All Grit: 5 Key Outdoor Takeaways from the Detroit Lions' 2023 Season

In the wake of the Detroit Lions' most exciting - and heart wrenching - season in a generation, we're reflecting back on 5 key takeaways that Detroit's outdoor community can learn from this historic football team. #OnePride

"This is it - our whole season depends on this play."

I said those words audibly from Section 212C at Ford Field on January 28th. I was on my feet, along with tens of thousands of fellow diehard fans, cheering on the Detroit Lions' playoff hopes until our voices dissipated. Ironically, our yells would have zero tangible effect on that particular play - our boys were playing 2,419.5 miles away in Santa Clara, California.

But there we were - The Pride - gathered to watch Goff and the offense try to convert on one final 4th down gamble to keep our Super Bowl dreams alive.

The ball's snapped. The cheers give way to bated anticipation. Goff's pass is thrown towards ace receiver Amon Ra St. Brown.

The ball hits the ground. Incomplete.

This season - this glorious, division championship winning, 3 points away from the Super Bowl, unforgettable season - is now, in all material respects, over.

Fans started pouring out of Ford Field nearly as soon as the big screens broadcasted that incompletion. I couldn't join them. I had to stay in my seat, cheering the Lions on until the clock struck 0:00. Maybe it was due to my memory of being in that same building when our team came back against the Chicago Bears in dramatic fashion. Maybe it was the fact that the "Conference Championship" banner was located directly in my line of vision, taunting me with one remaining solitary space. Maybe I simply couldn't accept that these were the final seconds that I would watch this team play until September.

Ultimately, I stayed because I fell in love with this particular Detroit Lions team over the last two seasons. Beyond finally bringing winning football back to Detroit, the 2022-2023 Detroit Lions initiated a cultural phenomenon that I had never witnessed in my 30+ years of being a Detroit sports fan. A ripple effect that permeated far beyond the confines of Ford Field, the City of Detroit, or all of Michigan.

We all witnessed it. From the Honolulu Blue-lit buildings to the "Go Lions!" messages posted on church placards, "JA-RED GOFF!" chants breaking out at high school cheerleading matches to media graphics showing the whole country rooting for us, our One Pride grew exponentially this season. I've had friends from Colorado and Mississippi reach out to me asking about how it felt to be here, during this particular season, rooting for this exceptional team.

And once the heartbreak from our loss started to subside (still grappling with it TBH), I was finally able to answer: "Unforgettable."

As Detroit-based recreationists, we place our region's outdoor sports and endeavors over every other genre of recreation - including our beloved professional clubs. In that vein, as we at Expedition Detroit have processed this unforgettable Detroit Lions season from our outdoor lens, we zeroed in on these 5 key takeaways for cementing the legacy of this historic season into the culture of our outdoor community.