Amon-Ra St. Brown: 'Hype Is Real' for Lions
Now that the preseason is behind the Detroit Lions, all eyes will be on the franchise to see if it is the real deal and a legitimate threat to win the NFC North division.
All offseason and training camp long, local and national pundits alike hyped up Dan Campbell’s squad. Many of them, in fact, declared Detroit, a season after it lost six of its first seven games and finished outside the playoffs, as the favorite to win the NFC North.
Third-year Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is keenly aware of all the hype surrounding the Lions entering the 2023 campaign.
“The hype is real, I would say. The fans are super excited. We’re excited, as players,” St. Brown told his brother, Equanimeous, on the first 2023 season episode of the “St. Brown Brothers” podcast. “But, honestly, we still feel like there’s still a lot of, we see each other, we’re on TV. You know, we have TVs in the cafeteria. There’s always people talking about the Lions, almost every other day, whatever it is. But, we still feel like there’s some people that don’t believe we can do it, the ‘Same Old Lions’ that haven’t won (meaningful) games in years. We still feel like there’s people still in this league, maybe not the media and what not, but people who are in the league that might think, ‘Let’s see if they can do it.’”
Despite the heightened expectations for Detroit as it gets ready for the upcoming season, the organization still, undoubtedly, has its fair share of doubters – and deservedly so. The Lions last won the division in 1993 (when it was still called the NFC Central), and haven’t won a playoff game since the 1991 campaign.
Amon-Ra isn’t worried about the franchise’s lack of success in the past, though. He’s instead focused on silencing the critics of the 2023 version of the team.
“We still got to put the work in,” he said. “This league is a tough league. No game is going to be handed to us. We know that. It might look a little bit different this year with teams going against us, maybe not thinking we’re the ‘Same Old Lions.’ But, who knows? But, like I said, we’ve got to go in every week and prepare for it and be ready.”
Amon-Ra and his teammates will be tested right away, with a primetime matchup Thursday, Sept. 7, against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. It’s not only the Lions’ first game of the ‘23 campaign, but it also serves as the NFL regular season opener.
As Amon-Ra expressed to his brother, “No better way for us to start the season. That’s a test right there. I’m excited for it, I can’t wait. Everyone’s going to be watching. You should be watching, too. You should be tuned in.”
Although it is just one game, Equanimeous will be impressed if the Lions find a way to go into Arrowhead Stadium and pull off the upset win.
“Week 1, it’s hard to tell. You’ve got to do it again. You know, it’s a week-by-week game, like you’ve got to be consistent. You can’t just do it one time. You’ve got to show up every week. But, I’ll be impressed for sure, to say the least. I’ll be impressed,” Equanimeous said.
You can hear Amon-Ra and Equanimeous, who is presently a wideout for the Chicago Bears, all season long on the “St. Brown Brothers” podcast.
Additionally, Amon-Ra will be the subject of the second episode of the new NFL Films series, “A Football Life Origins.” The episode is set to debut on NFL+ Thursday, Sept., 14, plus on NFL Network Friday, Sept. 29.
