I am not a Detroit Lions fan. I am a Detroit Lions observer.
To be honest I am pretty pissed off about what the Lions have done to this fan base. The Lions have dragged you down to their level where there are no expectations, where losing is not only accepted but excused. The Lions have the fewest wins of any NFL team the past two decades. But they have the most moral victories.
With that said this is the most optimistic I’ve been about the Lions since Barry Sanders played in the 1990s.
I don’t care if they win, lose or fall apart on any given Sunday. I do not believe in a Lions jinx. It’s not a jinx when bad things happen because of incompetence in the front office or in the coach’s box.
It is not a Lions jinx when ownership hires Matt Millen from the broadcast booth and then extends him despite running the ship into the ground. There is no Lions jinx when the Lions try the Patriots Way despite seeing it fail in every stop outside of New England.
It is not a Lions jinx when superstars Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders walk away from the game rather than play for this franchise because despite their greatness they know they cannot win here. It is not a Lions jinx when the team goes 0-16 in 2008. The Lions deserved every one of those losses.
It is not a jinx when ownership hires buddies and people it likes to run things. And it is not a jinx when ownership tells us that their buddies will learn on the job. It is not a jinx when you buy into their bullshit.
The Lions are the main reason why there are rabid fan clubs in Detroit that back the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. People want to see an NFL team they love win on Sunday, Monday or Thursday.
The Lions (1-4) are back at it again this season. Despite having the third ranked offense in the NFL they cannot win games because of a historically bad defense and a bumbling coach. Besides, we saw how potent that offense became when it faced a real coach in Bill Belichick.
The Lions enter the bye week licking their wounds following a 29-0 loss to New England. That makes Dan Campbell 4-17-1 as head coach. His >235 win percentage is below that of Matt Patricia .313) and Matt Millen (.277) the worst GM in sports history.
If the Lions are not careful they will finish last in the NFC North for a fifth consecutive year. CBS Sports compiled an all-time Super Bowl era power ranking. The Lions finished 30th of 32 teams only ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.
Despite all this I run into Lions fans every year who tell me things are different, a new day has arrived. I run into at least a half dozen people every summer who tell me the Lions will win 12 or more games. This guy where I get my car washed has disappeared on me.
Every time I rolled through there he told me the Lions were going to be great this season. I finally asked him how many they would win this season and he said with a straight face. “15 plus.” That was before the season began. Now that the Lions are playing the SOL card I can’t find the guy.
My poor barber Victor (don’t laugh. I do have facial hair) does an annual prediction that he post in the barber shop. He’s never picked the Lions to win fewer than 10 games. The Lions have only won 10 or more games twice this century.
People often tell me that I am too rough on the Lions. I counter that the Lions are too rough on their fan base. They let you down at every turn. They lose in the most shocking ways and their wins are few and far between.
Demand more of your football team. Do not let them off the hook for poor play and poor management. If you choose to become Lions free I won’t fight you.
I do not hate the Lions. To be honest they provide more entertainment than any other Detroit franchise mostly because the fan base cares more about the Lions than the other three franchises combined.
I am not Lions free. I just don’t care what these slugs do on any given Sunday.
PHOTO: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
