Lions fans were thankful Thursday for the 23-20 win over the Bears after seven successive losses in the annual holiday tradition.
Kyle VanHemert from the Ann Arbor area said he’s been to a handful of Thanksgiving games over the past 10 years and hadn’t seen a win yet.
“You look at the Dallas game (47-9 win on Oct. 13) where we clearly came out and wanted to avenge the loss last year — I think they’re going to say, ‘This season we need to clean up on Thanksgiving. It’s time for the tradition to start looking our way.’
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt better coming into a game,” he said.
The optimism felt around the stadium was a welcome change of pace for Lions diehards. Since the team’s last NFL title in 1957, Detroit has had a winning record in just 20 of 66 seasons.
Joseph Maruskin, 18, of Traverse City envisioned a 45-14 Lions win, with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta all scoring at least one touchdown. (LaPorta scored twice, though kicker Jake Bates accounted for the rest of Detroit’s points.)
Joseph was there with his mom, Kelly Maruskin, who hasn’t missed a Lions Thanksgiving game since she was 9 years old.
“They’re going to come out strong,” Maruskin said.
The Lions did just that, scoring the game’s first points on a Bates field goal.
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Tim Rice said he’s been going to Lions games since the 1970s. He recalled a Thanksgiving game he attended as a child at Tiger Stadium, where the team played until 1974.
“I remember being cold as a kid,” said Rice of Detroit, with a chuckle. “It’s not so bad in here” at the domed Ford Field.
With the Lions in control 16-0 at halftime, Woody Longeway of Brighton was cautiously optimistic.
Longeway hopes the team can ride its momentum to its first Super Bowl title.
“The last time the Lions won a championship, in 1957, was the year I was born,” he said.
But the Lions’ first-half feast left fans with a case of indigestion when the Bears started mounting a comeback in the second half. Even as Chicago pulled to within 10 points of Detroit’s lead, Mathew Geiger of Dearborn wasn’t too worried.
“We’re playing with our food,” he said calmly.
When Bears quarterback Caleb Williams hit DJ Moore for a score with about 5 1/2 minutes left to play, Christina Byrd of Detroit was starting to feel nervous.
“It’s a divisional game and those are always tight,” she said.
Michelle Stanfield of South Lyon held a sign during the game in memory of Rowan Morey, who was killed this year at age 6. Once the game was over and the Lions had reversed their recent Thanksgiving curse, she was emotional.
“He was Hutch’s biggest fan,” she said of Rowan, “and he was there looking down on all of us Lions fans today and he helped us secure that win.”
Ron Barnhart of Warren said he couldn’t remember a Thanksgiving when he’d been so high on the Lions’ postseason prospects.
“Last year was a good season, but I think this one’s even better,” he said.