DETROIT (WXYZ) — Sunday evening, anywhere around Downtown Detroit and Greektown, on the streets and in the bars and restaurants there was a sea of Honolulu blue.
Lions fans went home ecstatic after the team beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23.
“I’m so happy man," Lions fan Jayla Bentley told 7 Action News. "I’m just, I’m elated! I just want to say super bowl boys. I know we got one more game, but we got it in the bag.”
Cheers erupted in the final minutes of the Lions game after a victory-clinching interception and again when the clock struck zero.
Lions fan Mary Elmore said, “My husband helped build Ford Field. He was an iron worker."
So this game was that much more special for Elmore.
"It is. It really is. All the games are," she said.
Lions fan Uriah Peterson said, “I came down here for a concert. I planned for this two months ago. I didn’t expect to be down here for a playoff game.”
The Lions surpassed some fans expectations while others knew the team would go far.
One fan shouted, “49ers here we come! You going down, boy!”
Now the Lions are off to San Francisco to play in the NFC Championship.
Lions fan Nicole Smith said, “Really enjoy the game and honestly my football knowledge is about two weeks old. But I got it. I got it.”
Another fan, named Eric said, “It’s been a long time coming. I mean, those die hard fans been hoping and praying for the longest time.”
One of those longtime, die hard fans is Karen Cosmos who created a poster illustrating how long she's been a fan and how long it's been since the Lions won a ring.
“The last time the Lions won a championship I was 9 years old, and I’ve been a loyal fan since 1950," Cosmos explained.
"I am so excited. I can’t believe it. I mean, I’ve been waiting for this for a long long time," she said.
A father-son duo with silver paint on their faces said they were Tin man and Tin man Jr.
The pair shared their prediction for the rest of the season with 7 Action News.
Tin man Sr. said, "We’re gonna win! We’re going to go to the Superbowl! One game at a time, right?"
"Yea, Go Lions," Tin man Jr. added.
