Dan Campbell makes wild journey pitch for Detroit Lions’ journey to Germany

Phoenix — Dan Campbell has traveled to London thrice for worldwide video games, and because the Detroit Lions coach decides how he desires to configure the journey schedule of this upcoming season’s journey to Munich, he is weighing quite a few totally different potentialities.

He’s gone over early within the week and gained. He’s gone over there early within the week and “got throttled.” And one time, he went out on a Thursday and “played well.”

“I’m still wrestling with that, honestly,” he mentioned. “I go back and forth.”

The Lions’ opponent has but to be decided, as does the precise date of the sport, though it’s extensively anticipated to happen within the early November. Because of the Lions’ advertising and marketing rights in Germany, plus the presence of a three-time All-Pro in Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has household there and speaks the language fluently, plainly, from a branding standpoint, the Lions would profit from spending quite a lot of days within the area.

But that’s not the precedence. Detroit is attempting to win a soccer sport throughout an necessary time of yr, and that pursuit usually includes attempting to get rid of the D-word: distractions.

“I know this,” Campbell mentioned. “You’re going to do whatever you think you can do and whatever you’re not willing to give into. The team that’s got the most energy, the most juice, doesn’t use excuses, is probably going to have a good chance to win this game.”

Most groups journey to Europe by air, however Campbell had a extra novel thought for attending to Munich: go away proper after the earlier sport and get there simply earlier than their scheduled kickoff time.

“I’ve been trying to pitch the idea, let’s just buy out a cruise ship. Right after that last game, jump on the cruise ship, and we’ll just adapt as we go over, man,” Campbell joked. “We go up, we walk through (practice) on the deck, we’ve got the hot tubs, pools, recovery rooms, we can game plan on the way.”

Campbell is thought for his honesty and transparency in press conferences, however on quite a lot of events, folks have mistaken his dry humor for the reality. During an interview with “Pardon My Take” in 2023, he mentioned he pitched the concept of getting a reside Lion on the sideline for video games. He was joking, however given his repute, it’s nonetheless introduced up by individuals who thought he was being real.

So, it bears repeating that Campbell was certainly joking about taking the cruise ship to Europe.

But hey, it is so loopy, it simply would possibly work.

“I don’t feel like anybody is taking it, though,” he mentioned, upset. “I had a coach inform me, ‘It’s so many nautical miles, it’s going to take eight days to get there.’ I’m like, ‘Just keep your mouth shut.’ 

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I’m bouncing it around.”

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi