Windsor, Ont., couple Jim Raymond and Kathy McCann knew this season would be different for the Detroit Lions. 

In fact, the diehard fans were so sure of it that Raymond bought an RV spot for the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in February after the team won its first game of the season in September, against the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs. 

“His positivity has worked,” McCann laughed. 

Now, the two are in San Francisco with tickets for Sunday’s history-making match between the Lions and the 49ers in the National Football Conference (NFC) championship — the last game standing between the team and the Super Bowl. 

“Right after they beat the Bucks last Sunday, I got on StubHub, bought [four] tickets … and I sent a text to Kathy with a copy of the ticket as well,” Raymond said about Detroit’s home win last weekend against the Tamp Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round game. “She turned around and looked at me and said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to San Francisco for the game.’”

They’re both retired and spend part of each year in Arizona. But they’ve always been massive Lions fans and had season tickets for years. 

Earlier this week, Raymond and McCann hit the road from Arizona to San Francisco in anticipation of the game — naturally, decked out in Lions gear. 

“I thought I’d get beat up, but no, not yet,” Raymond said. 

“One [conversation] that sticks out the most to me was they [49ers fans] said, ‘You know what, we would rather lose to the Lions than get beat by Baltimore or Kansas City, so we are hoping, if we were to get beat, we hope it’s the Lions.’”

“Everybody’s kind of behind the Lions in a sense, even if it’s not their team,” McCann said. “With the drought and everything, everyone’s very supportive.”

It’s the first time in 32 years that Detroit has made it to the NFC championship and just the second time in franchise history.

While Sunday’s game would be a trek for many Detroit fans, Raymond said he expects to see plenty of them because it’ll be the first opportunity in a lifetime for many to see the team play at this level. 

McCann said she’s looking forward to a Lions victory, but also the experience — a “mini Super Bowl” of sorts. 

To this, Raymond quietly disagrees — it’s not the Super Bowl until it’s the Super Bowl, he said. 

The pair plans to spend the weekend sightseeing in San Francisco before the big game. Raymond said he has just one worry. 

“We’ve had a great time,” he said. “We’re going to tour Alcatraz tomorrow and when you go in the cell — because we’re all going to have our Lions stuff on — I hope they don’t lock us up and keep us in there, because we do want to go to the game.”