The last time the Detroit Lions played in an NFC championship game, Don Carey was 4 years old.
Carey starred at Norfolk State and Booker T. Washington High, then played eight NFL seasons with the Lions.
That’s why Sunday’s NFC title game between the Lions and San Francisco 49ers means so much to him. He knows what a Super Bowl appearance would mean to the organization and the city.
“Sports is an outlet for that city to kind of get away from the cruel reality. They love their team,” said Carey, 36, who grew up a fan of Barry Sanders, the Lions’ Hall of Fame running back. “During the 0-16 season, the stadium was still packed. So for them to go to a Super Bowl, man. The only thing I regret is that I’m not part of it. If I was still a player, I would have loved to being playing with them right now.”
Carey, who was elected to the Chesapeake City Council for a four-year term in 2020, played on three Lions teams that went to the playoffs. All three lost in the wild-card round.
In 2011, they lost to New Orleans. In 2014, it was Dallas. And in 2016, it was Seattle.
“The buzz in the city when we got that extra game was tremendous,” he said. “Then imagine that times 2,000 with those games being home in Detroit.”
He still remembers the excitement when they played a regular-season home game.
But a playoff game?
“I can only imagine how it was for a playoff game with those fans going crazy,” he said. “Plus, anytime (rapper) Eminem comes to a game, it’s got to be electric.”
The Lions made Carey proud this season when they beat the Los Angeles Rams in a wild-card game and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a divisional playoff game last Sunday.
Before two wins this season, the last playoff win by the Lions was in January 1992, when they won their opening divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys, but then lost to Washington in the NFC championship game.
Prior to the Super Bowl era, the Lions won four NFL championships between 1935 and 1957. Following the 1957 championship, the franchise didn’t win a playoff game until the 1991 season and didn’t win another until this season.
That’s why Carey is so excited about Sunday’s game.
“I am so, so proud of the way the Detroit Lions are playing,” he said. “I love the city. And if I wasn’t here in Virginia, my wife and I would be living in Detroit.”
Carey still has ties to the team as starting left tackle Taylor Decker and reserve linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin were on the team when he was there.
He also knows former Western Branch High standout Dré Bly, who is in his first season as the Lions’ cornerbacks coach. Prior to this season, Bly was the cornerbacks coach at North Carolina, where he was a two-time All-American and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
“I’m excited for Dre’,” Carey said. “He played in Detroit for awhile, and to be able to go back and give that insight to those young players, that’s really cool to see that come full circle for him.”
He knows Sunday will be a tough game for the Lions.
“They have an uphill battle against the San Francisco 49ers,” he said. “It’s going to come down to the offensive line being able to protect (Detroit Lions quarterback) Jared Goff. Can they keep that 49ers defense out of his face? Can their defense keep (San Francisco quarterback) Brock Purdy off his toes.”
And if the Lions win Sunday, will Carey go to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas?
“I have this rule that unless I’m playing in the Super Bowl, I was never going to go,” he said. “I can’t say that I won’t try. I’ve been invited to Super Bowls every single year, but there’s always something going on. I’ll have a hard time not going to this one.”
Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com
