Maybe 2026 will be the Lions’ year?

Posted on by farlane
Lion Cub Cuteness by Detroit Zoo

Lion Cub Cuteness by Detroit Zoo

Another year is in the books for the Detroit Lions, and fans are once again left watching as the top teams head to the playoffs. Will 2026 be our year? True Lions fans know the answer is: probably not, but we will damn sure be ready to believe again 😉

The Detroit Zoo shared these photos at the end of December writing “Mamma Amirah cuddled up with her trio of cubs warm your winter heart. At five weeks old, we can now determine that she has two girls and one boy. Her cubs are healthy and growing fast – gaining almost a pound each in just four days! They have also started to venture out of the den to other spaces. Amirah is being a very attentive mother and seems eager to show off her cubs to the rest of the pride. Stay tuned for more lion cub love from the Detroit Zoo.“

More from Michigan zoos (including a baby gorilla) on Michigan in Pictures and you know I’m gonna compare cougar & lion cubs…

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91 years of Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day football!!

Posted on by farlane
Detroit's first Thanksgiving Day game 1934

Detroit’s First Thanksgiving Day Game 1934

I’m thankful for the Lions being a solid football team, for the Pistons leading the Eastern Conference, for friends & family & the turkey I am about to cook and for all of you readers!! Thank you for keeping this interesting and I hope that whatever your plans are, that you take some time to give thanks to those in your life who make it better.

The Detroit Lions will face divisional foe Green Bay Packers in today’s 1pm Thanksgiving Day football matchup. It’s the anniversary of the first-ever NFL Thanksgiving Day game that featured the Detroit Lions and the undefeated Chicago Bears who won the game 19-16. It was also the first year of Detroit Lions football!

The Detroit Historical Museum shares that in 1934 the Portsmouth Spartans made the wise decision to leave Portsmouth, Ohio and rebrand as the Detroit Lions. The Lions have played every Thanksgiving Day since 1934 (except for 1939 to 1944 during World War II) due to the influence of the team’s first owner George Richards who also owned the WJR radio station & whose marketing savvy was a big part of the early success of the National Football League.

In other Lions news, the team made an agreement with Eminem to produce halftime shows. For his first act, Em has lined up Detroit-born Hall of Fame & Grammy winning rocker Jack White along with fellow Detroiter & gospel musician CeCe Winans who will sing the national anthem. And yesterday, they announced the unretirement of All-pro center Frank Ragnow!

OK here’s a few photos from the Detroit Lions of Jameson Flippin’ Williams and a look at the Lions throwback 2025 Thanksgiving Day uniforms to take us out…

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Detroit Lions secure top playoff spot

Posted on by farlane
Spirit of Detroit Number One Playoff Seed Edition by Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions

Spirit of Detroit Number One Playoff Seed Edition by Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions

Last night the city of Detroit erupted in celebration after the 14-2 Detroit Lions destroyed the also 14-2 Minnesota Vikings last night for their 15th win & top seed in the NFC. It’s an absolutely incredible moment for the long suffering franchise & Lions fans everywhere!

Jahmyr Gibbs by Detroit Lions

Jahmyr Gibbs by Detroit Lions

The Lions running back lived up to his Sonic nickname with 139 yards on the ground, another 31 through the air, and FOUR touchdowns. Gibbs became the first Lions player to lead the NFL in scrimmage touchdowns (20) since Sanders in 1991 (17) while setting a single-season franchise record for TDs!!

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Lions & Tigers & Skeletons oh my!

Posted on by farlane
The Skeletons are Alive in Northville by Joel Williams

The Skeletons are Alive in Northville by Joel Williams

I know a lot of us have felt like we’d become skeletons before the Lions & Tigers were competitive, but here we are … even the Pistons won their first game of the season last night!

Happy Halloween everyone!! Joel took these ten years ago in Northville. See more in his The Skeletons are Alive in Northville & his Northville Skeletons 2016 galleries on Flickr!

Detroit Tigers Skeleton by Joel Williams

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Honolulu Blue Monday

Posted on by farlane

Dodge Fountain in Honolulu Blue by Andrew McFarlane

The Detroit Lions kicked off their highly anticipated 2024 season with a 26-20 overtime victory over former QB Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams! In honor of this, I decided to share one of my own photos, a picture of the Dodge Fountain on Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit lit up in Honolulu Blue.

I knew that the Dodge Fountain had been designed by artist Isamu Noguchi, but I just learned that he designed Philip A. Hart Plaza as well:

Noguchi’s most ambitious effort at the time, the Philip A. Hart Plaza project, began with a commission for a fountain and spanned almost a decade as the artist expanded his scope to create the surrounding plaza along with facilities below surface level. Envisioned as a place for the community to gather, the plaza layout emphasized flexibility to accommodate large groups. Dotting the eight-acre site are various stepped areas for both seating and play; an outdoor amphitheater built into a hollow below-surface grade; and a 120-foot-tall stainless steel, torqued pylon marking one entrance. Its central feature is the Horace E. Dodge Fountain, a horizontal ring of stainless steel suspended by legs above a massive granite pool and animated by the results of Noguchi’s ongoing experiments with programmed spray patterns (as well complex lighting schemes for nighttime).

I don’t have a photography website, but if you enjoy Michigan in Pictures you can support me with a few bucks on Patreon!!

