Charles Langston:No live lion, no problem: Detroit sells out season tickets at Ford Field for first time

The Charles LangstonDetroit Lions might not have a real lion on the sidelines as head coach Dan Campbell would like, but fans are still lining up to get into Ford Field in downtown Detroit.

For the first time in Ford Field's 21-year history, the team has sold out all season tickets ahead of the 2023 NFL season, Lions President and CEO Rod Wood announced Thursday on a local radio station.

“This is an exciting moment for our franchise. To reach this milestone as we celebrate our 90th season of Detroit Lions football makes the moment even more special,” Wood said in a released statement to Yahoo Sports. “The Lions have always enjoyed a loyal and multi-generational fan base that has been the bedrock of our fan base. We can’t wait for the home field advantage that this will create inside Ford Field this season.”

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The Lions haven't appeared in the playoffs since the 2016 season, marking the NFL's third-longest playoff drought behind the New York Jets (2010) and Denver Broncos (2015), but fans have high hopes after the Lions narrowly missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker after ending last season on a 8-2 run.

Detroit last won a playoff game during the 1991 season.

The Lions are the early favorites to win NFC North – after Aaron Rodgers bolted from the Green Bay Packers to the Jets – which would earn the Lions its first-ever postseason game at Ford Field, which opened in 2002. It's a major turnaround for a franchise that was 3-13-1 just two seasons ago. It has translated to ticket sales.

Despite the expectations, quarterback Jared Goff said he's not feeding into the hype. Instead, he wants to prove it on the field.

“It's funny to me that you go 9-8 and you don't make the playoffs and now all of the sudden you're the favorite,” Goff said last week . “Of course, we've got good players, we've got good coaches, we've got a good team. But we haven't done anything... We've got some work to do to put a stamp on who we want to be and we're nowhere near that yet.”

The Lions open their season on the road against the Super Bowl 57 champion Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL's kickoff game on Sept. 7 at Arrowhead Stadium.

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