Detroit’s late-afternoon sun begins to tuck behind a red brick structure, proudly displaying Eastern Market above its bowed archways. Vendors, who punctuate the building’s open-air stalls, start packing up their vegetables, baked goods, flowers and textiles for the day. It’s 5 p.m. on Saturday, and the market’s once-packed six sheds are empty. The farmers and merchants are making way for something a bit more boisterous, but arguably just as homegrown. Come Sunday morning, the 125-year-old Eastern Market will be transformed into Lions country, with tailgaters blanketing the district in Honolulu Blue.
Integral to being a Lions fan is summoning perseverance amid pain. The team has never won a Super Bowl, nor ever really come close. Detroit’s last postseason appearance came in 2016, when the Lions fell to the Seahawks in a wild-card matchup, failing to muster a touchdown. The Lions have not won a playoff game since George H. W. Bush occupied the White House in 1991. Their last nine playoff games have been losses.
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