DETROIT – Although the jerseys had already leaked on social media, the Detroit Lions continued their regularly scheduled programming as they officially revealed their new threads to the public.
The official announcement occurred on Thursday (April 18) night during a special unveiling in front of a season ticket holder, and the jerseys bring back a ton of memories as the organization paid homage to the legends of the past with a twist of the future.
During the ceremony, Lions Principal Owner and Chair Sheila Ford Hamp thanked the fans in attendance and expressed her pride in the new uniforms.
“I want to thank our season ticket members, as you guys were amazing last season,” said Ford Hamp. “The support you showed our team and what you did for our whole organization was incredible. From the ‘Let’s go Lions, to the Jared Goff chants,’ we broke the decimal record for Ford Field for noise.”
The uniforms pay special tribute to the late owner, William Clay Ford. Previously, the uniforms had the WCF patch on the sleeves.
With the sleeves getting shorter and the pads getting more extensive, the team will honor Ford with a permanent WCF decal on the back left-hand side of the helmet.
On the inside of the game-worn jerseys will be the signature of Ford, and it will be placed with the bottom of only the game-worn jerseys.
When you think of the Lions, the first name that usually comes to mind is Barry Sanders, to whom the home uniforms pay homage.
The home jersey has a classic feel, and it pops Honolulu Blue, reminiscent of the 1990s when Sanders was running roughshod over his opponents in the National Football League.
The jersey has shiny grey stripes across the shoulder pads atop the sheen pants to match the metallic grey helmets, which now display Honolulu blue face masks.
“It’s fitting how the Lions have turned over a new leaf, so it’s almost fitting that they can have new uniforms,” said Sanders.
The blue facemask with “Detroit” across the chest above the blocked numbers on the away jersey is reminiscent of former linebacker Charles Christopher Spielman.
“I just think that anytime you can honor the people that played before you, just like Barry, Calvin (Johnson), and I tried to honor the people who played before us, and I think the unis do that,” said Spielman.
Speaking of Calvin Johnson, the Lions returned the black uniforms he wore at the beginning of his hall-of-fame career.
The Honolulu Blue and its rich texture pop off the uniform, making Megatron want to petition the NFL to make them their permanent home uniforms.
“All I got to say is, I am going to start a petition so we can wear these bad boys every home game,” said Johnson.
The team will wear the jersey alongside black pants and a Honolulu Blue helmet. The helmet sports black Lions on both sides and horsepower stripes down the middle.
“The jersey is reminiscent of the Reebok ones we wore back in the day,” Johnson said. “They’re bringing back the blocked numbers but in a new, fresh, modern style.”