Almost no Detroit Lions fans want Sheila Hamp to sell the team

Last week, we pondered if the Detroit Lions’ current upward trajectory under owner Sheila Hamp had vanquished the loud and long-standing “sell the team” fans. After decades of downright horrible play, many Lions fans declared they wouldn’t take the team seriously until the Ford family relinquished their power and sold to a more caring owner.

But in 2020, Martha Firestone Ford stepped down and handed the team to her daughter, Sheila Hamp, and the fortunes of the team seemed to have turned around rather quickly. Hamp, just a few months on the job, fired both Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia, and she spearheaded a search for their replacements with the help of newly-hired Chris Spielman. Thus far, general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have some of the highest approval ratings in Lions history, as the Lions head into 2023 with the highest expectations we’ve seen in at least 30 years.

So has the “sell the team” crowd finally dissipated? According to the results of our Reacts survey, the answer is undeniably yes. Only six percent of Lions fans who voted in our survey want Hamp to sell the team.

While we don’t have a direct number to compare these results to, it seems like a massive turnaround. Not everyone believed selling the team would be a magic fix to change the fortunes of this franchise, but many understandably thought the Fords had mismanaged this team ever since they took over in the 1960s.

Obviously, the team will have to meet these heightened expectations to keep the faith in Hamp going, but just about every sign is pointing up for this franchise. And if the Lions not only win the division they’re currently favored to win this year, but tack on a playoff win or two, Hamp will have already surpassed the football accomplishments of her father in just four years.

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