Both college and professional teams in Michigan have been performing very well in their 2023 seasons, in many different sports. Teams all across the state have been performing better than the year prior, some even making history. Just take a look at some of the headlines from CBS and ESPN.
“Lions biggest threat in NFC to Eagles?” was a headline of a CBS article and “Lions excel in Week 10” was a headline of a ESPN article. These headlines appeared on many news sites after the Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Chargers during week 10 of the regular season. Moments after the Lion’s Sunday win, sports broadcaster Tony Romo said on the CBS broadcast that “the Lions could win the Super Bowl this year, something they’ve never done before.” Quotes like this are getting Lions fans excited about what their team’s future will look like. The Lions have not made the NFL playoffs in six years. In the 2022 season, the Lions needed the LA Rams to beat the Seattle Seahawks, but unfortunately the Seahawks came out with the victory in overtime. This resulted in the Lions not making the playoffs. At the start of this season, the Lions were the team everyone was talking about. The team got the honor of playing the first game of the season against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. The Lions shocked the NFL community by beating the Chiefs, proving they should not be counted out of the playoffs this year. From the end of the 2022 season till now, Lions fans have been extremely excited about their Detroit Lions being in the Super Bowl conversation. Though many thought it might be too good to be true, after the past ten weeks of football, the Lions look like a completely different team from the past. The Detroit Lions currently hold a winning record, and appear to be one of the best teams in the NFC North, and will hopefully win the division for the first time ever. This would secure themselves a spot in the playoffs. As we finish the last few weeks of the regular NFL season, we hope that the Lions will be able to make it to their first Super Bowl appearance ever.
Another team that is slowly improving is the Detroit Red Wings. Though they are not at the top of the league like the Lions are, they currently have a winning record and have had a strong start to their season. The Red Wings have not made the playoffs in seven years, meaning they haven’t been close to being contenders for the Stanley Cup in a long time. It is much too early in the season to say whether or not they are guaranteed a spot in the 2024 playoffs, but it is clear that reaching the playoffs is a goal on the team’s mind. With the addition of a few new strong players, the team is working on filling in the weak spots that hurt them last season. One thing that the Red Wings were lacking last season were goal-scorers, in hopes of doing better in that area, they welcomed Alex DeBrincat. The Red Wings have most recently signed future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, he was signed to a $2.75 million 1- year contract. As the regular season of 82 games progresses, we look forward to hopefully seeing a continued peak in the Red Wings performance and their players.
As Michigan’s professional sports teams seem to be on the rise, so are some of the college teams. The University of Michigan’s football program is currently one of the best in the country and they are looking ahead to hopefully be one of four teams in the College Football Playoffs. Michigan football are also back-to-back Big Ten Champions, from the 2021 and 2022 season. Not only is Michigan one of the best teams in college football, but they also have one of the best defense too. Through the absence of their head coach Jim Harbaugh, the team has not let that stop them from continuing to win. During week 12 of the regular season, Michigan celebrated their victory against Maryland, with a score of 31-24. Not only was this Michigan’s 27 consecutive regular season win, but Michigan became the first team ever in college football history to achieve 1,000 wins. Michigan went on to beat their biggest rivals, Ohio State 30-24. This was a very important win for a few reasons, it set Michigan to the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa, this win also almost guarantees Michigan a spot in the College Football Playoffs. The Michigan Wolverines are now the number one team in the country and will be going against Alabama on New Year’s Day in the Semi-finals of the playoffs at The Rose Bowl. All eyes are currently on Michigan, after the absence of their head coach, who returned for the Big Ten Championship and will be there for the playoffs. We look forward to watching the Michigan Wolverines in a very exciting playoff!
We hope to see these teams continue to make Michigan proud, and continue to improve throughout the rest of their seasons!
