Lions fans are grateful after the team overcomes a seven-year Turkey Day defeat

Detroit − Lions fans were thankful for Thursday’s 23-20 win over the Bears after seven straight losses in the annual holiday tradition.

Kyle VanHemert of the Ann Arbor area said he has been to a handful of Thanksgiving games in the last 10 years and has yet to see a win.

“Look at the game in Dallas (47-9 win on Oct. 13), where we clearly came out on top and wanted to avenge last year’s loss – I think they’ll say, ‘This season we have to go Clean up for Thanksgiving.’ . It’s time for tradition to start looking our way.’

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt better going into a game,” he said.

Fans react as the scoreboard hits zero in the Lions' win on Thursday at Ford Field.

The optimism that permeated the stadium was a welcome change for the Lions die-hards. Since the team’s last NFL title in 1957, Detroit has had a winning record in just 20 of 66 seasons.

Joseph Maruskin, 18, of Traverse City, envisioned a 45-14 Lions win with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta all scoring at least one touchdown. (LaPorta scored two goals, although kicker Jake Bates accounted for Detroit’s remaining points.)

Joseph was there with his mother, Kelly Maruskin, who hasn’t missed a Lions Thanksgiving game since she was 9 years old.

“They’re going to come out of this strong,” Maruskin said.

The Lions did just that, scoring their first points of the game on a Bates field goal.

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Tim Rice said he has been going to Lions games since the 1970s. He recalled a Thanksgiving game he attended as a child at Tiger Stadium, where the team played until 1974.

“I remember being cold as a kid,” Rice, from Detroit, said with a laugh. “It’s not so bad here” at the vaulted Ford Field.

With the Lions in control 16-0 at halftime, Brighton’s Woody Longeway was cautiously optimistic.

Longeway hopes the team can use its momentum to win its first Super Bowl title.

“The last time the Lions won a championship was in 1957, the year I was born,” he said.

But the Lions’ first-half feast left fans feeling sick to their stomachs as the Bears mounted a comeback in the second half. Even when Chicago got within 10 points of Detroit’s lead, Dearborn’s Mathew Geiger wasn’t too worried.

“We’re playing with our food,” he said calmly.

When Bears quarterback Caleb Williams hit DJ Moore for the score with about five and a half minutes left in the game, Detroit’s Christina Byrd began to get nervous.

“It’s a division game and the games are always close,” she said.

Michelle Stanfield of South Lyon held a sign during the game in memory of Rowan Morey, who was killed this year at age 6. When the game was over and the Lions had reversed their recent Thanksgiving curse, she was touched.

“He was Hutch’s biggest fan,” she said of Rowan, “and he looked down on all of us Lions fans today and helped us secure this win.”

Warren’s Ron Barnhart said he couldn’t remember Thanksgiving when he rated the Lions’ postseason prospects so highly.

“Last year was a good season, but I think this one is even better,” he said.

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Lions fans are grateful after the team overcomes a seven-year Turkey Day defeat

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