From 0-16 to Super Bowl hopefuls – Detroit on the brink of becoming NFL's answer to Leicester City fairytale

26/01/2024 13:30

An ocean and thousands of airline miles separate the Detroit Lions from Leicester City.

But if the Lions win two more huge NFL games, Dan Campbell’s gritty crew will have a ton in common with the miracle Foxes, who captured the sporting world’s attention by pulling off the most unbelievable Premier League title triumph in 2015-16.

Shock the world

“They absolutely have a chance to go and do something special,” Lions legend Barry Sanders exclusively told talkSPORT, referring to Detroit’s chances of winning Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

First, the Lions must overcome the San Francisco 49ers on the road in the NFC Championship game, then defeat the best team in the AFC on Sunday, February 11 at Allegiant Stadium.

But if the new heroes of Detroit, Michigan can pull all that off, what has historically been one of the most inept franchises among the NFL’s 32 teams — the Lions are 591-707-34 dating back to 1930 — will have a Premier League comparison in Leicester City.

Once known as the Portsmouth Spartans, the Lions have spent 94 seasons failing far more often than winning.

The Lions went 0-16 in 2008 and were 3-13-1 in 2021, which was Campbell’s first year as head coach.

Two of the best players in team history, Calvin Johnson and Sanders, grew tired of Detroit’s losing ways and parted ways with the organization ahead of schedule.

Even when the Lions went 12-5 this year while winning the NFC North, they dealt with a midseason slide and won two tense playoff games on the way to the conference championship vs the favored 49ers.

"It means a whole lot to this city," said once-discarded quarterback Jared Goff, after Detroit won its first playoff game in 32 years. "We knew what it meant when this season started to get into the playoffs and then to get this win. And it's just the beginning for us. We've got some run left."

In 2015, Leicester City faced 5000-to-1 preseason odds and had narrowly escaped relegation the year before.

Heartfelt connections

But led by charismatic manager Claudio Ranieri, the Foxes outlasted Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United to win the first league title in the club’s 132-year history, and become the greatest fairytale story in the history of English football.

The Foxes were relegated after the 2022-23 season to the Championship league.

But they entered Tuesday top of the Championship and on course to be promoted back to the Premier League.

The devotion and passion of long-frustrated Detroit fans has been captured by a social-media sensation dubbed “Crying Lions Fan.”

Arron Wikaryasz was unable to contain his emotions in the stands following the Lions’ 24-23 home win over the Los Angeles Rams in a Wild Card game.

While some initially believed that Wikaryasz was just another Lions supporter overcome with joy after Detroit won its first playoff game in more than three decades, the longtime fan revealed that he has an even deeper personal connection with his chosen NFL team.

Wikaryasz spent his youth going to Lions games with his father, an ironworker who helped build Ford Field.

But his father died in a car crash when Wikaryasz was 14, according to Fox 2.

Fire and magic

“These Lions games are always special to me to connect with him out in the world,” Wikaryasz said. “I can always come back to Ford field and revisit that connection.”

With a fiery head coach in Campbell and a sparkling reclamation project in Goff, the Lions have taken over Detroit and created more excitement than the once-dysfunctional franchise has seen in decades.

“Jared Goff! Jared Goff!” shouted Lions players, as Goff walked into his team’s locker room following a playoff win.

Campbell has made a huge impression on Sanders, who spent 10 seasons with Detroit and is the NFL’s No. 4 all-time leading rusher with 15,269 career yards.

Sanders became frustrated during his playing years with the Lions and one of the primary reasons he stunned NFL fans by retiring early in 1999 was because of Detroit’s annual letdowns.

This season, a remade Lions organization has inspired an entire city and become the best story in the NFL playoffs as another Super Bowl approaches.

New excitement

“Lions fans are excited,” Sanders said. “We’ve been waiting for this sort of a team for many, many years now. We’ve seen it building the last few seasons but this is exactly what we hoped for.”

Almost eight years after Leicester City stunned the English football world by winning the Premier League, the Lions have captivated Detroit and are two big wins away from changing their own history.

"I envisioned that we would have a chance to compete with the big boys and that's where we're at," Campbell said.

Win the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, and the Lions will take over the NFL just like Leicester City took over the Premier League.