C.J. Gardner-Johnson calls for Lions fans to fully embrace villain role

C.J. Gardner-Johnson has come to the Detroit Lions, and he's been an immediate tone-setter with his trash talk and now his performance in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He is intent on changing the culture around the team, in his own way.

On Tuesday, he gave props to Lions' fans showing out at Arrowhead Stadium.

"From what I’ve seen, we got probably the most ruthless fans in the game," Gardner-Johnson said Tuesday. "From talking crap, they feed off of us. They yelled the loudest (last week), and that was a home game for KC. … You're gonna see on Sunday. Blue ski masks everywhere.""

Before and after the season opener against Kansas City, Gardner-Johnson was seen wearing a blue ski mask. That's inspired by general manager Brad Holmes wearing a "VILLAIN" sweatshirt before this year's draft.

"What Coach Brad say, we villains, right? It's part of us, it’s just the culture, I’m changing it," said Gardner-Johnson. "No paper bags. Ski masks, we taking what’s ours.""

C.J. Gardner-Johnson wants to see a sea of blue ski masks at Ford Field Sunday

For much of recent history, Lions' fans may have been compelled to wear paper bags to hide their shame--if they showed up to the stadium at all. But Gardner-Johnson wants to see blue ski masks in the sellout crowd on Sunday, and he'd like it if the starting defense was introduced wearing them.

"I hope they introduce the defense, ski masks on,”"

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Lions' fans apparently responded quickly and big-time to Gardner-Johnson's call. According to Barstool Detroit on Tuesday night, blue ski masks were sold out on Amazon. To clean out the world's largest marketplace of any item that fast, even briefly, is a heck of a feat.

And of course, because that's the world we live, Gardner-Johnson had to circle back and clarify the purpose of his calling for Lions' fans to wear ski masks.

The visual of thousands of Lions' fans in blue ski masks will be awesome on Sunday. Quite a shift from sparse crowds with paper bags sprinkled in at Ford Field not all that long ago.