DETROIT – Holly and Dan Campbell have always shown their appreciation for Lions fans and the city of Detroit, but she explained why those feelings are so strong in an interview with Local 4.
Dan Campbell got the entire Lions fan base fired up from his very first press conference, when he got emotional talking about how much it meant for him to be back in Detroit.
His wife said that wasn’t just an act.
“When he played here, we loved it,” Holly said. “We absolutely loved it, and we always said if there was any reason to go back, we would go back in a heartbeat.”
She said the stories of Dan specifying that he wanted the Lions’ job are completely true.
“He wanted this job when it was open the last time, and couldn’t get an interview,” she said. “He didn’t just want to be a head coach. He wanted -- it was his top choice, and not just because it was the opening. It was like the whole time he talked about it, if he could pick one place, he wanted to come back here because he knew how special it could be if it was a winner.”
She said part of what draws them to this area is that they can feel the enthusiasm of the fans in this city -- not just for the Lions, but for the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings, too.
“You can just feel the excitement and the joy and the pride radiating off of everybody, and it’s contagious,” Campbell said. “Right now, I feel like it’s the best place on the earth to live.”