Beyond the draft

It took a little while, and a lot of deep pockets, but business leaders get it, using sports as an impetus and a connector. A lot progressed even while the Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons struggled, and the Lions’ blueprint was just forming.

When Little Caesars Arena opened in 2017, Detroit became the only American city with all four pro teams in arenas clustered downtown. In every way — physically, emotionally, historically — the city and its teams are inextricably linked.

Holmes and Campbell got it immediately, and kept pushing it even when the game pushed back, when the team started 4-19-1 under their regime (22-8 since). The Lions’ culture mirrors the city’s — no-nonsense, mash over flash — with the standard caveat that much work remains.

“I was eternally optimistic, even when things were as bad as they could be,” said Goff, who arrived in the Matthew Stafford trade in 2021. “Now, we sit here with a good team and a good chance to make some noise. But for us to think we’re just gonna show up and land back in the NFC championship game is foolish. Our whole division is coming after us.”

Finally, the Lions and the city are worth chasing. Detroit fell behind for a variety reasons, including the economic troubles of the auto industry and divisiveness in community leadership. But one thing has never changed — the emotional connection to sports.

You see it in large ways, with the cheering, sobbing throngs of Lions fans at games, and also in small ways. Back at the Detroit Club, Goff fought back tears as he presented a retirement gift to Lions director of security Elton Moore, who befriended the quarterback admittedly shaken after the trade to Detroit.

Michael Robinson, 76, gulped hard when honored as one of the team’s super-fans. He grew up in Detroit but now lives in Oshkosh, Wis., and makes the 500-mile drive for every Lions home game. He was there for the 2022 opener against the Eagles and didn’t feel well, but stayed until the end. The Marine Corps veteran left in an ambulance with dangerous sepsis from a leg infection.

He’s attended Lions home games for 66 years, and after Goff handed him his award, he could scarcely express himself.

“Blew me away,” Robinson said. “I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Never, ever dreamed I’d have this happen to me.”

Goff and Jared Jewelers also presented donations to the FATE Program, which promotes mentorship and leadership development. The beams on the faces of the dozen kids on stage, taking pictures with the quarterback, were priceless.

That’s part of what can be the enduring legacy. In its pitch to the NFL, the Detroit Sports Commission said it would donate $1 million to support two community causes — youth sports and literacy.

“The economic impact is important, but so is the community impact,” said Dave Beachnau, executive director of the commission. “We wanted the legacy to be sustainable, and for the residents and the kids to be part of these big events. Once the circus folds up its tents and leaves town, what’s left behind?”

Look up, look down, look all around. It’s a question Detroit is happy to field, and confident to answer.

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