Lions fans have mixed reaction to Germany game rumors

Last month, the NFL announced the five teams who will host international games for the 2023 schedule. On that schedule was the Kansas City Chiefs who will play in Germany later this year. The Chiefs happen to be one of the Detroit Lions’ nine opponents they’ll face on the road this year, meaning the Lions could be traveling internationally for the first time since 2015.

Over the past week, a couple of news items have seemingly increased the likelihood of this happening. First, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe wrote that a team official said the Lions believe they will play in Germany in 2023. A few days later, Peter King speculated that the Lions make the most sense for the Chiefs’ international opponent this year.

So on Tuesday, we asked Lions fans what they think of the Lions potentially playing in Germany. Like most topics, this one split the fanbase in two. Here are my favorite answers from the Pride of Detroit comment section.

The Lions haven’t played a regular season game at Arrowhead Stadium since 2003, so KCPhoenix_11 will be understandably disappointed if Detroit doesn’t travel to Kansas City this year:

I was hoping to go to the game in Arrowhead. So I hope the game isn’t held in Germany for that reason alone. But strips KC of home field advantage as a silver lining

However, there are a couple of Lions fans overseas who are thrilled about the idea of seeing their favorite NFL team just down the road. Take Schuxu, for example:

As I mentioned earlier, I live 30 minutes away from the Frankfurt stadium so that would be great.

I’m a little worried about getting tickets though as the Munich game last year apparently sold out in 2 minutes, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to secure tickets and I guess I would be pretty disappointed not being able to get to the game.

Having fan fest and so on nearby would be nice though.

Others, myself included, would be thrilled to use this as an excuse for a European vacation. Here’s Sandbagger9:

I would go in a heartbeat. Frankfurt is a major business city - wish it was played in much more interesting city of Munich. And since coming from USA would take the opportunity to make this a much longer trip and revisit a few other countries. I wonder if season ticket holders get a preferential shot at tickets…

However, not everyone is a fan of these international games. Here’s Enor:

I know I’m in the minority, but I really don’t like the overseas games, especially if it replaces a team’s home game. The only time I would think this is acceptable would be if there was adequate time on either side of the schedule for players, coaches, and other staff to adjust to the time changes.

That said, Dark_Elf brings up a good point. Avoiding a game at Arrowhead and replacing it with a neutral site contest could end up being a big advantage for Detroit:

The Lions have one more road game than home games. Playing at a neutral spot for one road game and removing a hostile crowd (like in KC) is the best scenario for the season.

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