2024 NFC Championship: Three reasons to root for Lions when they visit 49ers in NFL playoffs

If you told a Detroit Lions fan just a few years ago, that in 2024 they would be one win away from a Super Bowl appearance, they would first probably be very excited, but they also may not believe you. The Lions are the only team in the conference championship games that did not make the playoffs last season.

The No. 3 Lions will take on the No. 1 San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in the NFC Championship. The Niners had a Super Wild Card Weekend bye and defeated the No. 7 Green Bay Packers in the divisional round to advance.

1. The city of Detroit

Detroit deserves this. Before this season, Lions fans had not experienced a playoff win in 32 years. That’s a very long time. The wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams was their first home playoff win since 1991. The fans have certainly been patient.

The Lions’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers marked the first time in 67 years that the Lions won two playoff games in the same season. You have to go back to 1957 for the last time it happened.

Detroit has rallied around the Lions and have shown up in a major way for their team, creating loud environments at Ford Field and paying the most money for a wild card ticket since at least 2018.

They have celebrity fans showing up to each game to hype up the fans and the environment they’ve created is one that’s hard to root against.

2. Dan Campbell

Head coach Dan Campbell is certainly a unique character, with some unique sound bites as well. 

One of his more memorable quotes is, “We’re gonna kick you in the teeth, and when you punch us back, we’re gonna smile at you, and when you knock us down, we’re going to get up, and on the way, we’re going to bite a kneecap off.”

And he has a lot more where that came from. His approach has won over the players and the fanbase and whatever he is doing is clearly working. Campbell is in just his third year as Detroit’s head coach and what he has…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2024-nfc-championship-three-reasons-to-root-for-lions-when-they-visit-49ers-in-nfl-playoffs/

Author : Shanna McCarriston

Publish date : 2024-01-27 20:49:19

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