The Detroit Lions and the Three Lions: Drawing inspiration

From one long-frustrated football squad to another, the Detroit Lions can draw inspiration from England’s surprising breakthrough at the 2018 World Cup.

After triumphing 2-0 in a ‘way easier than they’ve learned to expect’ match against Sweden on Saturday, England advances to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Known as the Three Lions, this marks England’s best World Cup performance since 1990, bringing a massive catharsis and renewed optimism to their fervent supporters.

From one group of Lions to another, this is exactly the type of breakthrough that fans in Detroit are patiently waiting and hoping for.

I’ve been following the Detroit Lions for 25 years now. Admittedly, I’ve only been paying attention to England’s national soccer team for the past four years.

However, through my crash course in the other* football, I keep finding more and more striking parallels in the trajectory of each team and their supporters.

Far beyond just a nickname, the collective history and shared narratives of both sets of Lions have taken an eerily similar course over the past 60 years.

If it’s finally happening for England, could we dare hope that it could soon finally be happening for Detroit?

*I fully believe that no matter how anti-soccer a person thinks they are, reading these six books would completely change their view on the topic: The Ball is Round, The Game of Our Lives, Fever Pitch, The Football Men, How Soccer Explains the World, and Soccernomics.