Something I thought I would never, ever, ever do in this space. Mention the Detroit Lions without – laughing, scoffing or demeaning – the franchise. But they are now 4-0 and have fought back for the past two weeks while being down by double digits in each game. My pride is swallowed and I give them some due here in my word count.
Does the air smell fresher in Detroit? Even the Big 10 teams locally are winning but its all Lions. No one’s even talking about hockey around here and their season starts this week. There’s no red billboards proclaiming hockey love or any octopi photos found anywhere in the area. The town is all Honolulu Blue.
And other folks are taking notice. The New York Times is even writing about them, so I figured I better take notice. Now I’m not a fan – not casual nor bandwagon. But I married into this town and have to take the bad with the good so to speak. My wife is a life long Lions and Tigers fan so we butt heads every so often over my lack of “Detroit Team Spirit.” I did notice she did buy a new couch just before the MLB playoffs started and with my Yankees going head to head with her beloved Tigers I may get a nice introduction to the intricacies of our new pullout couch. It’s a no-win situation for me.
But the Lions are winning. And convincingly. And winning back fans. And now they’ll be on Monday night football this coming week. No that’s not a typo. Now Monday night appearances don’t have the cache of Dandy Don and Howard Cosell on ABC as they’ve moved to ESPN and a three-man booth. But its still a national audience that includes the other 30 NFL teams that have already played. So yes, I’m paying attention. The franchise that has for so long been a doormat, a laughing stock and a joke is now actually rebuilding.
Two moves put the team on a path to get to respectability. Buffoon and former GM Matt Millen was finally fired after nearly a decade of ruining the team and Jim Schwartz was hired as head coach. The dude played linebacker at Georgetown (Division III) and was an all-star and his degree is in Economics. An extremely smart fellow. The Lions don’t get many of those – ever. But he saw something here, maybe the chance to do it right, to do it his way, to win.
He is. So is the team. So is the city. So flip the channel and take a gander at these new Lions and their smart coach on Monday night football next week against the Bears.
What do you think of the Lions? How will they finish? Sound off here…..
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