Lions fans ready to erupt after decades of waiting for their playoff moment

From 1975-2001, the Detroit Lions played their home games at the Pontiac Silverdome, located in the northern suburbs of Detroit proper.

That means, despite the completely accurate narrative that the Lions are hosting their first playoff game in 30 years Sunday, when they host the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC wild-card round, it’s not the first postseason game in Detroit during that span. You have to go back to Dec. 27, 1957, to find the last Lions playoff home game that actually took place within the Detroit city limits. The Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns, 59-14, in the NFL Championship.

So what will Sunday be like at Ford Field? Former Lions All-Pro offensive tackle Lomas Brown, who played four postseason games with Detroit in the 1990s, had a one-word answer.

"Epic," he told USA TODAY Sports.

"It’s a great time to be in this city. The fans have embraced this team. And they’re supporting them – either at home or on the road."

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Beyond the return of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who played for the Lions from 2009-20, and the revenge game at hand for Lions quarterback Jared Goff, this game will be a moment of salvation for a city that has longed for playoff football to return – suburbs or not.

"You got a hungry, hungry team and community around here who’s been starving for 30-some-odd years, who can’t wait to see the Lions Sunday and win this game," Brown said. "I think it will be such a boost for this community. Because we need it, man. We really do. (University of) Michigan (football) did us proud bringing the title home Monday night. Now the pressure’s on the Lions to do something."

Brown’s former teammate, wide receiver Herman Moore, compared the energy of the fan base to the fervor surrounding the 1990s Lions. A lot of losing interceded those decades. Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Ndamukong Suh, along with coaches Jim Schwartz and Jim Caldwell, helped restore a postseason presence. But the Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, giving them the NFL's longest active drought.

"The fan base has been probably as great as I’ve seen during my time here … they’ve really come to life and they’ve really done a great job of getting behind the team," Moore told USA TODAY Sports.

The 2011 Lions made into the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. After 1999, Moore said, the culture and identity fragmented. Barry Sanders’ retirement didn’t help. Short stints from various coaches and the tenure of general manager Matt Millen set the franchise back.

"Everybody thought you could bring in people who had success in other places and all of a sudden it was going to be this magic formula that gave you instantaneous success," Moore said.

Some mistakes were repeated after the 2010s successes. The Matt Patricia-era was disastrous. But head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes – who came from the Rams – have built a roster that won the franchise 12 games, a first since 1991. Usually by this point in the calendar, Brown said, Detroit has moved onto whom the team will draft with a high pick or will sign in free agency.

"Just think about how long we’ve been going through this misery, everything that’s going on with the Lions," Brown said. “But the fans have been there."

There was the 0-16 season in 2008 and the broadcast blackouts. Playoff heartbreak against the Cowboys in the 2014 playoffs. The non-touchdown catch by Johnson against the Chicago Bears in 2010.

"We’ve been scarred so much as fans of the Detroit Lions," Brown said. "If a fan could go through all (those) tough times, those 30-something years of toughness, then you better believe they’re going to be here for the good times."

And they have finally arrived.

"The style of play matches the city and the blue-collar work ethic of the city," NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico said on a conference call with reporters this week.

Tirico, who will call Lions-Rams alongside Cris Collinsworth, has lived in the Detroit metro area for nearly a quarter-century. He said Sunday’s game is the next step in the comeback story that Detroit has experienced since the late-2000s automobile industry crisis that severely damaged the area.

"To see that city host a playoff game is something fans have long waited for," Tirico said. "Kids who have gone to college or out of college and are gainfully employed have never seen it.

"I think we’ll have one of the greatest atmospheres we’ve had for a playoff game in a long time."

Brown had a similar outlook on the game and what this season, the first NFC North title in franchise history, has been like.

"It's almost been like a fairytale," Brown said. "We still haven’t written the ending yet, so we still have that to go. But it’s been awesome to watch this team come into the year with expectations, heavy expectations on their shoulders, and watch the team go out and accomplish some of the goals they had." 

It will be a milestone moment for Detroit, Tirico added.

"But you got to win the game," he said, "to keep the story going."