Sports

Watch: 'Spirit of Detroit' Dressed in Lions Jersey in NFL Playoff Hoopla

"It's not just a flipping a jersey on a statue," Lions spokesman says as excitement builds for Wild Card round against the Dallas Cowboys.

Dressed in a Lions jersey, the “Spirit of Detroit” statue at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center reflects excitement for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys at 4:40 p.m. Sunday. (Photo via Twitter)

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The Detroit Lions have already won Sunday’s NFL Wild Card round against the Dallas Cowboys – at least in spirit.

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The 26-foot-tall “Spirit of Detroit” statue is wearing a No. 1 ‘One-Pride’ Lions jersey. In the past, the statue has worn Red Wings and Tigers jerseys to celebrate those teams’ post-season play in their respective league finals. But this is the first time for a Lions jersey.

Dressing the statue wasn’t easily accomplished, Lions spokesman Ben Manges told WJBK-TV.

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“It’s not just flipping a jersey on a statue. There’s a lot that goes into it. You’ll see they have some cranes and lifts there, to actually lift and put it on,” he said. “They’ll have people kind of sewing and making alterations to make sure that it sits properly.”

People are stopping at the statue, which is located at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Ave., taking pictures and selfies as anticipation builds for Sunday’s game.

Among them was Stella Boileau, 85, of Dearborn, who snapped a picture with her cell phone for her fiance, Chuck Shirley of Dearborn Heights, a Lions fan. Boileau was at the Municipal Center to pick up their marriage license with her daughter, Nancy Vitale

“Who isn’t a Detroit Lions fan right now?” Vitale, 50, told the Detroit Free Press.

The game will be played at 3:40 p.m. Central Time (that’s 4:40 p.m. Eastern Time) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, and will be broadcast on FOX. Locally, find the game on WJBK-TV.

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  • Are the Lions going to win this?

Here’s a video the Detroit Lions posted showing what workers had to do to dress the statue.


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