DETROIT – Two years ago, new head coach Dan Campbell was finding out just how hard it is to be a member of the Detroit Lions organization.
In his first season, the Lions entered the month of December with an 0-10-1 record. They had just lost to the Bears at Ford Field on Thanksgiving -- four days after Baker Mayfield out-dueled Tim Boyle in a loss to the Browns.
All the excitement surrounding Campbell, Brad Holmes, and their new staff had pretty much evaporated.
It sure looked like the “Same Old Lions.”
Fast forward two years and those same Lions are about to play for a spot in the Super Bowl.
It’s amazing how far this franchise has come in such a short time. The future felt hopeless even as recently as last year, when the Lions finished October with a 1-6 record.
But in their last 29 games, the Lions are 22-7, including the postseason. They’ve ended a 30-year drought without a home playoff game, a 32-year drought without a playoff win, and a 30-year drought without a division title.
All of those obstacles were overcome this season, just two years after the Lions went three full months without winning a game.
Detroit’s football futility has been so everlasting that it was hard to get excited for this new regime. Sure, Campbell and Holmes said all the right things, but we had heard them before. Coaches who said the right things had brought this franchise just one playoff win in over 60 years.
But Holmes has done exactly what he said he would do: Build a strong foundation through the draft while targeting players who fit the vision of a certain culture. Campbell has fulfilled his promise of building a team that symbolizes this city and makes its fans proud.
The Lions hadn’t won a single playoff game in my lifetime before this year, and now they’ve done it twice in the span of eight days.
There are only four teams left standing in the NFL, including the two mighty No. 1 seeds and the defending Super Bowl champs.
Then there’s Detroit. One of the few NFL franchises remaining that have never even appeared in a Super Bowl.
It’s hard to believe, but the Lions are just one win away from breaking down another barrier and reaching the greatest stage in North American sports. Can you imagine the Honolulu Blue on TV during your Super Bowl parties? Can you imagine actually cheering for your hometown team instead of your gameday bets?
Two years ago, the Lions were sad, helpless, a team to be pitied. But now they’re on the doorstep of doing something many thought they would never see.
Honolulu Blue is all over national television, flooding the grocery stores, adorning signs along I-94. This entire state is celebrating a run that felt impossible for decades and decades.
The Detroit Lions in the Super Bowl? It’s just one step away.
