One of the consistent stories of the Lions’ 2023 season is that they’ve had a large and loud cheering section at road games. That happened again on Sunday in New Orleans, and the Saints weren’t happy about it.
Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said on the Saints’ WWL radio show today that the team was surprised by how many Lions fans had traveled from Detroit to cheer on their team, sitting in seats that Saints season ticket holders had re-sold.
“We’re used to having a large number of Saints fans at some of our away games. We’re not used to having that volume of visiting fans at our games,” Loomis said. “Our stadium’s sold out on a season basis. That’s disappointing to have that many tickets that are re-sold and, you know, given to visiting fans. But, look, I understand the economics of it. I understand that season tickets are expensive and you can’t go to every game and so you’re going to pick and choose to sell some. But I was a little caught off guard by the volume, as you said, in the lower bowl. That was unusual and, look, I understand it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Loomis acknowledged that it’s on the Saints to get their fans excited about coming to the game and cheering them on.
“We have a great home-field advantage. We do. But we have to give our fans a reason to create that environment, and I think we will,” Loomis said.
The Lions, who are 5-1 in away games this season, have given their fans a reason to create a great environment, and perhaps even a road-field advantage.