit say, like their team, they are built for this

Contact Dana Afana: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her on X: @DanaAfana. Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com and on X: @Dave_Boucher1.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Inside stadium, Detroit Lions collapse leaves fans crushed, in tears