Fact or Fiction: Is Most of America Really Rooting for the Lions?

Entire generations of football fans have never seen it happen in their lifetime. The Detroit Lions, once the lowly bottom-feeders of the NFL, are playing in their first NFC Championship Game in more than three decades.

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The Lions will face the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers this weekend, vying for the privilege to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII. (The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens will duke it out for the rights to represent the AFC.)

What the Oddsmakers Are Saying

Most sports sites have the 49ers favored to win by at least a touchdown, but that's dampening the spirits of Lions fans.

Prince Grimes of USA Today thinks that Lions coach Dan Campbell and his crew have every right to feel disrespected by that, calling it "perfect bulletin board material for a coach who introduced himself to the world with a line about biting off kneecaps."

What America Is Saying

There's a popular meme circulating these days, purportedly showing a map of the United States color-coded to show which states want the Lions to win as opposed to which states favor the 49ers. The meme shows 49 states shaded with blue for Detroit, with outlier California the only one colored red.

There's no way to gauge the accuracy of this map, however, it's clear that the Lions have throngs of fans in every corner of the country.

RELATED: 9 Things That Weren't Around Last Time the Lions Made It This Far

Here's what we know is true. Americans have a history of rooting for the underdog. And Detroit, having its best season since 1957, definitely qualifies.

The Lions are the only NFC team to have never made it to a Super Bowl. On the other hand, the 49ers have been to the big game seven times.

After being kicked around and made fun of for generations, the Detroit Lions finally have a real chance to taste football's ultimate victory. And what true red-blooded American would want to stand in the way of that?