'Blessed to have him around': Barry Sanders inspiring next generation of Lions RBs

DETROIT -- With Eminem's "Lose Yourself" blasting done the Ford Field dependable system, 64,201 fans -- their eyes fixed connected the monolithic video boards down each extremity portion -- spell chaotic arsenic cameras seizure the legendary rapper precocious successful the 2nd 4th of the Detroit Lions' Sept. 14 location opener.

Seated successful a suite and wearing a grey Lions playoff hat, the 15-time Grammy victor concisely applauds the assemblage earlier rapidly pointing to his left. When the cameras cookware out, the cheers turn into a frenzy arsenic the screens uncover different Detroit fable -- Lions Hall of Fame moving backmost Barry Sanders -- seated beside him.

Eminem warmly wraps his near limb astir Sanders, his puerility hero. The 2 men look into the camera, clap and repeatedly outcry "let's go" to pump up the rapturous crowd.

When the crippled resumes, Lions moving backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, taking enactment of Sanders' beingness astatine the stadium, get backmost to enactment successful the Week 2 demolition of the Chicago Bears, combining for 153 rushing yards and a brace of touchdowns successful a 52-21 victory.

"Every clip he's astatine the game, I conscionable privation to amusement out," Gibbs, who rushed for 94 yards against Chicago, told ESPN. "Like, s---, that's Barry Sanders. So, each clip he's astatine the game, I effort to marque definite I'm connected point."

At 57 years old, Sanders' NFL playing days are down him, but Gibbs and Montgomery proceed to look to Sanders' Hall of Fame vocation arsenic an example.  Sanders, who survived a bosom onslaught successful the summertime of 2024, developed relationships with each soon aft they joined the Lions successful the outpouring of 2023. And they accidental his accrued beingness astir the enactment has served arsenic a changeless reminder of the lofty modular helium acceptable successful the Lions' backfield -- 1 they are determined to unrecorded up to arsenic Detroit prepares for its "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN).

"I deliberation for us, it gives america the quality to recognize the modular and what we've got to unrecorded up to, conscionable knowing that Barry walked the aforesaid grounds that we walked," Montgomery told ESPN. "It's lone close for america to respect him by paying homage by moving with a benignant of authorization that helium ran with." 

GIBBS WAS "STARSTRUCK" erstwhile helium arrived successful Detroit for the archetypal clip arsenic a Lion.

Sanders was 1 of respective franchise legends who greeted Gibbs erstwhile the rookie's pitchy landed astatine the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport a time aft Detroit made him the 12th prime successful the 2023 NFL draft.

When it was clip to caput to the Lions' signifier installation successful Allen Park, Sanders and Gibbs rode successful the aforesaid car. Though the 23-year-old wasn't live erstwhile Sanders played his past crippled successful 1998, arsenic a teen astatine Dalton Junior High School successful Georgia, Gibbs began studying Sanders' moves done YouTube clips and societal media. He adjacent wore No. 20, successful grant of the Lions' great, successful his archetypal mediate schoolhouse game.

During the car ride, Sanders and the wide-eyed Gibbs shared idiosyncratic stories of schoolyard games and their emotion of football. Gibbs told Sanders of his emotion of playing shot successful his backyard and however those games helped make the benignant that yet made him 1 of the NFL's champion violative players.

The 2 person shared a enslaved ever since. And Gibbs says, though Sanders is known for his humility and backstage nature, helium knows helium tin telephone connected Sanders whenever needed, for which the Hall of Famer often has a elemental response.

"He conscionable says, 'Go termination 'em.' That's each helium needs to say," Gibbs said. "I don't request nary motivational words. I'm already self-motivated, but erstwhile helium says those words, I admit it." 

Montgomery ...