With the way this thing works, we have to schedule all our vacations around schedule. “I’ve missed two games in 17 years,” Spight said. Throughout their marriage, Robin says her husband has been “dedicated to being there for the fans.” That commitment means planning their lives around the team's schedule - something Robin has learned to accept given the joy Spight derives from being the face of Lions game days. Spight and his wife, Robin, will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary next summer. Still, there’s no gig more important to him than the one at Ford Field. Later, he formed his own band, Theo Gridiron and Friends, which plays all around the Metro Detroit area. It’s one of those things that’s special to Detroit, and I hope he’s able to do it a lot more in the future.”Ī native of Detroit’s west side, Spight began his singing career at Unity Baptist Church. “I wish we had him sing the song more or given him an opportunity to do it more. As you’re removed from it, I think you appreciate the professionalism of him,” former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. What makes the Lions’ tradition unique is the personal touch Spight brings. There are similar customs throughout the league. In Cincinnati, the Bengals play their fight song, "Bengals Growl." The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fire cannons out of the pirate ship stationed at one end zone before playing “A Pirate’s Life for Me.” In New England, the Patriots have a group called the End Zone Militia who fires off muskets. The Vikings play “Let’s Go Crazy” by Minnesota native Prince. They can be found at venues all around the NFL.
Surrounded by a group of fans in his reserved section near Gate G, Spight ends each song by stretching out his right arm and shouting "Gooooooooooo Lionsssssss!”Ĭhoreographed touchdown celebrations aren’t just a Detroit thing. But Spight has added his own flair to one of the NFL’s oldest tunes. Overgard, “Gridiron Heroes” has been a constant at home games. Written for the team in the late 1930s by then Lions director of entertainment, Graham T. The singer’s name is Theo “Gridiron” Spight - a Detroit native whose enthusiastic baritone rendition of the song has been a staple at Lions' home games since 2004.
“I’m like, who is this man singing? Because that boy be singing his heart out every time. Here comes that song,’” Williams, who now plays for the Lions, recalled with a laugh. 00 Lions jersey and team-fitted cap belting out the team’s fight song, “Gridiron Heroes.” Meet Theo 'Gridiron' Spight, the voice behind every Detroit Lions touchdown at Ford FieldĭETROIT - Whenever running back Jamaal Williams entered Ford Field here as a member of the Green Bay Packers, he knew what was coming.Īfter every Lions touchdown, the stadium’s massive video boards would cut to a man in a No.
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