MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — As we continue to countdown to the start of tonight's NFL Draft, fans from all 32 teams are expected to be in attendance tonight.
But you can guarantee Lions fans will be out in full force and that includes a familiar face for the Lions franchise, a man whose Lions' fandom has put him in the Hall of Fame.
"Who loves you baby! Woo-hoo, that’s what we’re talking about,” says Ron “Crackman" Crachiola.
You might know Crachiola if you’ve been to a Lions game or a tailgate at Eastern Market. The love he has for the Lions starts in the 1950s with his father and grandfather at Tiger Stadium.
“I remember sitting in center field in the lower deck and just watching the fans in there the passion of them and to see that live,” Crachiola says. “I'll never forget it you know.“
We visited Crackman at his home in Macomb Township, decked out in Honolulu Blue and his game-day attire, his house packed with Lions’ memorabilia tells the story of a Lions fan who never gave up hope on his team.
“A lot of people talk about the history of the Packers, for instance,” he says. “Oh, there’s so much history there. I say there’s history in every football team. There’s history in Detroit, ya know.”
Crackman has a personality like no other fan. In 2001 he was inducted into the NFL Fan Hall of Fame. But even with the local fame here in Detroit, he remains true to himself.
“As a fan, I am part of this city. I believe in this city. I believe in the Lions, but also as a fan, and the fans around me in the stadium, they look forward to when they see me, Like little kids. I’ll sign stuff for them,” he says. “I feel like I am representing Detroit, and I am proud of that.”
This past season he made sure it was dedicated to his father who passed away last year and his longtime pal Donnie “Yooperman” Stefanski, who passed away in 2019.
“Those two are on my mind all the time and I know that they were there every game and that first game in Kansas City, I knew these guys were for real,” he says.
Crackman will be at the draft and has faith.
“Whatever he does, Brad Holmes does, I trust and I know something is cooking in the back of his mind,” he says.
