It was an exciting time for the Lions in Detroit.

Detroit is in an amazing moment. The Detroit Lions, the NFL football team based in the city, ended a decades-long drought and provided some relief to their long-suffering supporters by winning their second playoff game this season.

Something that hasn’t happened since the Eisenhower era has Detroit humming. The Detroit Lions, the city’s adored but much mocked football club, have won two postseason games in a row. The play that took the Detroit Lions to a championship game versus the San Francisco 49ers was called by the NBC commentators, and it was an exciting occasion.Mayfield in the center. It’s been deflected. Derrick Barnes is here. For the Lions, it’s off to San Francisco.The Lions are now just one victory away from earning a Super Bowl berth. WDET member station Quinn Klinefelter has been keeping tabs on the team’s development. Hello, Quinn.Quinn I must admit that I watched that game. The Lions’ victory was fantastic. Furthermore, the Lions haven’t played in an NFC Championship game in more than thirty years. How is the current situation in Detroit?

It’s electric, a term typically applied to the types of cars Detroit automakers are developing. After so many unsuccessful seasons, the Lions had always won the hearts of their supporters and frequently broke them. The squad hasn’t won the NFL Championship or two postseason games since 1957. That was approximately ten years prior to the league ever inventing the Super Bowl. After these postseason wins, there were actual tears shed in Ford Field’s stands, and a few players even shed tears because the squad had fought to be competitive.Quinn, you know how the Lions and the city of Detroit seem to have undergone significant transformation in the past few years?Yes. A decade ago, the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy and was now the target of jokes for certain comedians. At least in the downtown area of the city, it has experienced revitalization throughout the last ten years, thanks to increased investment and excitement. However, very few football fans actually anticipated the Lions being in this position until the last few years. Few people are likely aware that Detroit endured difficult times prior to the arrival of seasoned offensive lineman Taylor Decker. He has a reputation for being a solid player on a weak squad. And in the Lions’ locker room, Decker added that the team’s most recent playoff victory, together with the support of the team’s ardent Detroit fans, made all the hardships worthwhile, despite the fact that we’re talking about professional players making millions of dollars.

I believe that what I have gone through is only a small portion of what they have gone through. And last week, you saw the photos where someone’s grandfather had his hair dyed blue. Some are seven years old, and there are some who are seventy-seven years old and utterly delighted. All they can say is that they are content.What did it take to develop a winning mindset when the team had previously established a record for defeat?Three years ago, the ownership made changes to the team’s management, hiring Dan Campbell, a colorful coach who was formerly a player with the Lions, as well as a new general manager. He was a member of the 2008 Lions club that became the first NFL team to lose all 16 games in a season, a record no other NFL team wants to break. At his first press conference, however, Campbell struck a different tone, promising to assemble a Lions roster that, in his words, would represent the hard-bitten mentality of the city. Campbell once famously declared that he wanted a squad that, if knocked down, would get back up and gnaw up its opponent’s kneecap until the team was standing.

And Detroit assembled its team with those hard-bitten, scrappy players in mind. They even sell hats these days with the word “grit” printed boldly on the front. In order to avoid having to rebuild the team yet again, they moved away from their great quarterback. Instead, they signed and drafted players who could provide a strong running game mixed with accurate passing attacks. As a result, Detroit’s offense is currently among the best in the NFL. When the Lions’ runners were stonewalled by the powerful Tampa Bay defense yesterday, according to Coach Campbell, they needed that passing attack.

It felt similar to slamming a sledgehammer through a steel door. We were just, you know, over and over again. Therefore, we realized that before beginning to run it, we had to loosen them up, and we did just that.

Okay, Quinn, the Lions have one game remaining to win the Super Bowl. How do you feel? What are the odds against them?Yes, it will be difficult. The crowd that witnessed Detroit’s final two playoff games at home was yelling with a pent-up intensity that sprang from decades of football anguish. The 49ers, who have one of the league’s best defenses and a history of rallying from behind in the closing moments of games—as they did against the Green Bay Packers last weekend—will now face the Lions in San Francisco.

But Detroit’s Super Bowl extravaganza is just one game away. And supporters of the squad from all throughout Motor City and the nation are beginning to jump on board very quickly.