What Happened to the Detroit Lions Before “The Old Man” Died

           Part One:
           Washington 41- Detroit 10

A view into the life of a Lions Fan and the tragedy that people just shrug off and not care about.

It was a glorious day on Sunday, March 9^th for me and my Father to be driving up to Lexington, Michigan to gather up belongings at my grandparents’. It was bitterly cold as usual, but with little traffic to speak off on I-94, the day couldn’t have been any more relaxing. Radio on our usual 97.1 “The Ticket,” we just glided down the highway. As we were pulling off the exit ramp though, I was shocked at what I heard next from the sports updater Ryan Wooley, who sternly exclaimed, “The Lions’ Owner of 50 years, William Clay Ford Senior, has just passed from pneumonia.” My Father and I just looked at each other for a few seconds, shut off from the road ahead of us. All my father could say was, “Wow.”

William Clay Ford Senior (WCF), as the Lions’ sole proprietor, focused everyday over five decades from drafting and scouting, to hiring personnel to make the best team possible. With being a part of the clan of die-hard clan of Lions fans, WCF was the only owner my father and I knew. This news of his passing hit me just as hard as him.

Fall Sundays are different for us than many others’ families. While they go to church or sleep in, my father and I walk down the steam-filled streets of Detroit to get our tickets checked, and then proceed into Ford Field. Our lives revolve around this steel and mortar dome complex, holding 65,000 strong. When we walk Twentyman).”

into this sacred place, it’s always exciting, but in the end, it’s business. We go to get our money’s worth. See Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Stephen Tulloch, and Reggie Bush put on a spectacle.  See months of game-planning and training turn into a win. See happiness. Most importantly though, we want the one thing that every football fan wants, to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. One idea that always stays constant as the Lions strive to achieve this goal though, is, “The time to win is now (

This may seem easy to say, but for a franchise created in 1929, it’s last championship was 1957, and has never won a Super Bowl, that saying has always been a challenge for the Detroit Lions under WCF.

When someone searches ‘cursed’ on Google, I’m surprised the Detroit Lions isn’t the first topic to pop up. All over, from internet to casual talking, almost anything today about the Detroit Lions is labeled with criticism, disgust, pessimism, and the coined stereotype:  Same Old Lions (S.O.L.). “Same old Lions to begin another coaching search…Same old Lions starting over again (Twentyman).” It’s sickening for me and other fans to hear over and over again and, “…One which makes me literally roll my eyes (Caputo).” What leads you though to believe this isn’t true though? The evidence is striking in how the Lions always shoot themselves in the foot. Even though we have probably the most talent we’ve had in 50 years, high draft picks, a city supporting the team through thick and thin, a lead in the NFC North and other teams’ injuries, and a caring owner like WCF, the Lions seem to always end up losing in, “…classic Lions fashion (Wattrick).”  No offensive or defensive execution at the most crucial times, improbable events happening like the Tucker 61 yard field goal on MNF (“Week  15: Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions Highlights”), general managers drafting “no-names”, blowing a division lead and a chance for our 2^nd ever home playoff game, “0-16”, and, oh yeah, losing games.

There have been good times obviously, but I’ve seen this tragedy first hand walking out of Ford Field countless times.  Sad, in disbelief, sometimes crying. That’s how most of the 65,000 in Ford Field, especially me, feel after the Lions throw an opportunity away, again.  It’s unbelievable how nothing can change, even though the team and everyone surrounding the organization wants to see them win. To a lot of Lions fans, it seems commonplace when the Lions squander, “Another opportunity (Wattrick).” And it’s not right. Only with the Detroit Lions is the phrase, “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory (Wattrick),” synonymous.

At a time in 1991 though, this wasn’t the case. The Lions, fresh off winning their first ever NFC Central Title, were poised with a bye and a first-round home playoff game to show what they were really made of. WCF was using the symbolic thumbs-up gesture of the injured Mike Utley to show that this Lions team was a “team of destiny”. For a time in the beginning of January, this seemed to be the truth. On January 5^th, 1992 the Lions marched in to Pontiac Silverdome, supported by 100,000-plus, and with a spectacular performance drove the Dallas Cowboys out of the city by a score of 38-6. The feeling of jubilation stretched1991 NFC Divisional Playoffs- Lions vs Cowboys”). Everyone jumped on the bandwagon of the Detroit Lions and Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Eric Kramer in their Super Bowl run. It seemed like luck was going to change for the Lions, but as always the S.O.L. factor took over. The Lions went down to Washington for the NFC Championship, where their last win was 1964, and with a less than lackluster performance got blown out 41-10. With that, it ended hope again, and coupled with 6 playoff failures from then on, the Lions never got any closer.

across Metro Detroit and the stadium like never before (“

It’s pretty demoralizing. You think you’ve seen everything horrible happen to the Detroit Lions, but that’s never the case. Honestly though, this isn’t recognized by anyone except for Lions fans. Any sports writer or fan out of town may think their situation is bad, but compared to us, the problems they’re seeing are extremely miniscule compared to ours. The sayings, “The Lions seemingly had the game under control,” “The Lions can’t solve the puzzle,”  “The stats…are hollow” and others have been ever-constant with this franchise over the last five decades (Caputo).  With all this evidence, it’s easy to see why, “frustrations boil over (Dunkak),” and fans are sad, desperate, and angry in Detroit.

After hearing the news of WCF’s passing, I knew he wanted the best for the Lions, hoist the Lombardi trophy, and lift a city out of despair. But even with the work he did to make a team that had a winning culture, you’d be naïve not to suggest, “A losing culture still exists in Allen Park (Caputo).”

Works Cited

1991 NFC Divisional Playoffs - Lions vs Cowboys. Dir. Hockeyguy9125. YouTube. N.p., 19 Jan.

2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

Caputo, Pat. "CAPUTO: Detroit Lions Left Picking up the Pieces of Shattered Season." Press &

Guide. N.p., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Dunkak, Ashley. "Jim Schwartz Appears To Yell To Lions Fans: 'What The F--- Are You

Booing At?'" CBS Detroit. N.p., 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

Twentyman, Tim. "Twentyman: Where Is the Lions Organization Heading?" The Official

Website of the Detroit Lions. N.p., 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Wattrick, Jeff. "Same Old Lions Embarrassed Themselves In Prime Time." Deadline Detroit.

N.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Week 15: Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions Highlights. Dir. NFL Videos. Perf. The Detroit

Lions and The Baltimore Ravens. NFL.com. N.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Dec. 2013.