SANTA CLARA — From blaring trumpets drowning Jared Goff chants to fans in Honolulu blue and silver leading a march at Levi’s Stadium, the tailgate scene was electric ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship game.
Fans of both the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers set the tone. Of the many wild things about this improbable run for the Lions this season, their fan support across the country from non-native Michiganders may top the list.
Craig Alley, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, has been drinking the Lions’ Kool-Aid for the past 15 years. His affinity for the team stems from having family that lived there and his overall respect for their grit, a characteristic he feels they’ve demonstrated pre-Dan Campbell. For that reason, he’s enjoying their current run.
“They’ve kind of been a lower-end team. They’ve always been an underdog, and I feel like I’ve just always related to that, you know what I mean?” Alley told MLive. “So I’m just always pulling for the Lions. I was a big Peyton Manning fan, and I had to transition somewhere else after he went to the (Denver) Broncos, so I started liking the Lions a lot.”
“Dan Campbell has done a wonderful job with everything with the Lions. Everyone’s just coming together. We’ve always had star players, but I feel like we’ve never been able to be cohesive about it, and I feel like now is our time to shine, and we’re finally out here at the NFC Championship.”
