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With support from Dan Campbell, the Lions’ wildly popular head coach, Detroit Army’s apparel has emerged as an unlikely alternative to the team’s licensed gear.
Last January, Todd Lansky was in the stands of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with his son Tyler before the Detroit Lions’ most momentous N.F.L. game in about a half-century. The Lions were about to face the San Francisco 49ers in the N.F.C. Championship Game when Mr. Lansky’s phone buzzed.
Mr. Lansky, 53, is a lawyer by day. By night, he runs a fan-geared merchandise company called Detroit Army out of his Chicago-area home — a passion project that he thought was gaining some traction at around the time when the Lions, formerly woebegone, were making their playoff push last season.
Amid a torrent of texts and missed calls, Mr. Lansky realized what had happened: Dan Campbell, the Lions’ head coach, had worn one of Mr. Lansky’s Detroit Army trucker hats in a televised pregame interview with Michael Strahan of Fox Sports.
It turned out to be a tough day for the Lions, who ran up an early lead before collapsing in the second half. But at least Mr. Lansky came away with a win: Detroit Army received 379 orders in three minutes after Mr. Strahan’s interview aired.
“That number,” Mr. Lansky said, “is etched in stone.”
