DETROIT, Mich. — How soon is too soon to talk about the better, brighter parts of the Detroit Lions' season? How long should this city and state tend to its wounds, dabbing at Honolulu Blue blood?
Less than 48 hours after the team's crushing loss to the San Francisco 49ers, it's tough to talk silver linings, but we'll try our best.
The night before the NFC Championship Game, the streets of downtown Detroit marveled at and rallied behind a drone show above Comerica Park, put on by Starlight Aerial Productions, a subsidiary of the Coloma-based Great Lakes Drone Company.
"Everybody was stopped. Everybody was looking at the sky," said Matt Quinn, the owner of Starlight Aerial Productions.
Days before Wild Card Weekend, with the Lions set to host the Los Angeles Rams, the team reached out to Quinn. Partnering with NBC, they wanted to air a prerecorded drone show during the fourth quarter of the broadcast.
"We obviously work really quickly," said Quinn, referencing the tight turnaround. Typically, Starlight plans and programs a show over the course of one to two months.
But come Sunday night, the local company's quick work was seen by a national audience. Photos of an all-encompassing Lions logo hovering above Michigan Central Station went viral on social media.
"It can bring a community together," Quinn said.
The Lions secured the victory that night and continued their winning ways the following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Starlight's drones flew to conference championship weekend.
While a Detroit Lions Drone Show, presented by Bud Light, planned to fly last Friday, fog postponed the show to Saturday night.
"Everybody came together to pivot," according to Quinn, including the FAA and air traffic control, Detroit and Michigan State Police, and employees from Ford Field and Comerica Park.
Taking off from a shut-down Adams Street, the rows of drones ascended into the dark Detroit sky, lighting it blue and white.
"Everybody's trying to guess what the next shape is going to be," Quinn said, describing how he tries to "mislead" the audience with false lighting cues, trying to keep the show a surprise.
The nighttime show portrayed popular team sayings, including "All Grit," Forward Down the Field," and Detroit vs. Everybody." To the delight of those still slighted by the NFL's officiating gaffe at the conclusion of the Cowboys vs. Lions game during the regular season, a "Decker Reported" design brought an uproarious cheer.
"The Lions wanted to have fun with it and wanted the community to have fun with it," Quinn said.
In total, the show took four, 16-hour days to program, culminating with a Lion's head of mythical proportion chomping down on a San Francisco 49ers logo.
"[Drone shows] create a passion and an excitement that takes things to a different level," Quinn said. [They can] tell a story."
The story of these Detroit Lions, Quinn says, is still being written: "They're a young team, this is just the beginning."
Before the regular season returns, though, Starlight plans to play a part in this summer's Coast Guard Festival, programming a show with the Grand Haven Musical Fountain.
"We've already started to planning process," Quinn said. "To produce — what we hope is — something that's never been done before."
