Last January, Todd Lansky was in the stands of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with his son Tyler before the Detroit Lions’ most momentous N.F.L. game in about a half-century. The Lions were about to face the San Francisco 49ers in the N.F.C. Championship Game when Mr. Lansky’s phone buzzed.
Mr. Lansky, 53, is a lawyer by day. By night, he runs a fan-geared merchandise company called Detroit Army out of his Chicago-area home — a passion project that he thought was gaining some traction at around the time when the Lions, formerly woebegone, were making their playoff push last season.
Amid a torrent of texts and missed calls, Mr. Lansky realized what had happened: Dan Campbell, the Lions’ head coach, had worn one of Mr. Lansky’s Detroit Army trucker hats in a televised pregame interview with Michael Strahan of Fox Sports.
It turned out to be a tough day for the Lions, who ran up an early lead before collapsing in the second half. But at least Mr. Lansky came away with a win: Detroit Army received 379 orders in three minutes after Mr. Strahan’s interview aired.