As a team founded on grit, Dan Campbell and the Lions are pulling for the Gritty Tigs.
After being left for dead last month, much like the Lions in 2022, the Tigers are on the verge of clinching one of the most improbable playoff berths in MLB history.
"It’s awesome, dude," Campbell said Thursday. "The Tigers were written off in July, I heard it. It was like, these guys are done, right? And now look at them."
The Lions nearly turned a 1-6 start in 2022 into one of the most improbable playoff berths in NFL history. They fell a game short, but did go 8-2 down the stretch to set themselves up for a division title and a run to the NFC title game in 2023.
The Tigers were 55-63 and 10 games out of a playoff spot on Aug. 10. Only one MLB team has ever made the playoffs in a non-shortened season after being at least eight games under .500 in August: the 1973 Mets. The Tigers are three games away from becoming the second.
"So, for that, I’m rooting for those guys, Campbell said. "I do, I love it."
Campbell obviously doesn't get to watch much baseball, but he's kept up with the Tigers' run. Every time he checks in, he hears, "Hey man, they won again, they won again."
"I think when you sit in these seats and you do what they’re doing at a professional level, it doesn’t matter where you’re at," Campbell said. "You just have to keep improving and you just improve, improve, improve, work, work, work, and that’s what they’ve done.
"You just don’t know how many different kinks you’re working through. You’re trying to find the best rotation and figure this out and work on this and work with this and what about this and the lineup -- and pretty soon you find it and then you just get better and better and better. And that’s what they’ve done. They’re playing really good right now, so I’m fired up for them.”