January 18: a day with so much excitement you could feel it. But after an array of unsuccessful plays, incomplete passes, and shrill whistles, cheers turned into groans and slowly, the crowd— and thousands of fans staring hopelessly at their TV screens—went silent.
In the 94 years that the Detroit Lions have been a football franchise, they have never made it to the Super Bowl. But this year, there was finally hope that they would.
That hope was quickly crushed on Jan. 18, where they lost 31 to 45 against the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round, two games away from playing in the Super Bowl.
Regardless of whether they’ve been fans their whole lives or only in recent years, the Lions’ rapid rise and equally rapid fall was disappointing for many students.
Iris Moore (9) remembers watching Lions games with her father growing up, but only started paying attention to them in the past few years.
“I felt sad [when they lost],” Moore said. “I felt more sad when I realized that they weren’t going to go to the Super Bowl because I thought it would be awesome if we went. It was so fun to watch because we haven’t done well in so long.”
For Colin Fitzgerald (11), the Lions have been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. Regardless of how the Lions perform, his family proudly roots for them on game days.
“We’ve always watched the Lions through thick and thin, especially through thin, because there’s been a lot of that,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s nice to see them finally do well. I felt pretty devastated [when the Lions lost].”
Similarly to Moore, Carter Greenway (12) has always been a Lions fan, but really started paying attention in the past few years. The Lions’ recent loss was devastating for him, but it didn’t come as a surprise.
“Honestly, this year kind of felt worse [than last year], because there’s all the hype going in, and I was like, ‘oh, it’s not gonna happen,’” Greenway said. “It feels like when something’s too predictable, it’s not gonna happen. I didn’t think we were going to win, but I was still hoping.”
Watching football has always been a tradition in Caroline Comstock’s (11) family, but they only started watching the Lions last year. While she expected the Lions to make it to the Super Bowl this year, she wasn’t that surprised when they lost to the Commanders.
“It was heartbreaking,” Comstock said. “But it wasn’t like they were going to win, it didn’t feel close. So I guess that’s better.”
Moore, while not a hardcore fan, was also dismayed by the loss.
“It’s disappointing because we were doing well for the first time in a while,” Moore said.
Varsity football player Owen Sanford (11) has been a fan since birth, inspired by his parents who are longtime fans. While upset by the loss, he was more thrilled that the Lions had made it so far in the playoffs after years of disappointment.
“I felt happy last year, but I kind of felt like they were gonna choke,” Sanford said. “This time felt the same way, and I had a feeling we were gonna do worse than last year.”
Jonny Kalt (12) grew up watching the Lions with his family and going to a couple games each year, since his grandparents have season tickets. Being a Lions fan is an important aspect of his life.
“[Being a Lions fan] means just cheering them on, even when they lose,” Kalt said.
But sometimes it can be hard to cheer through the disappointment of a big loss.
“I think this year’s loss hurt more because we’d already shown that we had what it takes, and we just couldn’t convert [that into a win],” Fitzgerald said.