Third-generation Lions season ticket holder rides wave of joy amid playoff run

Third-generation Lions season ticket holder basks in glory of team's playoff run

Jim Bloom's grandfather was the team oral surgeon. His family has had season tickets for at least 70 years.

FOX 2 (WJBK) - Ask any longtime Lions fans and they’ll tell you this year’s team feels different.

FOX 2 sat down with a third-generation season ticket holder who says these wins have been worth the wait.

Last weekend we saw how special one playoff win is to our long-suffering fan base. From the unforgettable smile of 89-year-old Benjamin Capp — a 66-year season ticket holder to Arron Wikaryasz — now known as the "crying Lions fan" who was overwhelmed remembering his father who didn’t live to see that moment.

About 48 hours before the Detroit Lions play their divisional-round game. We sat down with Jim Bloom — a third-generation Lions season ticket holder.

FOX 2: "What was your reaction Sunday, after you realized the game was over with?"

"It was joy. I don’t know how else to describe it after all these years," said Jim Bloom, a third-generation season ticket holder.

Jim’s grandfather was the team oral surgeon. His family has had season tickets for at least 70 years.

"My dad would tell stories of riding on the train with the Lions to the games," he said. "They didn’t fly to the games in the 40s and 50s, they were on the train."

FOX 2: "When was your first game and what do you remember about it?"

"It was a Green Bay game at Tiger Stadium. It was my mom and my dad, and another kid came," Jim said. "We had a Thermos with hot chocolate and we had sandwiches, we could bring it all in. We had a blanket and watched players like Lem Barney."

Jim Bloom and his late father.

That was back when the Lions played at Tiger Stadium.

Jim was at the playoff win in January 1992, but he says what happened at Ford Field last Sunday was surreal.

"The buzz was crazy when we got in there," he said. "Dan Campbell was right. you could feel the energy. The first half of the game everyone was standing up."

FOX 2: "What is it about this team that brings the joy out in you, as a fan?"

"Like I said, I think it’s their work ethic," he said. "Every player, they play every down. And it’s fun to watch that because we work hard as a city, and the team works hard as well."

Jim will be at Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay and if the Lions stay hot, he’d love to follow them to the Super Bowl.

"We’re rooting for our team," he said. "And we’re going to go all the way this year, I think."