Honolulu blue in Bavaria: The Lions’ Munich moment, powered by wins and a German-speaking star

MUNICH (AP) — A four-game winning streak. A star player who is half German.

There might not be a better time for the Detroit Lions to play a game in Munich. There’s talk of a “takeover.”

“Now that we’re winning, our fans have travelled everywhere we go,” coach Dan Campbell said Friday after the team arrived in Bavaria ahead of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.

“We almost feel like it’s been a takeover in some of these stadiums we’re at. Not every fan base is that way,” he said. “Ours is that way. And so you come over here and our fan base comes and then you see this and the support that you feel here in Munich, in this country. It’s pretty inspiring.”

The Lions haven’t played an international game since 2015. They bring a 6-2 record to Munich in what is technically a home game. It helps, too, that star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has a German mother and speaks the language fluently.

They are one of 11 NFL teams that have league-granted marketing rights in Germany, allowing them to sign commercial deals, build brand awareness and hold fan activations.

“We’re thrilled to be here to bring Detroit to the world and to have this opportunity to build the Detroit Lions’ brand and to continue to build our fan base and to engage with all the fans we have here in Germany and here in Europe,” team president and CEO Rich Haddad said.

“Walking around downtown,” he added, “it’s incredible to see how much Honolulu Blue is already here in Munich. It’s only going to grow over the next couple days. It’s been an incredible opportunity for our fans here in Germany and our fans who have come over from the United States and beyond.”

BLUE-COLLAR TEAM

Campbell was asked to describe the Motor City to German fans.

“Well, it’s a blue-collar city and we have blue-collar fans. They’re very much all about hard work. We don’t have the beach,” he said. “The summers are unbelievable, but things come a little bit harder out in that area.”

The people, he said, would “give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.”

Hired in 2021, Campbell said he aimed to “build a team that they could relate to. We want to be a team that they can look at and say: ‘I respect that. I respect the way they go about their business.’ … And so those are really the type of fans we have, man. Just good wholesome people that really care about each other. They put in good day’s work and man, they back us up and support the heck out of us and we love them to death.”

INJURY UPDATES

Edge rusher DJ Wonnum (concussion) was a full participant at practice all week and doesn’t have a game designation, indicating he’s ready to play. … RB Sione Vaki (ankle) practised Friday for the first time this week. He was limited and is questionable for Sunday. Vaki can provide valuable breathers for Jahmyr Gibbs.

S Kerby Joseph (knee), C Cade Mays (ankle) and CB D.J. Reed (hip) did not travel to Munich and had already been ruled out for Sunday.

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Ken Maguire, The Associated Press