DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings were loaded with star players and future Hall of Famers who were the most recognizable athletes in town in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Times have changed. Now the Lions own the town and even one of the Red Wings’ top players can go unnoticed, as Alex DeBrincat discovered recently.
“I was just at dinner the other night and was sitting next to (Lions offensive lineman) Penei Sewell,” DeBrincat said. “I don’t think he knew who I was. I just kept quiet. It was a hibachi, and we were at the same table. I’m not sure he caught onto that, but I knew who he was. Pretty big dude for sure. He probably thought I was still in high school or something.”
DeBrincat got a kick out of it. The Farmington Hills native also will be thrilled if the Lions win their first home playoff game in 32 years Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field.
Unfortunately, DeBrincat and his teammates won’t be watching. They’ll be playing at Toronto, starting about an hour earlier than the Lions.
Coach Derek Lalonde, who hails from Upstate New York and is a gigantic Buffalo Bills fan, expects to get updates on the Lions during intermissions of his team’s game.
“I’m huge on the Lions bandwagon, I’m a huge Coach (Dan) Campbell fan,” he said.
Lalonde was excited to meet Campbell at Lions training camp.
“It was awesome,” Lalonde said. “Had a little chat after practice. My boys were able to meet him. He was exactly what I expected. He’s as real as it gets. I was a huge fan before getting to meet him.”
Campbell has agreed to come and speak to the Red Wings in the future.
“I would love that,” Lalonde said. “I think our guys would love it. We have a lot of sports fans in our group, a lot of Lions fans. The Lions building what they’re building, it’s fun to watch, and it excites a fan base and our guys are no different.”
DeBrincat said watching the Lions was a big part of his childhood.
“It’s nice being around for the bad times to enjoy these good times a little bit more,” DeBrincat said. “It’s definitely cool as a fan seeing it, seeing the city kind of buzzing over it.
“A lot of my friends are huge Lions fans. I feel like it’s a long time coming.”
Goaltender and Minnesota native Alex Lyon, a diehard Vikings fans, will be rooting for the Lions.
“Extremely happy for the Detroit Lions,” Lyon said. “I can usually one up the misery of the team where I’m at (Minnesota). This is probably the first time in my career where I can’t one up the fan angst. Usually I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, the Vikings are way worse than your team.’ Now it’s like Detroit’s better than the slogs for a while. It’s awesome that they’re coming out of it.
“I love Dan Campbell. He’s everything that I want to be as emotional. I love the way that he articulates himself, puts his emotions out there. I think it’s amazing.”
Lalonde hopes his team is following a Lions-type trajectory.
“They transformed their team from growing to expecting,” Lalonde said. “They had that 7-1 stretch (to end the 2022 season) and (Campbell) said expectations have changed and that’s a lot different pressure. We’re not there yet, but we’re flirting with that. We’re realistic with our expectations but you start flirting with it, you want more. We’d love to be there. They’ve changed their expectations to where they were happy to get a win to now they’re disappointed when they lose. That’s a team transforming their mentality.”
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Red Wings rooting hard for Lions, hoping to follow similar trajectory - MLive.com
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