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‘I can’t believe it came to this’: His Lions fandom is his identity. He almost lost it

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‘I can’t believe it came to this’: His Lions fandom is his identity. He almost lost it

NORTHVILLE, Mich. — Fahad Yousif is two days removed from receiving something called a Certificate of Completion from the National Football League. It is dated Dec. 12. It is signed by Ari Novick, Ph.D., a licensed psychotherapist with a private practice in Laguna Beach, Calif. It is numbered “Cert #216932,” meaning 216,931 others presumably have received such an honor. It cost $250 — the fee Yousif paid for a four-hour course covering about eight or nine chapters of fan behavior expectations in NFL stadiums. 

He holds up his phone to show me. 

“I can’t believe it came to this,” he says. 

This is what happens when it all goes too far. Yousif is the Detroit Lions fan who decided to chirp at the Green Bay Packers sideline during pregame festivities at Ford Field last weekend. Some choice words (no swearing, he makes clear) were followed by drawing his thumb across his neck, making a slashing motion. That, it turns out, was a terrible, terrible idea. Because to some, notably Packers coach Matt LaFleur, what started as some mouthy fan talking trash had crossed over to a raving madman making a threat. LaFleur fired back at Yousif. Yousif, smiling wildly, yelled back at LaFleur. Security got involved. 

Yousif was on the field as a perk of his ticket package. Allowed to choose one add-on bonus for the 2024 season, he opted to be one of those fans who pull a giant American flag taut across the field during the pregame national anthem. Instead, security escorted him off the field before the anthem ever began.

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The dust-up went viral. Yousif, after returning to his seat, was ejected from Ford Field before halftime. Then LaFleur spoke about the incident in the postgame news conference, saying Detroit’s pregame activities should’ve been policed better. On Wednesday, the Lions revoked Yousif’s season tickets. Then he was banned from attending NFL games. Every day brought new waves of coworkers and old friends texting, “Did I see you on TV?” and media requests. Yousif took each opportunity to acknowledge he was in the wrong and apologize. Everyone, including Yousif, more or less agreed that he went too far out there. 

Near the end of the week, the Lions and the league offered a path forward. The stadium ban would be lifted, Yousif was told, if he completed the code of conduct class and wrote a formal apology. 

Now, here we are. It’s Saturday afternoon, nearly a week removed from the incident, and nearly 24 hours until the Lions host the Buffalo Bills in the NFL’s marquee game this weekend. Yousif accepted an invitation to meet at a Starbucks in Metro Detroit. 

Maybe this could be about life in the blast radius of a viral moment. 

Or it could be about nearly missing out on what might end up as the greatest season in Lions history. 

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Or about contrition. 

Or second chances.

But then Yousif is asked about what he nearly lost. 

“Oh, man, everything,” he says. “This is who I am, and, you know, I almost lost that. I don’t dismiss any of the criticism I’ve gotten. None of it. I agree with most of it.

“I was blessed with an honor to hold the flag of a country I love. I crossed the line and it shouldn’t have happened. I get where people are coming from. I can’t believe this happened.”

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Yousif is a lot of things. He’s a product of Metro Detroit’s vast Chaldean community — a first-generation American born to a father from Iraq and a mother from Kuwait. He’s an older sibling to two brothers. He’s a Wayne State University graduate. He’s a sales associate for a Midwest automotive tools company. He’s a husband to wife Gabby.

What he most identifies as, though, is as a Lions fan. 

Yousif grew up speaking only Arabic at home. He tried everything to fit in at school and came to feel most comfortable talking about football. He says that, growing up attending Farmington Hills public schools, he’d introduce himself by saying, “Hi, I’m Fahad. I’m a big Lions fan.” 

Yousif ignored pleas from his father, Saad, to play soccer. He instead lined up at defensive end and linebacker through middle school and into high school. He scored tickets to his first game at Ford Field in 2013. He and an older cousin began attending four or five games a year. 

