By Moses Joshua 
Inside the quirky rituals and superstitions that help Holly Campbell survive game day anxiety — from bathroom retreats to pregame kisses.
Love, Loyalty, and Lions Football
For Holly Campbell, game day isn’t just another Sunday — it’s an emotional roller coaster. Married to Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell since 1999, she’s spent more than two decades by his side, weathering both the highs of victory and the heartbreaks of defeat.
Reflecting on their long marriage, Holly jokes, “We’re pretty much grandfathered in at this point,” adding that after years together in football’s unpredictable world, they’ve learned to lean on humor, love, and a few unusual superstitions to stay grounded.
A Pregame Ritual that Never Gets Skipped
Before every home game, Holly arrives early — long before kickoff — to share one special moment with her husband. “I head down to the field an hour before kickoff for our pregame kiss,” she explains. And on the rare occasion she can’t be there in person? There’s always FaceTime. “I mean, that has to be done,” she says with conviction.
It’s a small ritual, but one that’s become an unshakable part of their game-day routine — a quiet connection before the chaos of football begins.
The Bathroom Superstition That Just Might Work
While many coaches’ wives watch every snap with laser focus, Holly admits that she sometimes can’t handle the stress. During games, she sits in the family suite — but when the Lions start struggling, she’s sent somewhere unexpected: the bathroom.
“If things are not going our way, I get sent to the bathroom,” she laughs. Inside the suite’s restroom, she perches on the toilet with her phone, tracking the gamecast on ESPN and waiting for cheers to signal it’s safe to come out.
“It’s like a break,” she explains. “I can just sit there, breathe, and wait for the noise.”
Family and friends have fully embraced the routine, urging her back into the stall whenever the Lions fall behind — and summoning her back out the moment the team rallies. Holly can only shrug. “I can’t argue with it because it works.”
Wardrobe Curses and Boiling Bad Luck Away
Like many sports families, the Campbells have their share of quirky rituals. For Holly, even her outfits can become part of the superstition. If the Lions lose while she’s wearing something, it gets “put on ice” for a while. “It’s not being worn any time soon,” she admits.
Her superstitions stretch back to Dan’s playing days. When he wore No. 89 for the Lions from 2006 to 2008, she proudly sported a bracelet with his number — until it seemed to bring nothing but losses. Refusing to throw it away, Holly tried a different approach: she boiled it. “It’s crazy to talk about it!” she laughs. “But I think we won the next game after that. So there’s gotta be something to it!”
A Saying That Stuck — Until It Didn’t
For years, Holly had a tradition before every game — a simple phrase she’d tell Dan: “Do a good job.” The line came from their very first date, watching Armageddon, when Steve Buscemi’s character nervously repeats the same words before a big moment.
That phrase became her way of wishing him luck — until the Lions’ first win of the 2021 season. After a rough 0–10 start, Detroit finally defeated the Minnesota Vikings. The twist? “The day we won our first game, I forgot to say it,” Holly reveals. “Maybe it was me the whole time saying, ‘Do a good job.’”
A Coach’s Wife with a Heart of a Fan
Behind Dan Campbell’s fiery sideline persona is a partner who feels every snap, every call, and every play as deeply as the fans in the stands. Holly’s rituals — from hiding in the suite’s bathroom to boiling away bad luck — might sound funny to outsiders, but to her, they’re just part of the rhythm of football life.
Because when you love the game — and the man leading your favorite team — sometimes superstition feels like the only way to survive the stress.