Jared Goff has come a long way in Detroit. Not only on the field but his understanding of the Detroit sports fan.

You could tell Jared Goff had never really experienced a blue collar sports town when he arrives in 2020. Goff walked around Birmingham his first week with security guards. We at Woodward Sports thought this was odd and comical.

Woodward Sports is based in Birmingham, Michigan. For those not familiar, it is one for the most upscale and “well to-do”. It is probably one of the safest cities in Michigan as well. So rolling around with security here really showed how much Jared had to learn about the Detroit Lions fan base.

2 years into his tenure at Lions QB it’s clear that Jared has a much better understanding of Detroit and its fans. Goff was on “Slow News Day” when he got asked the question, “What have you learned about Detroit as a Sports Town?” Without hesitation Jared Goff replied “The passion, the passion is unmatched.”

NEW Slow News Day. Jared Goff makes his debut and tackles the important question: What's the difference between talking to a Detroit fan on the street vs. an LA fan? pic.twitter.com/HMHbZapkx7

— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) February 7, 2023

The next question is the one I like to focus on. “What’s different about the Detroit fan and the Los Angles fan?”

Goff goes on to explain that in LA “it’s more of a selfie culture”. While in Detroit is “where they want to say good luck or Go Lions……. I guess it’s more of an Instagram world in LA, in Detroit its not that much.”

Jared Goff is finding out what Detroiters already knew. LA is a land of fake everything, from bodies, to personalities, to social media accounts. Detroit is about as real as it gets. We say “Hello” to our athletes and let them proceed with their day without much fanfare. That would explain why so many athletes stay in Detroit long after their carriers, even if they aren’t from here.

Detroit treats their athletes as people who we look up to. Not props for our own social benefit.

I’ve always been proud to wear Detroit on my chest. Jared Goff is starting to understand the difference between a fan base who loves sports vs a fan base that loves themselves.

Detroit will always be the best sports town in the country.