Despite what some Joe/Jane Schmo beat reporters and/or columnists might write, not all of us have a love/hate relationship with the Lions. These people get paid to do what they do, because it sells papers, which is in their best interest. Some of them are very good at the hype game, while others -- well -- maybe not so good. But in the end it all boils down to what individuals think about that team, scribes or not.
Sure, some people will always love the Lions, much like hard-core partisans will always love Republicans or Democrats, no matter how much these people keep getting ripped off by the very folks they profess undying loyalty to.
On the other hand, how can you really hate a football team? I could no more hate the Lions than I could all those leaves I have to rake in the fall. I'll get back to that.
When I was a little boy, my dad would take me down to see the Lions play at Tiger Stadium. I remember the likes of Alex Karras, Roger Brown, Joe Schmidt, Wayne Walker, Pat Studstill. Gail Cogdill, and a QB named Milt Plum, amongst others. For road games, Dad and I would hunker down in front of the TV with a ring of pickled bologna, a pack of saltines and a couple Nehis.
Fast forward. I have my first car and first real job (Dad has lost interest -- an omen?) and somehow I find a way to save up enough of my burger-flipping money to get to a game with a couple friends here and there.
Fast forward. College years. Tight budget. The Lions still in Tiger Stadium. I've met another super-fan, who drove a Coke truck, and when we couldn't afford or get tickets for home games, we'd drive up to Saginaw, barely outside the 75 mile TV black-out zone at the time, to a K-Mart on game day. It was a pretty cool set-up. They had reclining chairs in front of the bank of TV screens. Arby's was right across the street when halftime rolled around. Yeah, we got hassled initially about "moving along", but eventually they came to expect us every other Sunday and it worked out. (Bringing a sandwich and a Coke back to the guy that always seems to be on duty probably didn't hurt either.) We saw Chuck Hughes die on the field with Dick Butkus frantically waving for help on that bank of TV screens, though it wasn't confirmed until we heard it on the radio on the way home down I-75.
Fast forward. The Silverdome is built. My Coke truck bud has relocated. I've started my career at GM and, BTW, I'm married. First house, big mortgage, couple car payments, couple dogs, lots of home improvement projects -- the usual back then. The wife's not interested in the Lions, but another guy I met in the shop is. If I remember right, the end zone tickets used to go on sale at the Dome the Tuesday before the game. If you weren't standing in line outside the box office at 6:AM, you had no chance to get tickets. So one of us had to come in late for work every couple weeks. Somehow that worked out, and we'd normally go to 4-5 games a year.
Fast forward. A ton of players. A few different coaches. Saw Utley get paralyzed. A linebacker, Reggie something come perilously close to the same fate, which ended his career. I've spent literally thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars, driven a lot of miles, and sat in front of countless TV screens over the years to watch them. Yep, there were good times, the most notable being when the Lions routed the Cowboys back in the early 90's for their only playoff win to date. I was there, and I can't remember ever being in a place that was louder than that. And lord knows, I've been to my share of rock concerts. It was incredible. But then the Lions got humiliated the following week and the balloon popped. More importantly, another feeling started to set in. Apathy.
Still, even though I pretty well knew the Lions were going to be mediocre at best for the foreseeable future, I hung in there for a few more years. I really don't know why other than to say perhaps watching Barry Sanders in person was worth the price of admission all by itself. Dumb? Probably, but that's the only reason I can think of.
When Barry took a hike, during his prime, no less, not to be confused with my "prime" fan years, that was good enough for me. I walked away too. No more love, but certainly no hate. It just didn't matter anymore. That goes back to the apathy that I mentioned above.
Much has been made of Matt Millen's tenure and what a disaster it was. Like many others, I've spoofed him in the past, but I could do so objectively. You see, I had detached myself from the Lions long before he ever came on the scene. In fact, I've never been to Ford Field for a Lions game and I have absolutely no desire to do so. It would be like taking my ex-wife out to a fancy dinner and a show. I mean, what's the point? No hard feelings and I wish them all well, but over is over.
Given my history with the Lions, I think it would be a fair statement to say I've paid my dues. The next time you read or hear a reporter talking on the subject, remember this --- chances are they never paid to get into a game in their lives. They never missed work standing in line at 6 in the morning, much less drove to a K-Mart a few counties away to watch a game when that was the only option. No, they get free parking, take the elevator up to the press box to the best seats in the house, and likely get free concessions. The late George Plimpton once wrote a book called Paper Lion. It was an interesting read about what really went on regarding that team at the time. He walked the walk, if only for a short time.
Most of the Joe/Jane Schmos have never had to pay a price, but they want to tell everybody what they should be thinking. Perhaps another book should be written about them. Paper Fan.
However, anything's possible I suppose. If the Lions want to get my attention again, then wake me up when they're in the Super Bowl. I don't want to hear about winning a division or playoffs. That's chump change for the Schmos to write about. Actually win the Super Bowl and I might consider going back to see a game. Maybe.
Until and unless that happens, I really don't care. And I might not even then.
Here's a guarantee. If there's one thing in the whole sports world that talking heads, beat reporters, columnists, magazine or on-line scribes, and anybody else associated with the like doesn't comprehend -- it's apathy.
Someone much wiser than I am once laid some heavy thoughts on me. They went something like this --
The end of a relationship has nothing to do with anger, harsh words, criticism, bitterness, or feelings of resentment. To experience any of that means you still have an emotional investment at some level. When you become totally indifferent and just don't care one way or the other anymore -- then it's over. To try and recapture that which has slowly been lost over a long period of time is highly unlikely. Accept it for what it is and move on.
In my opinion, she had a very good point.
Those leaves in the fall that I mentioned earlier? That particular tree got cut down and eventually burned in my fireplace. It wasn't personal. I used to really like that tree but, like the Lions, after a while it got to be more trouble than it was worth. So I moved on. (Ironically, I might not have a house at all, let alone a nice fireplace, if I hadn't stopped spending money on the Lions.)
But show me the Super Bowl, and maybe I'll plant a sapling. Just for old times sake. In a hundred years nobody's going to know the difference anyway.
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