Origin of car featured on Lions' Sports Illustrated cover has been revealed

Sports Illustrated may not occupy the space on the sports landscape it once did, but it's still an iconic brand and it means something to be on the cover of the print magazine. So there was naturally quite a stir when it was revealed the Detroit Lions are on the cover of the 2024 NFL preview issue.

The Lions are also predicted to win the Super Bowl in that season preview issue, which further invites concern from fans over an SI cover curse/jinx (which has quickly been dismissed by Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports),

On that cover with Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jared Goff is a 1957 Ford Fairlane. 1957 is also of course the last time the Lions won a championship, so the symbolism is obvious.

It's also fair to say finding a suitable car from 1957 would be a challenge, though there are certainly vintage car collectors out there.

Where did the car from the Lions' Sports Illustrated cover come from?

Ryan Talaga is a native of South Lyon, Michigan and a diehard Lions fan. He has also followed in his dad's footsteps as a classic car collector. He told his story to Kory Woods of MLive on Friday.

"There was a wanted ad posted in a couple of different car club magazines,” Talaga told MLive. “I had a few car club friends reach out and say, ‘Hey, I know you have a ‘57 Ford. I found an interesting opportunity; let me know if you’re interested.’”

After some phone tag, Talaga connected with a woman named Marguerite at Sports Illustrated.

"I sent her some pictures of the car", Talaga said, "and she goes, ‘Oh man, that would be perfect.’”

Scheduling conflicts delayed the cover shoot until July. Then the moment became real for Talaga.

"Until I got there, pulled the car out, and then the players walked out, I’m like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening,’” Talaga said. “I was at training camp last year, got to meet a couple of players briefly, and got a few autographs. But to be part of something like this, to see my car in a national publication, that’s something I really take pride in. And as a Lions fan, it’s the best of both worlds.”

Apparently Taylor Decker is a bit of a classic car collector himself. Talaga told Woods the Lions left tackle, who was part of the SI shoot, revealed he has a 1968 Bronco and drives it "everywhere".

Talaga also told Woods he didn't know exactly what SI had planned. So the first time he saw the cover was when the rest of the world did on Thursday morning, after a friend spotted it and asked it was his car.

Of course it was his car, and now Talaga will forever have a little place in Lions' lore.