The Detroit Lions' four-game winning streak at the end of 2010 not only gave the team momentum going into next season, but it also created some serious momentum in terms of interest in the franchise. The Lions are viewed as a team on the rise, and interest amongst fans appears to be as high as it's been in a long time.

If you want evidence of the rise in interest in the Lions, look no further than their season ticket sales numbers, which are way up compared to last year. From Mike O'Hara:

The Lions have sold 11,200 new full-package season tickets since the end of last season. The sales are for all 10 home games: two exhibitions and eight in the regular season.

"We’re No. 2 in the league," said Bob Raymond, the Lions’ vice president of business operations.

The Lions only added 4,100 new season ticket holders during all of last year's offseason. By comparison, they have already sold 1,100 new season tickets since the lockout ended last week. That's quite amazing, and I would anticipate the strong sales to continue after the impressive moves the Lions made last week.