First-time Lions soak in atmosphere at Ford Field: 'Felt like I was in a movie'

Terrion Arnold didn't believe Brian Branch when the second-year pro told the rookie that Ford Field is louder than Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the two of them were teammates at Alabama.

"So when I felt my ears actually shaking, that’s when I said, 'Oh wow, this is amazing,'" Arnold said after the Lions' season-opening win over the Rams in front of a raucous Sunday night crowd in Detroit. "Running out of the tunnel right there, I couldn’t hear nothin'. I won’t say my head was shaking, but it almost felt like an out-of-body experience. I felt like I was in a movie. That crowd, man, there’s nothing like it."

Arnold confirmed that it was "way louder" than anything he experienced in college, even the loudest crowd he ever heard at Texas A&M. The decibel record at Bryant-Denny is 113.1, which was set last season after Arnold's pick in Alabama's win over LSU. The decibels were higher than that at Ford Field on the Rams' first snap.

"It was electrifying," said fellow rookie cornerback Ennis Rakestraw. "It put me in the mind of being in college, going to one of those colleges who got a real good fanbase. It felt like, in my eyes, one of them all-white Penn State games. (The fans) took over the game for the defense in the later parts of the game, forcing some key penalties. I love the crowd."

Veteran corner Carlton Davis III was on the other side of it last season when the Lions beat the Buccaneers in the playoffs, on a day the fans broke the Ford Field decibel record (133.6) for the second week in a row. When he ran out this time, "I almost went to the opposite sideline," Davis laughed.

"But the fans was crazy," he said. "It was really loud in there, very electric. It was fun."

For veteran guard Kevin Zeitler, it was a welcome change. He spent his first four games at Ford Field battling the crowd noise on the opposing offensive line. On Sunday night, he got to soak it all in while Detroit's defense was on the field.

"Incredible experience. Holy cow. It was loud, especially during those big moments. Plus the spectacle and all that, it was a very cool environment to be in. We’re definitely going to need them to keep being even louder as the season goes on," Zeitler said.

Jake Bates played in several games in Ford Field last season for the UFL Michigan Panthers, and made some big-time kicks. But none as big as the one he drilled Sunday night to send the game to overtime with 17 seconds to play. In his Lions debut, Bates made sure the fans went home happy.

"They’re loud, huh?" he said with a smile. "That was awesome. I’ve never experienced something like that. Really cool to be on this side of it, for sure."