I have a confession to make.
Growing up, I was a closet Detroit Lions fan.
There was just one problem.
I was a die hard Chicago Bears fan.
Yeah, I know. I'm probably losing some of you already.
I used to joke that I was a Lions fan except for two weeks out of the year. When Detroit wasn't playing Chicago, I wanted to see the Lions win. But when those two teams lined up against each other, there was no question where my loyalty was.
I was rooting for Chicago.
Fast forward a whole lot of years, and life has a funny way of changing things.
I'm now going into my fourth year as a Detroit Lions season ticket holder.
And somewhere along the way, I stopped being that closet Lions fan.
There's Something About Ford Field
My love for Lions football has grown tremendously over these past few years, and a huge part of that comes from actually being there.
There is just something different about being downtown on game day.
Driving into the city.
Seeing Honolulu blue everywhere.
Walking toward Ford Field surrounded by thousands of people who all showed up for the same reason.
Then you walk through those doors.
The noise. The introductions. The first kickoff. A huge third down. A touchdown that makes the entire building erupt.
You don't just watch a football game at Ford Field.
You experience it.
I've watched more football games than I could ever count from my couch. I've watched games at bars. I've watched with family and friends.
But there is nothing quite like experiencing Lions football in real time inside Ford Field.
That's something I've grown to appreciate more and more every season.
And it is one of the reasons our recent Everyday Ascend ticket giveaway meant so much to me.
Giving Someone Else That Experience
When I decided to give away two Lions tickets through Everyday Ascend, I wanted the prize to be something that actually meant something to me.
Those weren't just two tickets.
I knew what was waiting for the person who won them.
They were going to get a Sunday in Detroit.
They were going to walk into Ford Field and experience what I've fallen in love with over these last few years.
This past weekend, after months of collecting entries, we finally spun the wheel and picked our winner.
We had some fun with it. I went live. We gave away some candles, apparel, gift cards and other Everyday Ascend stuff along the way.
But eventually it was time to spin for the big one.
Two tickets to see the Lions at Ford Field.
Watching that wheel spin was one of those strange moments where two completely different parts of my life suddenly came together.
My love for Detroit sports.
And this little company I've been trying to build.
I don't take that for granted.
The Heart of a Lion
That brings me to another piece of this story.
The Detroit Grit Lion.
When I started working on this design, I didn't want to throw a lion on a shirt just because football season was coming.
I obsessed over this thing.
The look of the lion. The colors. The eyes. The feeling I wanted it to have.
I kept working on it until I looked at it and thought:
That's it.
Because the lion needed to represent something bigger than football.
The heart of a lion.
That's what I wanted.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized how closely that idea connects Detroit football, this city, Everyday Ascend and even my own life.
Detroit Grit
If you've followed the Lions long enough, you know this fanbase wasn't built by winning.
For a long time, it was almost the exact opposite.
People kept showing up.
They kept watching.
They kept believing.
Year after year.
That's grit.
And it's something I understand a little better now as a small business owner.
Everyday Ascend isn't some huge apparel company with unlimited money, a massive audience or thousands of orders pouring in every day.
We're still building.
Some days something works.
Some days absolutely nothing works.
Some days I put everything I have into an idea and wonder if anybody even noticed.
And then I wake up and do it again.
That's why the word grit matters to me.
Grit isn't pretending things aren't difficult.
It's knowing they're difficult and continuing anyway.
It's getting knocked down and getting back up.
It's believing in something before everyone else sees it.
It's continuing to show up.
More Than a Football Shirt
So yes, the Detroit Grit Lion was inspired by Detroit football.
I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
But when I look at that lion, I see more than football.
I see the city I've called home.
I see the team I've grown to love.
I see Sunday afternoons downtown with my family and thousands of other fans.
I see the experience that one Everyday Ascend customer will now get because their name landed on that wheel.
And I see a mentality that has become a huge part of what I'm trying to build with Everyday Ascend.
Keep showing up.
Keep believing.
Keep working.
And when things don't go according to plan?
Have enough grit to do it again tomorrow.
Funny how things work out.
The kid who used to call himself a Lions fan for 15 games a year grew up to become a Lions season ticket holder and eventually created his own Detroit Grit Lion.
I guess that closet Lions fan finally came out.
And I'm pretty damn happy he did.
Keep Ascending.
Jess
Founder, Everyday Ascend Co.
Built In Detroit. Worn Everywhere.