Longtime Detroit Lions fan hopeful for Super Bowl appearance, purchases plane tickets to attend

(CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions fans are flying high after a big win Monday night in San Francisco. But one fan is already finalizing her plans to attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Jennifer Luoto is all in on the Lions winning Super Bowl LIX. She says she purchased her plane ticket and a place to stay in Louisiana in the event that the team plays. 

"We've been with the team a long time. We are not bandwagon fans. I remember as a young kid going to the Silverdome, seeing games there," Luoto told CBS News Detroit.

She says her support for the team has run through the family for years. Her father and his close friend, Doug Ringer, initially purchased season tickets in the 70s. But Ringer was diagnosed with cancer and passed his tickets along to the Luoto family because they love the Lions.

"We like to call it the Lions' love story," Luoto said. "He (Doug Ringer) said he wanted to pass the tickets along to somebody that loved the Lions as much as he did, and so at that point, he passed the tickets to me. Now the tickets are in my name, and then we get to go down here and root on the Lions every game."

Even though the team faced tough times, Luoto says her family never stopped watching them.

"This team, for a long time, was not a team that people rooted for, you know. We were here during the 0-16 season still coming to games when people are wearing bags over their heads," she said. "We never did that. We always wanted to see the Lions win."

Now, more than ever, Luoto and her family believe in the team and their hopes for the Super Bowl. 

"It will be worth it for us. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and hopefully, this team has the fight to go all the way, and I believe they do," she said.