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          Detroit's lectern chronicles: What's next in Lions' media room saga?

          • Eric Woodyard, ESPNSep 10, 2024, 02:04 PM
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              Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter dedicated to the Midwest region before switching to his current role in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has authored/co-authored three books: "Wasted, Ethan's Talent Search" and "All In: The Kelvin Torbert Story". He is a proud parent of one son, Ethan. You can follow him on Twitter: @E_Woodyard

          ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- On the eve of training camp, the Detroit Lions held an event to announce the new name of their training facility and headquarters as the Meijer Performance Center.

          But the name wasn't the only thing different in the building, as an oversized, white lectern in the media room quickly took center stage.

          Lions head coach Dan Campbell noticed its bulky stature immediately as held his daily news conferences while standing behind it.

          "It's pretty big. That's the obvious. Apparently, this is a hot topic, right?" Campbell said Day 2 of training camp in July. "It has a good base to it, that's for sure. I don't know, I don't know what to tell you about this thing."

          The size of the podium would become a running joke for reporters entering the media room to cover the team.

          And members of the Lions communications staff would swap the large white lectern out with a slimmer blue option, based on the height of select players and coaches, before ultimately premiering a smaller white and blue podium on Monday to seemingly end the team's saga.

          The Lions jokingly put together a tribute post, honoring "Podium 1" and "Podium 2," on its social media account before showcasing "Podium 3" with the caption "Brand. New. Podium."