The Lions Wanted Recognition—Now They Can Rule the World
"Just be on the graphic" turned into "go win the Super Bowl"
Rocky Balboa, of the eponymous Rocky, was a loan shark’s thug who got the break of a lifetime. He was picked out of the crowd to fight world champion boxer Apollo Creed, and his performance in the match launched him into stardom. Balboa would eventually become an American hero. He would later dramatically avenge the death of Creed, a beloved boxer who later became one of his closest friends, and become an inspiring underdog tale in both the fictional Rocky universe and in our real world. The Philadelphia native — if that’s a term you are allowed to use for a fictional character — was embraced by the real life version of his city. A famous statue of him, arms raised in celebration, stands outside Philadelphia Museum of Art. When I visited over summer, a long line of tourists were waiting in the sweltering heat just to get a quick picture.
Balboa is the ultimate underdog hero we all strive to be. A normal guy doing all he can to get by while he chases a dream.
He had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything he ever wanted. He captured it, and didn’t let it slip.
There is a bit of Rocky in us all, but Philadelphia, and its sports teams, are truly a city that embodies him. A city with lofty dreams it managed to reach. The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII in 2018, defeating Tom Brady’s mighty New England Patriots in a spectacular 41-33 battle. They earned their first ring despite quarterback Carson Wentz going down with a torn ACL late in the regular season. Nick Foles, long-time NFL backup, grabbed the baton and led the team to glory.
It was a culmination of years of waiting for the Eagles. 13 years earlier, they fell to Brady’s Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. Their first Super Bowl appearance came in 1980, losing to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV.
The Eagles were always a franchise on the cusp of greatness. Just like Rocky, they quickly found their way to the world’s biggest stage, and despite a few hiccups, they have always been lurking. A team with 10 NFC East titles since 2000, a regular fixture in the NFC Playoffs and NFC Championship game. For Rocky’s city, their struggle was coming close, but not quite getting there. Then finally, Balboa beat Ivan Drago. The Eagles beat the Patriots.
I spent my Halloween in Detroit last year. I traveled for a Detroit Lions game for the second time in as many weeks, as I was present at M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore for the beatdown they suffered at the hands of the Ravens the weekend before. The Lions got the better of their opponents this time around, though, crushing the Oakland Raiders in Monday Night Football’s return to the Motor City.
It was my first time in Detroit since the 2018 training camp, where I profiled Oday Aboushi. In just five years, the city looked incredibly different. Downtown areas that were covered in construction sites were now built into restaurants, theater and retail. The outskirts of the city were nicer, fresher and renewed. In just five years, it felt like the city had made a massive upgrade.
While walking along Woodward Avenue, me and my girlfriend came across a spot called Mom’s Spaghetti, a literal hole-in-the-wall pasta spot tucked in near the Filmore and across the way from Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers.
The title was an obvious reference to Detroit’s hometown movie-hero of its own, B-Rabbit, from the iconic 2002 film 8 Mile. Played by Eminem, one of the most famous Detroiters and prominent Lions fan who was present for each of the team’s breakthrough playoff wins this month.
Like Balboa, B-Rabbit, or Jimmy, is an underdog. He’s a factory worker struggling at his mind numbing job. He has problems at home, still living with his mom and her abusive boyfriend. Jimmy has dreams of being a rapper, and joins a local rap battle tournament, hoping his freestyling skills can earn him a bit of cash and reputation. A lost soul struggling for just an opportunity for something, the infamous Lose Yourself, a staple of Ford Field’s pregame playlist is the perfect encapsulation of Jimmy’s dreams and the opportunity that stands in front of him.
Jimmy eventually wins the contest, gaining his community’s respect. B-Rabbit is now a Detroit hero in the same vein as Rocky is for Philadelphia. But, it is striking how different these fictional figures are. Rocky is an international superstar and national hero. Jimmy finishes the movie by going back to work, someone who captured fleeting success but not much more. While Philadelphia’s hero wanted the world, Detroit’s hero just wanted to be recognized, even for a moment.
Finding another team to root for in the playoffs has been some Lions fans favorite pastime over the years. In 2015, I jumped on the Carolina Panthers’ bandwagon, enthralled by Cam Newton’s MVP campaign. Then there was the Goff Hive days, jumping on the Los Angeles Rams’ run that culminated in a Super Bowl loss against the New England Patriots. Then there was Lamar Jackson’s Ravens, before going back to the Rams after they traded for Lions legend Matthew Stafford.
It never really felt like the Lions had a chance. I remember at a Super Bowl party for the Rams’ 2022 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, I was speaking to a friend-of-a-friend. He was personally a Washington Commanders fan, and I told him I was a Lions fan who was all in for my former quarterback this year. Our conversation ended with him telling me, “I like Dan Campbell, I think he can do good things for you guys.”
I brushed him off, the idea that the Lions could even be relevant in the playoffs felt totally foreign.
Lions fans have often repeated the phrase “just be on the graphic”. After years of misery spent living at the bottom of the standings, Lions fans just wanted to be close to the playoffs. The graphic in question is the playoff picture figures NBC, FOX and CBS show during games, with the division leaders all the way to the left, wild card teams in the middle and the “in the hunt” teams on the right. If you rooted for a team as miserable as Detroit’s, just being in the playoff hunt was enough.
Another conversation I remember was with one of my friends who is a Ravens fan. After the Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers to close out the 2022 season — eliminating their fierce rivals from the playoffs — they were the talk of the NFL. An impressive Lions season had caught national attention. However, they had finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs. Detroit’s best season in a half-decade, one that had inspired fans, would be a failure for a team like the Ravens.
It’s hard to imagine that the Lions would ever be here. In the end, there is technically a 1/16 chance they will go to the Super Bowl every year, and a 1/32 chance they will win it. In actuality, the idea of even winning the NFC North felt like an insurmountable task. Hopes were high coming into the 2023 season, but the idea of Detroit hosting a playoff game and competing for a Super Bowl still felt like something that was more in my wildest dreams than something that could play out in my real life.
In 2011, when the Lions made the playoffs — the first time in my sports watching life — I remember announcers mentioning how important the milestone was. The first playoff appearance since 1999. It dawned in me in that moment that I was so used to Detroit’s futility that I hadn’t even realized it. Whenever January rolled around it was just second nature for the Lions to have already been eliminated and for the “real” teams to be playing now.
Like B-Rabbit, the dream was to just be recognized. It never felt like “winning it all”, being hoisted as an American hero like Rocky, was something meant for us. Every win was a blessing, getting to the playoffs was a dream.
Detroit has smashed through that ceiling to start 2024. Now they’re one game away from playing in the Super Bowl.
The Lions are heavy underdogs against the San Francisco 49ers today, but anything can happen in one football game. I still can’t believe it, but the Lions could play in the Super Bowl next month.
A fanbase desperate to be recognized could suddenly find themselves on top of the world.