After a 32-year-long playoff win drought, many Lions fans weren’t even alive to watch the 1991 home game win over the Dallas Cowboys. But this year felt different in our chances to beat the streak with multiple successful draft classes and a talented young coaching staff. It seemed like the Lions were going to defy the odds and finally win a playoff game. Going 12-5 in the regular season and securing the NFC North, fans were shocked by the team’s recent success. As the final week before the playoffs ended, the Lions played at home against the Los Angeles Rams. Tickets were selling for upwards of $800 in hopes of witnessing a historic victory.
“My family bought season tickets, so the playoff cost per ticket was only $150,” Will Scott ’26 said. “We knew we could sell them for a huge profit, but our family thought seeing a playoff win was priceless.”
There wasn’t a more important game than this one for the Lions quarterback Jared Goff who was traded to the Lions back in 2021. Fans knew how important this game was for his career so they made sure to make him feel empowered.
“Chants of Jared Goff’s name erupted from the crowd an hour before the game,” Brady Magee ’27 said. “That shows you how much fans cared about the quarterback’s revenge game against his former team.”
Once the game started, the stadium erupted with yelling and screaming in an attempt to try and ruin the Rams’ communication between players on what play was called. Whenever the Lions made a good play on defense or got a first down, it only got louder. The game succeeded in reaching 133.6 dB which is louder than a jet taking off and being right next to an air raid siren.
“I would rate the loudness of the game a 10 out of 10,” Scott said. “Whenever the lions would score it felt like an earthquake happened with how much our chairs were shaking.”
Players like Aidan Hutchinson and Amon Ra St Brown had exceeded expectations in the game with Hutchinson picking up two sacks and four solo tackles and Amon Ra St Brown bringing in seven catches for 110 yards.
“My favorite player has to be Aidan Hutchinson,” English teacher Shannon Sugamele said. “Not only did he play for Michigan, but he played with such passion out there against the Rams.”
The Lions ended up winning the game 24-23 after a game-sealing first down catch by Amon Ra St Brown.
“I was asked by my students why I didn’t sell my tickets and that I could make a lot of money if I sold them,” Sugamele said. “What they don’t understand is how rare it was that I would get the opportunity to watch a playoff game again and that the lions win was priceless.”
