Detroit Lions fans talk about the team and the city rising from the ashes

Detroit Lions fans have been through years of hurt. Now, they're one of the NFL's teams to be reckoned with.

Despite losing the NFC Championship game 34-31 to the San Francisco 49-ers on Sunday, their success has galvanized the entire city and new fans have jumped on the bandwagon.

"I'm speechless; I don't even know what to say about it," said Darice Ashley before the game. "This is so phenomenal; it's a huge milestone for the city. Once we get to the Super Bowl, I think the city's going to shut down and we're going to be partying for weeks."

Ashley and her son Bruce have been living in Detroit for seven years, having moved there from San Diego. They hadn't embraced the team until the start of this season, though.

"Everybody said, 'You suck; that team sucks. I don't know why you're following them,'" said Ashley. "I'm a Michigander now, so I'm going to be a Detroit Lions fan. They said, 'You guys are losing.'"

"But look at us now."

But if you ask fans who have been supporting the team through the many ebbs over the team's history, it means much more.

"You hear people say 'Same Old Lions'," said Aundrea Birch, who has been supporting the team since she moved to Detroit in 1988, before the game.

"This is not the 'same old Lions.' This is a tough team and this is a tough city. We need this for the city."

And when you consider what Detroit has been through over the last 16 years, it's no wonder she feels that way.

The automotive sector crashed in 2008, with the Detroit's Big Three suffering mass losses. That same year, the Lions became the first team to lose all 16 games in a season.

The team made three more brief appearances in the NFL Playoffs before this season's deep run, losing games in the first week of the postseason