Why did Jared Goff Say “Best fans in the f***ing league!” To Lions Fans?
Jared Goff, the quarterback of the Detroit Lions, expressed admiration for his followers after noticing that all of the Lions fans were there at a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As soon as the Lions’ 20-6 victory was announced, a sea of blue filled Raymond James Stadium, and a raucous crowd cheered. Goff went on to refer to them as the finest in the NFL after being so shocked by the outpouring of love.
View this post on Instagram
Why Goff believes that is understandable. When a team plays at home, they often only hear this kind of support, not 1,200 miles away.
Since the Lions finally appear to be a serious NFL contender, it is understandable that so many of their supporters are attending games this year. The Lions fans have frequently turned out in large numbers for away games, not just the meeting with the Bucs on Sunday.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Since so many Detroit fans were present when the Lions humiliated Green Bay in Week 4, the Packers released a statement to repair the situation.
View this post on Instagram
“The Packers have encouraged our ticketholders to sell to other Packers fans when possible. The secondary market, however, allows fans from anywhere to purchase tickets and Lambeau Field remains a popular destination for all fans, including those from other teams,” the statement read. “We have seen this, particularly with divisional games. Conversely, this is how the Packers often enjoy many Packers fans at away games.”
In the worst of times, Detroit Lions fans stuck with their team.
We should take a closer look at the data before you start to believe that Lions supporters only attend games when the team is winning.
I’ve seen a lot of opposing fan bases make noise for their team after a win — but the Lions might’ve topped them all today.
Or as @JaredGoff16 said to me as he left the field, “Are you seeing this? Best fans in the f***ing league!”
This video is well after the game ended… pic.twitter.com/PyL8TtmLXQ
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 15, 2023
There has been a reasonable level of home game attendance for the Lions since 2006. In 15 of the 17 seasons, including the COVID year, Detroit hosted at least 412,000 fans at Ford Field for gameday attendance.
Ford Field was packed six times by the Lions if you split the lower end of the annual attendance totals (412,177) by the 65,000 seats available in the stadium. You get the idea: Detroit supporters still showed up, even though the stadium obviously wasn’t full for six games and vacant for two.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Given that Detroit went through one of the worst slumps in league history, the stats are even more remarkable. The Lions experienced one more 0-16 season than playoff victories throughout that time period. However, there were still a good number of fans present.
View this post on Instagram
Now that the good times have arrived, a fan base that has been hankering after victory is suddenly satisfied and turning out in droves. Because of their commitment over the challenging years and their attendance on the road, Jared Goff named his fans the best in the NFL, and they are deserving of that honor.
