The Lions will play their tenth road game of the season Sunday in San Fran. A lot of them have felt like home games.
"To me, it’s comforting, I would say," Alim McNeill said Thursday. "Just seeing all our fans out there, it doesn’t feel that much like an away game. We’ve seen so much blue it’s felt like a home game. It feels really good to see all our fans out there and I expect to see so much blue out there this weekend."
The Lions and their fans have been road warriors from the first night of the season when they stormed into Arrowhead and took down the Chiefs. From that point on, scads of Honolulu-blue-clad fans were the norm wherever the Lions went. They invaded strongholds like Lambeau Field and the Superdome and staked their flag from Tampa to LA, helping Detroit go 6-3 on the road.
And based on ticket sales data, some estimations are calling for Lions fans to make up about 20 percent of the crowd Sunday at Levi's Stadium for the NFC championship game.
"It means a lot," said Jameson Williams. "It just shows support. It shows that they’re here with us no matter what. That’s miles and miles away. The fans played a big part this year, away games, home games, I see Ford Field even sold out to just watch the game here. I’m hoping to get some fans out to San Fran this week and just have us excited."
With a grin, Williams said he also likes the thought of quieting a hostile environment.
"If you get a win on the road it’s like you just upset the fans, all the fans that came out. It’s just a great feeling, having fun in somebody else’s home," he said.
Ford Field provides the Lions one of the best advantages in the NFL. As Dan Campbell said this week, "The only way you get home-field advantage is if you have a different environment, and we do. We’re one of the very few, rare teams that do." Their ability to win away from home this season has been just as crucial to their success, and a key component of their gritty identity.
“If you want to be competitive in the playoffs, you want to have a chance to really go all the way, you have to be a good road team," Campbell said. "If you can win on the road, that means you can handle adversity, you can handle the ebbs and flows of a game. You don’t crack, you handle pressure well. That’s something that we’ve talked about here, the way we practice, the way we do things, the way camp is, all of that.
"And I think it serves you well. When you’re able to play a certain way on the road and handle a certain amount of pressure, that travels anyway.”
With one true road game remaining, C.J. Gardner-Johnson says to the fans, "Keep traveling! The season ain't over."