It’s wild how sports can bring lives together.

How a friendship can come out of nowhere.

And what happens after acts of kindness and compassion — just doing the right thing — whether that is an individual or an organization.

Like, say, the Detroit Lions, who did something amazingly cool over the weekend.

“Honestly, in the most simplistic way, this whole thing was overwhelming but in a good way,” Jeremy Schmidt said Monday morning.

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Wait a second. Let’s back up.

Because this is a story that has unfolded in the most unlikely way with several twists and turns, with moments of pain and joy.

Schmidt’s father, Wally Schmidt, collapsed at Soldier Field in Chicago on Dec. 22 as the Lions were getting ready to play the Chicago Bears. Ben Roth, an off-duty paramedic and Lions season-ticket holder, rushed to help, restarting Wally’s heart with an AED. That gave Schmidt, also a big Lions fan, four or five extra hours with his father, who passed away that night from heart failure.

So, the Lions wanted to do something for them, something quiet and dignified, just to bring them some joy, trying to make their lives a little better in a time of grief.

The Lions flew Schmidt and two guests and Roth and his wife and daughter to Detroit over the weekend, setting up several special moments. The Lions put them up in a hotel and gave them tickets and field passes for Sunday night’s regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings — the biggest regular-season game ever played at Ford Field.

“I just felt like I was kind of floating down there for a little bit,” Schmidt said. “It was kind of surreal.”

A friendship is born

After Wally died, Roth decided to stay in Chicago and go to the funeral to pay his respects.

“I was nervous,” Roth said. “I met a bunch of the family while waiting in line. And then (Wally’s) sister gave me a hug, talked about how great her brother was; and then there was Jeremy standing next to the casket.”

Schmidt and Roth met in a tight embrace — the first responder and the son whose father had died.

“He was very strong for his family,” Roth said.

The service was emotional. “You could tell that (Wally) had a lot of people that loved him and he had a great life and would be missed, and they honored him really, really well,” Roth said.

After the service, Schmidt and Roth hung out, started talking and a friendship was born.

“We shared some sorrows and some laughs,” Schmidt said. “At the end, we were the last two to leave the services. We just talked life, just talked about what that whole day really meant to us. Obviously, it was a hard day, but he didn’t suffer. I was just showing Ben that there was genuine gratitude for what he did for me. And just, you know, trying to find the positivity.”

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Credit the Lions for an amazing weekend

The Lions didn’t put out a press release about bringing in Schmidt and Roth. They didn’t make it known publicly.

In my eyes, that makes it even more genuine and special. You gotta give them all kinds of credit for this.

I only found out about it because both Roth and Schmidt texted me.

So, I called Roth on Monday morning, and he was still with Schmidt. They were about to share an Uber ride to the airport.

“Denver is a Bears fan,” Roth said, bringing up one of Schmidt’s close friends, Denver Worker, he brought to the game. “He wore Lions stuff, and he’s like, ‘Man, it’s hard not to cheer for you guys (the Lions). I’m still gonna be a Bears fan. But it’s so hard not to root for the Lions after seeing what this organization is doing for y’all. It’s absolutely amazing.’ ”

They were given field passes before the game and met Calvin Johnson, several members of the front office, the Lions cheerleaders and Roary, the team mascot.

But the big moment was meeting Barry Sanders, the Hall of Fame running back. Both Roth and Schmidt became Lions fans because of Sanders, even though Roth grew up in Texas and Schmidt in Chicago.

“Barry just talked to me like it was just a person he’d known forever,” Roth said. “It was surreal.”

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After I interviewed Roth, he handed his phone to Schmidt.

“Meeting Barry Sanders was a special moment for both of us,” Roth said. “We’re Lions fans because of that guy.”

The Lions allowed Roth and Schmidt to stay on the field during player introductions and through the kickoff.

“Everybody was so insanely generous and just nice,” Schmidt said. “Everybody went out of their way to make sure that it was a special moment. Just a first-class organization. So amazing.”

Schmidt and Roth’s friendship has only grown.

“My dad placed him in my life for a reason,” Schmidt said. “He’s a great person. His family’s awesome. His daughter has got more personality than anybody I think I’ve ever met. It’s great to continue that bond and make it stronger.”

On Monday, Roth and Schmidt headed to Chicago; and they planned to do an ESPN interview on Tuesday.

“We’re doing the interview with ESPN that’ll air on Sunday NFL Countdown,” Schmidt said. “Just to share the story and also the meaning behind everything. Just trying to inspire people who can relate in any sort of way and find some positivity when things are dark.”

He is still grieving. But he’s trying to find some hope.

“We’re gonna make this just a beautiful story beyond the sadness,” Schmidt said.

And that beautiful story included a win over the Vikings.

“You know, the other special moment was just getting that victory for my dad,” Schmidt said. “We wanna keep the keep this train rolling, because we’re going all the way because of him. His spirit is going to bring the Lions a Super Bowl.”

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Spirit of Detroit statue is ready to go for the Lions playoff run.

Monday morning, the statue was dressed in a Honolulu Blue Detroit Lions jersey to commemorate the team’s success. Once word got out, excited fans came by Monday to snap photos.

“We watched the game every weekend. We’re so excited,” Lions fan Macarena Diaz said. “Everyone’s excited. Wherever you go, they know you’re from Detroit.”

“Used to love it when we put it on when the Red Wings would win,” Lions fan Katie Mcnulty said. “Seeing the Lions on there is just really, really cool.”

Before sunrise, crews were hard at work installing the jersey. But even before that, Nicholas Piach and his team at Banner Sign Co. were hard at work designing it.

“Oh, it’s handsewn,” Piach said. “The major changes in the jersey this year is the dots in the numbers.”

The business has been in Piach’s family for 60 years, but it’s called metro Detroit home for 100 years. In that time frame, they’ve been apart of many sports moments.

“I think my first Spirit of Detroit was for the ’97 Red Wings Stanley Cup championship,” Piach said. “We put a jersey on when we beat the ‘Legion of Doom,’ I believe was Philadelphia. We swept them.”

From there, the jersey’s kept coming. They now even make jerseys for the Detroit Tiger outside Comerica Park.

“I have to tell you, not all of them worked out as good as they do now,” Piach said. “Now, it’s kind of routine for us.”

For this Lions jersey, Banner Sign Co. began work in October. It’s installed with help from another local company, Prop Art Studio.

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“There’s a million pins in it,” Piach said. “You don’t see it, but there’s Velcro, there’s pins, the sleeves need to lay just right.”

It takes lots of work to only be on display for a few weeks, but the pictures and joy it brings to Detroiters will last a lifetime.

“I wanted to get a picture for my dad because he’s disabled,” said Mcnulty, who was snapping a photo. “I wanted to get it and bring it to him.”

“Anytime someone is looking at my work taking a picture of it, that is the ultimate satisfaction,” Piach said.

DETROIT (FOX 2) – After a decade of serving craft beers, Brew Detroit plans to close its taproom and shift the focus to production and distribution.

“When we opened our taproom in 2015, we sought to offer a variety of exceptional beers, what we found was community, through the exceptional people who decided to fill our space and collaborate with us over the years,” Brew Detroit wrote in a social media post announcing the closure. 

According to the business, the last day will be Jan. 31, and Brew Detroit is planning a party that day. Brew Detroit also plans to host some other events leading up to the closure. Keep up with event announcements here.

Fans of Brew Detroit will still be able to get their hands on beer after that, but they’ll have to buy it from a store.