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The family story that turned an England native into a Detroit Lions superfan

10 hours ago

DETROIT On one of the coldest days of Detroits holiday season so far sub20 degree weather fans were already lining up outside Ford Field for Thursday Night Football Among them was an international couple who were also diehard Detroit Lions fans Donning a custom Union Jack flag with the Lions logo centered Jordan Byrom and his wife Laura made the trip from Leeds England specifically for Thursdays game against the Dallas Cowboys The 33yearold Englishman who has been a Lions fan for close to 17 years shared the unique story behind his loyalty to the franchise My greatgrandfather Charles Draper lived in Detroit in the 1920s Byrom told MLive He got a job over here painting cars So when I got into the NFL it was the most logical choice to become a Lions fan He was from Wigan in England and he was just doing manual labor jobs And I guess he probably saw something in the newspaper about going to Detroit to paint cars so he hopped on a cruise and came over Byroms earliest memories of the Lions date back to around 2007 during the Jon Kitna and Tatum Bell era He previously attended Lions games in London when the team played at Wembley Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons 2014 and Kansas City Chiefs 2015 but this is his first trip to Ford Field And while hes thrilled to be in Detroit finally hes admittedly concerned about the Lions current position at 75 sitting third in the NFC North and outside the NFC playoff picture I thought wed be in a lot better position than what we are Byrom said But yeah I knew it was going to be a big game because every games a big game Byrom and his wife will also follow the Lions to California next week for their Week 15 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium But for now hes holding out hope that one of his favorite players will suit up while hes in the Motor City I mean hopefully AmonRa St Brown can play because thats always the player I want to see he said I remember the first time the Lions came to Wembley Calvin Johnson was injured so that was a big miss for me So St Brown but the whole team basically Its a team full of superstars so Im happy to see them all When asked what he believes will be the key to a Lions victory against the Cowboys he pointed toward the defense under coordinator Kelvin Sheppard I mean I think the key is the cornerbacks to me because youre going to get CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens Byrom said Its going to be tough playing mancoverage against them so the D is going to be massive I feel like our offense can hopefully get ticking a bit better than it has been in the last couple of weeks Byrom noted that his Detroit sports fandom doesnt stop with the Lions He attended a Detroit Red Wings game earlier this week and often keeps up with the Detroit Tigers And while he wont be back for the playoffs should the Lions make it he made one vow to return under a particular circumstance I dont think my bank balance will allow that but it would be nice he said about returning to Detroit for a playoff game Maybe if I win the lottery Ill be here for the Super Bowl

Kory Woods

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