The Lions haven’t won their division in 30 years, but this year they’re the NFC North favorites, and the Detroit fan base is fired up.
So fired up that Lions coach Dan Campbell said he’s never seen an environment in a preseason game like he saw at Ford Field in the Lions’ preseason opener. Campbell said Lions fans were so loud that neither the Lions players nor the Giants players were prepared for that kind of atmosphere.
“Our fans were unbelievable the other night,” Campbell said. “I mean, for a preseason game, you’re telling your young players and your rookies, ‘This is the first one, NFL game, it ought to be a pretty good atmosphere.’ But my god, I didn’t expect that. I don’t think any of them did. That’s unbelievable. That’s a packed house for preseason. It was awesome. They were using silent count on offense — in a preseason game! So it certainly helps. So that was awesome.”
Lions fans are buying into what Campbell is building, and after years of frustration, Lions games are a very a hot ticket in Detroit.