For nine years, Calvin Johnson gave his heart and soul to the Detroit Lions with the hopes that he and his teammates would eventually break through and bring a Super Bowl to Motown.
Unfortunately, things did not work out as planned and Johnson ended up retiring from the NFL at the age of 30.
But just because his teams did not win a lot of football games does not mean Johnson does not have a great deal of love for Lions’ fans.
During a recent interview with The Athletic, which centered around he and Rob Sims‘ cannabis business, Johnson was asked about fans always being curious about his relationship with the Lions. In his response, Johnson made it a point to say how much he loves Lions fans and the city of Detroit.
From The Athletic:
Oh yeah. I love the fans here, man. That’s a great reason why I’m here — I love Detroit. I’ve been here, like I said, my whole adult life. As of right now, I don’t see myself being anywhere else in the near future. The fans, all the gratitude to them. They were there at 0-16 and still there after that, watched us rebuild when we were balling in ‘11 and all that. I love our fans here in Detroit, not just football.
As far as players, I always want to be there for the players. It ain’t just got to be receivers, I love talking to the guys. We’ve got a lot of experience, Rob and myself. Anything I’ve got, they can have. (Laughs) Not everything. I’m just saying, any of the tidbits I’ve got, they can have them — anything for the game, anything I’ve learned over life, I love to share it.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions are going to pay back Johnson the money they made him give back when he retired before his contract was up.
Johnson has made it clear that unless that happens, there is no way he would be involved with the team.
It sure sounds like we are getting closer and closer to having Calvin Johnson back in the family!
