Dan Campbell Puts Lions’ Fan Base on Notice for Home Opener

Getty Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell delivered a message on what he expects from the crowd at Ford Field in Week 2 on September 17.

The Detroit Lions will likely face sky-high hype throughout the 2023 season. But in Week 2, it’s the Lions fan base that has to live up to high expectations.

During his press conference on September 11, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell said he expects the crowd to be loud at Ford Field for the team’s home opener on in Week 2.

But he doesn’t expect it to just be loud. He said it couldn’t be louder than the loudest recorded stadium in the NFL.

“I’m expecting it to be loud,” Campbell told reporters. “I know what Arrowhead is, and it was loud. I’m expecting it to be louder than that. I really do. I just know our fans.

“It will be to the point where you can’t hear yourself think, so, for them anyway.”

Ford Field, which is Detroit’s home stadium, has the advantage of being a dome stadium, so obviously, the noise more easily stays inside the stadium.

Even still, Ford Field being louder than Arrowhead Stadium, home to the Kansas City Chiefs, is a lot to ask. Arrowhead Stadium holds the record for loudest stadium in the NFL.

Dan Campbell Calling for Lions Fans to Beat World-Record Holding Stadium

During a Monday Night Football game in 2014, Arrowhead set a Guiness Book of World Record for the loudest outdoor NFL stadium. The stadium’s recorded decibel rating was 142.2, which is the equivalent of the sound level a jet engine produces.

NBC Sports Boston, Fan Buzz and Sports Brief have all ranked the loudest 10-12 NFL stadiums over the past year. Arrowhead came in at No. 1 on all three lists.

“Back in 1990, Chiefs fans were cheering so loud that Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway complained to the officials, who threatened to penalize Kansas City if fans didn’t quiet down,” wrote Fan Buzz’s Joe Grobeck.

Meanwhile, Ford Field wasn’t ranked on any of the three lists.

Expected Excitement Around Lions, Ford Field

Lions fans aren’t known for being super loud at home games, but they also haven’t had the most to cheer about in recent years. Detroit hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016, and the Lions haven’t won a division title since 1993.

With the team expected to break quite a few of those types of droughts in 2023, the hype for the Lions in the fan base is reaching a boiling point. For the first time in Ford Field history, the Lions sold out of season tickets this year.

During the team’s home preseason game against the New York Giants, the Giants had to use a silent count because of the crowd noise.

With that type of excitement for a preseason game, it’s no wonder Campbell expects the fans to be loud in Week 2.

The Seattle Seahawks are used to loud crowd noise. Their home stadium, Lumen Field, was ranked the second-loudest NFL stadium on all three lists previously referenced.

But the crowd noise typically occurs when the Seahawks are on defense. At Ford Field, it will be the opposite, as Seattle quarterback Geno Smith and the Seahawks offense deals with the crowd noise.

During the season in which the Lions last reached the postseason, team president Rod Wood tweeted that Ford Field reached 121.1 decibels in a game against Washington.

But Campbell expects it to be significantly louder than that on September 17.