Cal Sports Report

Red Wings Fans Chant Jared Goff's Name at a Detroit NHL Game

Hockeytown is in love with former Cal star and Lions QB Jared Goff, who gets the ultimate respect from hockey fans

Jake Curtis

Red Wings Fans Chant Jared Goff's Name at a Detroit NHL Game
Red Wings Fans Chant Jared Goff's Name at a Detroit NHL Game /

Former Cal quarterback Jared Goff owns Detroit, and it became obvious at a Detroit Red Wings home game on Thursday. Detroit is known as Hockeytown, but on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena it was Gofftown.

During the Red Wings game against the Philadelphia Flyers, as the Red Wings were rushing the puck up ice, the crowd settled into a boisterous chant of “Ja-red Goff, Ja-red Goff” as seen and heard in the twitter video below.

Goff is the key figure in the Detroit Lions' storybook season, and he will lead the Lions into Sunday’s NFC champ against the San Francisco 49ers at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium. 

Now let me ask you this: Do you think San Jose Sharks fans are chanting “Brock Pur-dy, Brock Pur-dy” during a Sharks how game?

This must be a wild time for Goff, whose ego would be exploding right about now if he had ever shown any evidence that he had an ego.

This is a guy who was simply unloaded by the Rams, giving the Lions two first-round draft choices as a well as a third-round pick as well as Goff to acquire one player, Matthew Stafford. It was assumed Detroit would stick with Goff for one season before it found permanent replacement. Detroit went 3-13-1 in Goff’s first season with the Lions in 2021, and it seemed Goff’s time as the Lions’ starting quarterback was coming to an end when they started the 2022 season 1-6.

Then something odd happened: The Lions started winning, and Goff was a primary reason. They finished the season 9-8, barely missing the playoffs. The Lions and Goff continued the hot streak to a division title, a 12-5 regular season and two playoff victories – the Lions first two playoff wins in 32 years.

Now Goff is hoping to push the Lions top their first Super Bowl berth ever, and perhaps their first NFL title since 1957. Only three franchises in the four major sports – the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Guardians and Sacramento Kings – have had a longer championship drought than the Detroit Lions.

Goff and the Lions would have pull off a significant upset to beat the 49ers, who are 7.5-point favorites. But what if he does it?

When a quarterback allows a city that worships Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman to contemplate its first NFL title in 66 years, its citizens chant your name – even on the sacred ground of a hockey arena.

Cover photo by Junfu Han, USA TODAY NETWORK

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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