“It was so natural,” Yousif says. “It was like, this is where we’re from, this is who we root for. Root for the Lions, no matter what.”

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Yousif grew to learn and understand the game more and more, but, like so many others, fell into the same trap that’s befallen generations of Lions fans. He believed. 

“Oh, the Matt Patricia era, bro,” he says now, fighting through a laugh, “I totally bought the hype.” 

But like all those generations of Lions fans, something came from that belief. Shared experience. Yousif convinced his father to start rooting for the Lions. He sold the dream. “This is the year.” Soon, Yousif stopped attending games, choosing instead to watch them at his dad’s house. Two chairs. Big-screen TV. Standing appointment. 

“Every year, he got more and more into it,” Yousif says. “He finally got it, and it kinda changed our whole relationship. Those years weren’t very good for the Lions, but, you know, they were good for us.” 

The Dan Campbell era in Detroit began in 2021 with the franchise trading star quarterback Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff. Yousif called his father the minute the news broke. It was mid-March. Saad, at 65, was newly retired and ready to get aboard his next ride as a Lions fan.  

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Six weeks later, Yousif got word that his father was feeling sick. He entered the hospital. He was placed on a ventilator.

“It was so quick,“ Yousif says. “Within 10 days, he was dead.” 

Yousif hasn’t mentioned any of this through his numerous media appearances this week. Viral moments don’t afford time. That, and his story doesn’t excuse what happened last week. 

“It still shouldn’t have happened,” he says. “I was also a big pro wrestling fan growing up and I think I’ve got some of that in my personality. I root for the heel.” 

That personality, you can be certain, is big. Yousif is the loudest person in the coffee shop by a wide margin. He speaks like he’s drinking jet fuel. One customer has closed his laptop and moved to a far table. But Yousif can’t really seem to help it. He seems to only operate with excitement and emotion and in equal proportions. 

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Until he talks about these last few Lions seasons. After his father’s death, Yousif wasn’t sure he could watch the Lions anymore. Every game was tied to loss, no matter the outcome. Saying this, he gets caught, and pauses, jaw clenched, cheeks trembling. 

The 2021 season came and went. He watched games in 2022 at home with an empty seat for his dad. Before 2023, he decided to make the big move. Season tickets. Lower bowl. Section 141, 33 rows up. 

He watched his team go 12-5 and win the NFC North last season. 

“I know it sounds crazy — really, I do — but it’s felt like Dad being like, yo, it’s OK, I got you,” he says. “I’ve been telling people these last few years that he’s got his hands all over this. I found a lot of comfort in that. I think he heard me say I didn’t want to watch the Lions anymore. He wanted to make it easier.” 

Now Yousif is rooting for football’s unlikeliest juggernaut. The Lions are 12-1 and current favorites to do it — something so unthinkable that we won’t even say it.

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Neither he nor anyone else can quite wrap their heads around what is all playing out. Yousif says he admits his mistake, and accepts the punishment, but also believes LaFleur overreacted and perhaps this all never needed to escalate so much. He’s hoping for another Lions-Packers matchup in the playoffs. 

He plans to be there for it. Just as he plans to be in the stands for Lions-Bills. A massive group of longtime season ticket holders who operate a tailgate out of Eastern Market invited him to Sunday’s tailgate. There might be an available ticket for him.  

While his season tickets are gone, apparently forever, Yousif can still go see his team. 

So he’ll go be a fan.

He doesn’t know how to be anything else. 

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(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Nic Antaya / Getty Images; Courtesy of Fahed Yousif)

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.

As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.

The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.

Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.

JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.

The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.

Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.

As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.

Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.

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Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.

With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.

Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.

Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.

Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.

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(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.

“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.

Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.

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“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”

And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?

It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.

Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.

“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”

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He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.

The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.

Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.

The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.

The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.

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The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.

Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.

“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”

If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.

“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’

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“I used it as fire to keep working.”

That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.

In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.

While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.

The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”

Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”

Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.

“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”

Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.

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