Detroit Lions fans celebrate after their second playoff win at Ford Field
A view inside Ford Field as Detroit Lions fans celebrate the 31-23 NFC divisional round win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 21, 2024.
Now just 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl, the new-look Detroit Lions have instilled hope, joy and even confidence in a long-suffering fan base. But not many fans are as confident as Jean Virkus' husband Mike. He bought a pair of plane tickets to San Francisco before the Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams in their first playoff game.
“He wanted to surprise me, but I got an email from Delta confirming my flight,” said Jean Virkus.
Over in Bloomfield Hills, longtime Lions fan Dan Ervin showed similar courage, buying two plane tickets to the Bay Area for himself and his son Danny shortly after the Lions' victory over the Rams.
“I was like, ‘I’m going all in; I don't care,'” Dan Ervin said. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll still go to San Francisco.”
The Lions had one of the NFL's best-traveling fan bases this season, sometimes surprising opponents by taking over large portions of their stadiums. Now comes one of the bigger logistical challenges, as the Lions play their biggest games in more than three decades in Santa Clara, 2,400 miles away.
“We have such a great fan base, I expect there will be a lot of blue in the stadium,” Virkus said. “We traveled well all season, and I know a lot of people from Detroit are trying to travel there.”
Not cheap, but not as over the top as some might think
Ervin and Virkus each fly to San Francisco, where they each have old friends they want to visit before the game. But for Lions fans solely interested in attending the game, a flight to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport might make the most sense – it's only about 7 miles from Levi's Stadium, home of the 49ers, during the San Francisco International Airport is more than 30 miles away.
A flight from Detroit Wayne County International Airport to San Jose, flying Saturday through Monday, cost about $500 with a reasonable stopover starting Monday afternoon. Flights to San Francisco ranged from $420 to $660 with a stopover.
Tickets for the game at Levi's Stadium were available Monday on Ticketmaster.com starting at $595 and going up to more than $2,200, in line with Ford Field postseason prices in recent weeks. Ervin hasn't purchased his tickets yet: “We're watching it closely and trying to figure out if the price will go up or down,” he said.
Hotels in close proximity to the stadium were surprisingly affordable on Monday. A two-night stay starting Saturday at the Ramada by Wyndham Sunnyvale/Silicon Valley, just about 1.5 miles from the stadium, cost $139 per night on Hotels.com, including taxes and fees. Those looking for a more upscale experience could try the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara Silicon Valley for around $350 per night.
Transportation to and from these hotels to the stadium via taxi or Uber typically costs less than $20 – although an NFC Championship game may incur a higher fee. Some hotels may offer stadium shuttles. The region's Valley Transportation Authority provides light rail service to Caltrain, which provides service to the stadium from the city of San Francisco, as well as VTA bus service to the stadium. The cost is $15 or less.
“The greatest year of our lives as sports fans”
Ervin was a Lions season ticket holder at the old Pontiac Silverdome for many years and then at Ford Field for the first few years. Life was hectic and season tickets were eliminated, but he and his son still frequently attended Lions games.
Free Press sports columnist Carlos Monarrez portrayed Danny Ervin in May 2019 as a young Lions “superfan” who passionately supported the team despite its losses.
Danny, now 22, is preparing to graduate from the University of Michigan, which just won its own national football championship earlier this month.
“It was the greatest year of our lives as sports fans,” Dan Ervin said, because both the Lions and Wolverines had so much success.
The Ervins reinstated their Lions season tickets when failed general manager and head coach Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia were shown the door and Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell were brought in to try again. “We bought at the bottom,” Ervin said.
With another friend, the Ervins have developed a “world-class tailgate” just outside Ford Field that sometimes attracts up to 100 new and old friends.
“So much approval and so much suffering over such a long time”
“It’s like a homecoming,” Ervin said. “I meet up with high school friends, college friends, work friends – they’ve heard about it and want to be a part of it. Then there are the people you get to know “from the aisle” in your section of the stadium. Lions football brings metro Detroit residents together — of different races, ages and incomes — in a way that other Detroit sports simply don't, he said. And the Lions' great season and postseason run made it even more intense and special.
“It’s emotional in a way I never thought a sport could make me,” Ervin said. “There was so much approval and so much suffering for so long. Seeing it actually happen is inspiring.”
Ervin was there to watch the Pistons and Red Wings win championships. But if the Lions did it? “It will be many times the greatest thing that has ever happened in this city,” he said.
An old Lions jacket in the basement, revived
Jean Virkus and her husband grew up in sports-loving – and Lions-loving – families. She grew up in East Lansing and her father, Fred Tinning, was not only an instructor at Michigan State University's medical school, but also team chaplain of the Spartans football team for eight years under then-coach Darryl Rogers, who later became a Lions coach.
Jean Virkus lost both parents in 2019, her father suddenly around Thanksgiving. Her sister also died last year.
Virkus was preparing for the Lions' playoff game against the Rams and was looking for an old, beloved Lions jacket from years ago. She couldn't find it, then remembered it was stored in the basement.
“When I wore it to the game, I realized it was what I wore the last day I saw my dad before he died,” she said. “In my last picture with my dad, I’m wearing this Lions jacket. I will of course wear this jacket when I come to the game in Santa Clara.”
It's hard for Virkus to dream of the Lions' Super Bowl appearance.
“When something like this happens, I get really nervous because I really want them to win,” she said. “But I just have a really good feeling about it. “They just have the spirit of Detroit.”
Contact Keith Matheny: [email protected].