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Get ready for the 2024 Detroit Lions!

Posted on by farlane
500 Drone Lion over Michigan Central Station by Stephen McGee Films

500 Drone Lion over Michigan Central Station by Stephen McGee Films

The Detroit Lions open the 2024 NFL Season at home Sunday night at 8:30pm vs Matthew Stafford & the Los Angeles Rams. In celebration, the Lions will hold a drone show over downtown Detroit like the one they held over Michigan Central Station back in January. The show will take place 400 feet above Ford Field facing downtown this Saturday (Sep 7) at 8:45pm.

There’s a huge amount of excitement around the Lions this year following their stellar 2023 season – let us know how you’re feeling in the comments!!

Stephen took this photo in January . Follow him @stephen_mcgree on Instagram. You can purchase this print & get information about his work including Resurgo, a documentary about the rebirth of Detroit on his website.

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Detrpit Lions Drone Show

Remembering the 0-16 Detroit Lions

Posted on by farlane

Unable to Watch by Sam

Unable to Watch by Sam

“This is not fun to go through, obviously. But there’s people going through a lot worse than this.”
-Lions head coach Rod Marinelli (2008)

Detroit Lions fans who haven’t successfully repressed the memories know that yesterday (December 28th) was the 13-year anniversary of the Lions finishing 0-16. With their 31-21 loss on Dec 28, 2008 to the Green Bay Packers they became the first team ever to go winless in a 16-game season. While they have been far from amazing in the first year of the Dan Campbell era, there are at least a few glimmers of hope to be found in their 2-12-1 season. At least that’s what I’m told. 😅

Sam took this photo at the Thanksgiving Day game when it was already pretty clear where the team was heading. See more in her Thanksgiving Day Football ’08 gallery on Flickr & for sure follow her blog Roar of the Tigers for entertaining content!

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Go inside the Lion’s Den with the 2020 Detroit Lions

Posted on by farlane

Season Finale by Mark Swanson

Season Finale by Mark Swanson

Pride of Detroit writes that one of the best video series the Detroit Lions have been producing over the past few years is their “Inside the Den” documentary (video below):

In year’s past, the video series has done their best to mimic popular HBO series “Hard Knocks” to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at training camp and the personal lives of certain Lions players. Despite all of the disruptions this offseason from COVID-19, the series is continuing this year, and on Thursday night, Episode 1 of the series dropped.

This year, the series may be more interesting than in previous seasons, seeing as media coverage of the team is severely limited right now. Episode 1 focuses heavily on the team’s preparations for the COVID-19 virus, the players arriving at the team facility for the first time this offseason, media day, head coach Matt Patricia making his appearance on “Good Morning Football,” and, of course, the Lions finally taking the field for conditioning drills and practice.

It’s really a pretty enlightening episode. From watching all of the preparation the team is doing to keep the facility safe—including spraying down pads between reps for players—to seeing signs just about everywhere in the facility indicating which personnel are allowed where.

Mark took this photo at Ford Field at the final game of the 2019 season. See more in his awesome Detroit photo album.

Here’s the video:

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What the heck is Honolulu Blue?

Posted on by farlane

Detroit Lions by Healthier Michigan

Detroit Lions by A Healthier Michigan

Yesterday as it often does, my curiosity got the better of me and I had to find the answer as to why the Detroit Lions official blue is called “Honolulu Blue”. Fortunately,  The Evolution of the Detroit Lions’ Uniform by Bill Dow has the answer:

When WJR owner G.A. Richards purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans in 1934 and moved the team to Detroit, the newly renamed Lions unveiled a striking uniform consisting of a blue jersey, silver pants, blue socks, and a silver helmet.

According to a 1950 Lion media guide, “the blue, a distinctive shade was especially developed for G.A. Richards.” According to team lore, their first owner came up with the color after admiring the hue of the Pacific Ocean on a trip to Hawaii and the shade was named “Honolulu blue.”

In 1999, Glenn Presnell, the then lone surviving member of the first Lion’s team and the league’ oldest alumnus, described his role in selecting the first uniform in an interview with me.

“When we met with Mr. Richards, my wife and I also helped select the Lions’ colors, “ Presnell said. “He had asked us to look at the different jerseys in the next room. There were all different colors, orange and black, red and white, you name it. We saw that Honolulu blue and silver and said we liked it best. So Richards chose that.”

You can read on for more including the Lions brief & doomed flirtation with Hoosier colors.

See more in A Healthier Michigan’s Lions Thanksgiving Day 2014 album!

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Time to Roar: Detroit Lions return to the playoffs

Posted on by farlane

Sorry. This was supposed to post this morning but somehow didn’t. Can we count this as the Lions’ big disappointment and win tonight??

matthew-stafford

Matthew Stafford, photo by Brook Ward

The Detroit Lions take the field at 8:15 PM tonight vs the Seattle Seahawks, who are 8 point favorites. This is the Lions’ first playoff appearance since January of 2015 when they were totally jobbed by the officiating crew. While I’m tempted to invite speculation on just how they will “Lions” this one, I am enough of a fan to leave it at “Go Lions!”

View Brook’s photo background big, see more in his Sports From My Perspective slideshow, and view & purchase photos on his website.