Shawn WindsorDetroit Free Press
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Finally, the NFL draft is upon us. And it’s worth noting that the host of last year’s draft — Kansas City — is home to the football team that won the Super Bowl nine months later.
Coincidence?
Or Patrick Mahomes?
I’ll let you be the judge. Though I’d gently remind you that coincidence has no place in sports, but karma and superstition absolutely do.
So, yes, the Chiefs won because the city they play in hosted the draft, obviously. But also: Since the NFL took the draft back on the road in 2015 — it had been held in New York City for the previous 50 years — no other city has hosted the draft and had its NFL team win the Super Bowl the following season.
Who hosted before Kansas City, you ask? Las Vegas in 2022, thenCleveland, Philadelphia, Dallas and Nashville.
Eh, maybe one doesn’t have to do with another?
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Well, it’s fun to think that Detroit could make it two years in a row. It’s not crazy to think this either, because, you know, the Lions are Super Bowl contenders, or at least they will be when the season begins in September.
Speaking of which, that’s only five months away.
But, first, we have the draft, and the couple hundred thousand fans city officials are expecting later this week, and the temporary stage that’s taken over Campus Martius, and the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, who will man the stage Thursday night during the first round, and the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is expected to be on display this weekend, available for photo ops.
Can you imagine? The Super Bowl trophy in downtown Detroit?
Until recently, you couldn’t. Now you can. That’s the new reality around here.
In years past, if Detroit were to have hosted the draft, it would’ve felt like the biggest football event of the year. Now it’s just a big party, and a reminder of the Lions’ relevance on the national stage, and a reason to debate a freeway sign.
Actually, the city had long planned a sign along I-94 welcoming visitors. Officials moved its unveiling up to coincide with the draft. Someone used the word “Hollywood” to describe what it would look like. “Water park” might have been a better description.
The viral reaction to the sign wasn’t surprising, given the pride folks have around here. The city is a unique, substantial and interesting place, and it's slowly beginning to get its due on the national stage. Folks had hoped for letters to match the city’s vibe.
The draft should only help.
Think back to January, when the Lions hosted their first playoff game in 31 years, and the overhead shots during the game’s telecast put images to the city that matched how so many feel about it?
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This weekend could do similar things.
The mayor, Mike Duggan, declared Thursday as “Honolulu Blue Day.”
“Detroit Lions players brag all the time that Detroit has the greatest football fans anywhere. They proved it during the Lions amazing playoff run last season, even showing up in huge numbers in opposing teams’ territory,” he said in a statement recently. “This is a chance for Lions fans to show their pride in the heart of downtown as the eyes of the world are on our city, once again.”
Though it won’t only be Lions’ fans cascading into downtown. Fans are expected from everywhere, especially from driving distances around the Midwest.
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Some similarly hearty fanbases exist within a few hours. Cleveland comes to mind. So does Pittsburgh, Chicago — the Bears have the first pick — Cincinnati and Green Bay.
The Commanders of Washington D.C. have the seventh pick, and D.C. is only 8 hours away. Some will fly. Hence, the sign on I-94 welcoming visitors from Metro Airport. The draft may not be the Super Bowl, but it attracts more folks.
The best part of the weekend, of course, is Lions fans — that is almost everyone in the area — get to experience the draft as the draft, not as a proxy for the Super Bowl. For decades, the draft has been the highlight of the year.
Now the season is. The games are. Thursday, Friday and Saturday will feel like playing with house money.
The Lions don’t even pick until No. 29. They don’t have to use it. They could trade down and acquire more picks for Friday, even Saturday.
Whatever they do, it won’t feel like the future of the franchise is at stake, as important as every draft is. It will just feel like the team has the chance to get better, kind of like when San Francisco drafts, or Kansas City drafts.
Well, maybe not exactly like Kansas City, as the Chiefs have now won three Super Bowls with Andy Reid and Mahomes, and played in four of the last five. Yet the point stands: For the best franchises in the league, the draft is fun, not the end-all of the calendar.
When was the last time anyone could say that?
So, enjoy the three-day celebration of the city, and of the Lions, and remember what the city said on its Instagram account in response to the reaction to its sign:
“The Detroit Sign is a testament to Detroit’s growth over the last 10 years. No, it hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been a decade of resilience, tough conversations and togetherness ... This is only the beginning.”
Just don’t stop on the freeway to take a picture of it.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 orswindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
Feeling a draft?
What:2024 NFL draft.
Where:Detroit.
The schedule:Round 1 — 8 p.m. Thursday; Rounds 2-3 — 7 p.m. Friday; Rounds 4-7 — Noon Saturday.
TV:ABC, ESPN, NFL Network.
Lions’ picks (with overall pick in parentheses):Round 1 — No. 29 (29); Round 2 — No. 29 (61); Round 3 — No. 9 (73), No. 29 (92); Round 5 — No. 29 (163); Round 6 — No. 23 (201), No. 27 (205); Round 7 — No. 29 (247).
