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How the Detroit Lions have reclaimed their fan base and how Michigan has grown theirs
By: Connor Kniesteadt & Jack Deleruyelle
It’s 2020 and the Detroit Lions have fired their head coach Matt Patricia after finishing their season with 11 losses in the 16-game season, missing out on the playoffs for the 17th time of the decade. To the loyal Lions fanbase, this 2020 season was anticipated as the team has been familiar with the losing way, which is characterized by the term “Same Old Lions.”
“Being a Lions fan was tough,” says junior, Noah Boyce, who has been a fan for 16 years. If you scroll 50 years back in the record books you will only find a singular Lions playoff win logged in the book.
However, in that same year of 2020, there was a team that was very familiar with winning that had been slipping; the Michigan Wolverines. The winningest program in the history of college football went 2-4 in a year filled with many surprising losses, and game cancellations due to COVID-19. Many
fans had tuned the unexpectedly bad season out. Fans were very critical of Jim Harbaugh and some even called for him to be relieved of his duties after the embarrassing season. After the 2020 season, Michigan was 1-4 in their bowl games under Jim Harbaugh. After seeing a lack of direction and the regression of the team to this point, expectations had to be met.
It is now 2024 and the Lions just came off their best season of all time where they went 12-5 in the regular season. In addition, they made the playoffs and saw the addition of two more playoff victories to the record books. They were not the only team with success as Michigan has just won their first National Championship in 26 seasons after going undefeated and being led by Coach Harbaugh, and there is no doubt that the resurrection of these teams has helped awaken the football fever throughout the state.
With the recent success, Lions fans in DHS witnessed the first successful season in their lifetime. According to a survey that was sent out to 350 DHS students, 37% of students consistently watched the Lions on a yearly basis. But when we asked those students if they watched the Lions in a playoff, 70% of those students tuned in to watch. The Detroit Lions’ success in the playoffs has brought about 110 new fans out of the 350 students. One of those students is Sam Burgos. Sam, a fan who rarely watches Lions games, found himself obligated to watch along with his family during their playoff run. He lauded the run and claimed; “It was definitely a sight to see. I feel like you know, obviously, I witnessed something pretty big.”
Mr. Mergler would place himself in this category as well. He would typically find himself watching just one game of Lions football in previous years. The Lions’ great success first came to his attention after their hard-fought loss on Thanksgiving, Mergler says he was still impressed by their performance, but surprisingly that wasn’t quite the reason why he became invested in the great season. “I think for me, it was more about the social vibe than the actual games. It was just really positive. And I was down in Hamtramck and Detroit, and it just felt different, and when the team is good everyone is feeling good,” Mergler stated.
One fan even had to “reclaim” their hometown team after finding out they aren’t embarrassing this season. “… with the Lions’ success, I’ve even found myself wearing a Lions sweatshirt and watching the last handful of games and I was quite disappointed that they didn’t make it to the Super Bowl,” said math teacher Mrs. Lumpiesz. After feeling forced to watch games now she feels it is a choice for her and one that she is willing to make; “I wasn’t much of a fan. I’ve always been a fan but now I think I’ll be more of an active fan.”
After two disappointing playoff performances to Georgia in 2021 and TCU in 2022, the Michigan Wolverines were able to beat Alabama in a close overtime game to bring home their first bowl win since 2015. For the first time in the 21st century, the Jim Harbaugh-led Wolverines were able to win the College Football National Championship after dominating the Washington Huskies. The Rose Bowl and the National Championship game brought in a total of 44 million viewers across America including 85% of DHS students from our survey.
Michigan’s 15-0 season will be considered one for ages for most Michigan fans like Sam Renaud who said, “Oh, it’s beautiful. I’ve never been so happy. The feeling of beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl game was… I mean, I’m not there yet, but I probably relate the feeling to my first child being born.”
School graduates Cole Cabana (L) and Micah Davis (R) celebrate together after Michigan won the 2024 Rose Bowl en route to a National Championship.
The Wolverine title hits even closer to home with Michigan’s Team 144 featuring two former Dexter alumni in Cole Cabana
and Micah Davis.
Francisco Morales-Leveret, an MSU fan, tuned in for the Rose Bowl and National Championship to watch his former football
teammates compete for the trophy. “I’m not really a Michigan fan, but I thought it was pretty cool to watch my former teammates [Cole and Micah] go and win the National Championship.”
While most fans are incredibly happy with the National Championship, some other fans were disappointed in their team
for getting into a sign-stealing scandal. At the beginning of the season, Coach Harbaugh was suspended for three games for violating recruiting violations and to close the season, he was suspended another 3 games for accusations of sign stealing and
espionage on other teams. In the regular season, Michigan played its three hardest games against Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State without a head coach. When the Wolverines won those games, some fans loved the underdog story, and the slogan “Michigan vs. Everybody” went viral. Other fans weren’t happy with the scandal altogether and were disappointed for being a part of a team that was likely cheating. One fan being Mr. Dubay, “I’m happy with the win, but at the same time, I feel like with the scandals, and with the potential punishment from the NCAA, it does feel a little bit empty in terms of if this gonna be tainted in some way.”
With everything that has happened in the past, it is safe to say that the state of Michigan had its best year of football in DHS student’s lifetimes. With the Lions historic playoff run and Michigan’s National Championship win, about 60% of DHS students received or purchased football merchandise due to their successful seasons. Many DHS students and teachers are becoming more attached to the Lions and Wolverines
with their recent success and the potentially bright future both teams have for years to come.
