2023-11-23 02:08:02
DETROIT (AP) — For years, the Detroit Lions were a team people watched on TV every Thanksgiving.
The team has been so bad for so long that some began calling for it to lose its traditional spot on television broadcasts this holiday.
But suddenly, the Lions are a team fans want to watch, even those who don’t live in Detroit.
“The networks are asking us for the Lions,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview with Fox 2 Detroit before attending the team’s most recent game at Ford Field. “I think a lot of this goes back to the last game last season, when they visited Green Bay. They didn’t have much to gain then, but they beat their division rival and knocked them out of the playoffs.”
“And in the first game of the new campaign, they made another argument.”
Detroit kicked off the season with a victory over reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City. The Lions (8-2), leaders of the NFC North Division, will have another opportunity to show the masses what they can do this Thursday, when they face the Packers (4-6).
Not since 1962 has Detroit begun a season with eight wins in 10 games. The good run includes a win at Green Bay in Week 4.
The Lions closed the previous season with eight wins in 10 games and crowned that good stretch by leaving Aaron Rodgers out of the postseason. The game ended up being the star’s last with Green Bay.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur hopes his team can reverse the trend.
LaFleur, originally from Mount Pleasant, Michigan, grew up watching the Lions on Thanksgiving at his grandmother’s house.
“Everyone is glued to the TV that day,” he said. “This is a great honor.
“It’s wonderful to return to the stadium where I’m from. Hopefully we can ruin Thanksgiving for them.”
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