Exactly one year ago, Local Spins published a playlist that helped spur our beloved Motor City heroes to two playoff victories. This year, we aim to serenade them to Super Bowl glory.
Grit and the Best Record in Team History: The Detroit Lions are singing a victory tune these days.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Exactly one year ago today, Local Spins sent the state’s beloved Detroit Lions on their way to playoff victories with a special playlist in tribute the gritty, gridiron heroes. With the 2025 NFL Playoffs kicking off today, we decided to revisit this soundtrack to help spur them onto even greater glory. Scroll down for Spotify playlist, video and more.
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Talk about a reversal of fortunes. Dyed-in-silver-and-Honolulu-blue fans across Michigan are beyond thrilled that their beloved Detroit Lions are not only the No. 1 seed in the NFC but the odds-on favorites to get to their first-ever Super Bowl.
For decades, those of us who counted ourselves as diehards had heard every snarky joke and mocking riddle imaginable.
• You can keep a Detroit Lions player out of your yard by putting up goalposts.
• What do the Post Office and Detroit Lions have in common? Neither will deliver on Sundays.
• The repair shop put a Detroit Lions jersey on a vacuum cleaner and now it sucks again.
• How do the Lions count to 10? 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, 0-10.
• The police have ramped up traffic violation penalties by issuing Detroit Lions tickets to speeders.
Argh! All of it was cringe-worthy and maddening for Michiganders who get nauseous just glimpsing a green and mustard Packers jersey.
Barry Sanders: He helped deliver a playoff win in the 1990s and now he’s immortalized.
Well, thanks to two impressive seasons, the Detroit Lions are way past being fodder for ridicule when it comes to the rest of the NFL.
For the second year in a row, the Detroit Lions are the undisputed champions of their division and will host playoff games at Ford Field.
Lifelong devotees – such as yours truly, who once doffed a “Rebuilding Since ’57” T-shirt – are getting used to this Dan Campbell- and Brad Holmes-propelled success, as is the rest of the NFL.
To get ready for another playoff run, Local Spins has created an unusual playlist: The No. 1 songs in the country on the dates of all 19 playoff games the Lions have played, starting with their championship run way back in 1957.
Appropriately, the Lions rocked San Francisco and Cleveland that year with Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” and Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” as their December soundtrack.
And 2024’s No. 1 Billboard hit coinciding with the Lions first two playoff victories in decades — Jack Harlow’s “Lovin’ on Me” — could certainly be viewed as a tribute to the Motor City and its football fans, featuring the line, “I get love from Detroit.”
Missing from this roster and playlist, of course, is the Lions official fight song, “Gridiron Heroes,” an outmoded but fun 1930s-era ditty which my buddy Don and I have warbled loudly and robustly after scoring plays (and requested for our funerals, which we pray will come after a Super Bowl appearance).
And be forewarned: It’s a tune we plan to sing frequently during upcoming playoff games.
VIDEO: “Gridiron Heroes”
A LIONS PLAYOFF PLAYLIST: Gridiron Heroes On a Mission
January 2024 – Jack Harlow, “Lovin’ On Me” – Lions 24, Rams 23; Lions 31, Buccaneers 23
January 2017 – The Weeknd, “Starboy” (feat. Daft Punk) – Seattle 26, Detroit 6
January 2015 – Taylor Swift, “Blank Space” – Dallas 24, Detroit 20
January 2012 – LMFAO, “Sexy and I Know It” – New Orleans 45, Detroit 28
January 2000 – Santana, “Smooth” (feat. Rob Thomas) – Washington 27, Detroit 13
December 1997 – Elton John, “Candle in the Wind (1997)” – Tampa Bay 20, Detroit 10
December 1995 – Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day” – Philadelphia 58, Detroit 37
December 1994 – Boyz II Men, “On Bended Knee” – Green Bay 16, Detroit 12
January 1994 – Mariah Carey, “Hero” – Green Bay 28, Detroit 24
January 1992 – Michael Jackson, “Black or White” – Detroit 38, Dallas 6 (Division); Washington 41, Detroit 10 (Conference Championship)
December 1983 – Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson, “Say Say Say” – San Francisco 24, Detroit 23
January 1983 – Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Maneater” – Washington 31, Detroit 7
December 1970 – George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord/Isn’t It a Pity” – Dallas 5, Detroit 0
December 1957 – Elvis Presley, “Jailhouse Rock/Treat Me Nice” // Sam Cooke with Bumps Blackwell Orchestra “You Send Me” – Detroit 31, San Francisco 27 (Division); Detroit 59, Cleveland 14 (World Championship)
THE LIONS PLAYOFF PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY
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