As a sports-loving boy from Kalamazoo, Michigan, my team always has and always will be the Detroit Lions. My journey as a fan has been a blessing and a curse, with many ups and downs, but isn't that what life is all about?
Sure, I could give up on my poor Lions who haven't won a playoff game in 26 seasons. I could say adios to the sports franchise I've given my energy, attention, and passion to in order to focus on something else in life. But can you truly ever give up on something you're in love with?
The Lions are more than just a team I root for or even my favorite sports franchise -- they are my obsession, and I don't believe I've ever had any choice in the matter. This is the team that chose me, and I refuse to let them down.
The Lions have brought my brother and I closer together. The Lions broke the ice when my now wife introduced me to her father, who was born in Michigan and also a die-hard Detroit Lions fan. And when times were tough working to make ends meet in jobs I hated, the one thing I looked forward to each weekend was watching the Detroit Lions play football.
Sound pathetic? Possibly, but to me, they represent hope in the hopeless. They represent promise when everyone else can only see doubt.
And no matter how many times they break my heart with a devastating loss due to an obscure rule, blowing a lead in a playoff game they look sure to win, or by making a terrible free agent signing in the offseason, I'll be here if or when they achieve the impossible.
The Start
The now 50-year-old NFL Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders was the reason many Michiganders and football fans around the world tuned in to watch the Lions. He was undersized and quiet, but with the football in his hands, at times he was impossible to catch. Sitting with a Diet Pepsi fountain drink in my hand and the remote control, I used to sit in awe of Sanders' ability to escape tackles and accelerate down the field for a touchdown.
Despite his greatness, the rest of the team could not match his excellence, or even support it. With quarterbacks like Scott Mitchell and Charlie Batch, Sanders had to put the entire team on his shoulders, and it just wasn't enough outside of a single playoff win in 1991.
The Pain
In 2006, I scraped what little money I had together to purchase Lions season tickets. They were around $850/each and more than I should have been spending on anything other than the essentials.
Every home game, my brother and I, and sometimes with friends, would make the two-hour drive from Kalamazoo to Detroit. After a full day of travel after the game was over and the traffic had died down enough to leave Detroit, we would discuss how we could have possibly lost yet another game.
2008 was my last year as a Detroit Lions season ticket holder. I was excited to see what the team had to offer that year with wide receiver Calvin Johnson and what seemed to me like a team ready to go on a playoff run. As a writer blogging about sports, I even published an article predicting that my Lions would make the 2008 NFL playoffs.
After going 4-0 in the preseason, I was sure of it -- this team has what it takes to win a playoff game. After all, no team in NFL history had ever won all four games in the preseason and failed to make the playoffs.
That year, my Detroit Lions did set a brand new NFL record -- most loses in a season. The Detroit Lions went an imperfect 0-16, losing every game. There were Sundays where I literally couldn't give my season tickets away for free to a friend. I even tried to find people in Detroit who wanted to go to a game for free just so they could go to good use.
A decade later, we have had better teams than that record-setting bunch of losers (I say that with love). However, we have yet to win a playoff game, and even with a strong quarterback in Matthew Stafford, an improving defense, and one of the best offensive lines, I can't shake the feeling that I am in for another unhappy surprise this season.
Can you blame me?
A Happy Ending?
Outside of the bleakness of the way I describe my memories and history as a Detroit Lions fan, I do have hope. No, we are not going to win the Super Bowl anytime soon, but is that what sports are really about?
To me, sports, and my connection to the Detroit Lions, is about family, and passion, and the hope of a better tomorrow. Regardless of if we ever with a championship or finally end up on the winning side of a playoff game, the Detroit Lions are my team. And believe it or not, I'm proud of it.
Comments