Dan Campbell’s Message to Lions Gets Lost in Translation in Germany

Detailed summary

Dan Campbell tried translating a motivational message into German before the Lions’ Munich game. Amon-Ra St. Brown had to correct him.

Dan Campbell wanted his Detroit Lions to spread their wings. Adding a little German to the message proved harder than he expected.

The Lions' head coach arrived in Munich with a story about a motivational phrase, an online translation, and Amon-Ra St. Brown's intervention. Campbell wanted to add profanity to his encouragement. Instead, his attempt at German left his receiver explaining what he should not say.

“So it didn't go over like I thought it would,” Campbell said at Friday's press conference. “He taught me what not to say.”

Campbell had been asked what German he had learned from St. Brown. He explained that he regularly gives his players small reminders, including the idea of spreading their wings and flying. He searched for a German equivalent of the f-word to put before wings.

The word he found was scheiße, which translates to “s--t,” rather than the word he intended. Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman, who attended the session, described the result as essentially telling his players to spread their “shit wings.”

Reisman reported that the opening story initially fell flat with the largely German audience. But as Campbell kept answering questions, reporters began smiling and laughing. Some reached for their phones as he talked about football and the city his team represents. The gathering drew nearly 100 media members to a pub serving as the interview room. Reisman described watching their reactions change as they became more familiar with Campbell’s delivery throughout the session.

One question invited Campbell to explain why an international fan should support Detroit. He answered by describing the opportunities football had given him and the relationships players build through demanding work together. Later, he connected the Lions' identity to the city's working people and their willingness to help one another.

St. Brown drew a different kind of attention later in the session. Campbell described an extra spring in his receiver's step during the week and said the…

Opening of the article, excerpted from Newsweek. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.