On December 29, 1957, the Detroit Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns 59-14 to win the NFL Championship. It was the team’s fourth championship (third in six seasons), and Lions fans were sitting on top of the football world. Unfortunately, in the 60+ years that have followed, the Lions have not been able to get to a Super Bowl and have only one playoff win during that time.
One fan base that can relate to what it feels like to wait a very long time for a title is the fan base of the Chicago Cubs. In 1908, the Cubbies beat the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series. It was their second championship in a row and like the Tigers of the 1950’s, they too were the talk of the town. Unfortunately, for the Cubs and their fans, they would have to wait well over 100 years for their next World Series title.
On Tuesday, the Cubs were in town to square off against the Tigers and Chicago star Kris Bryant offered some advice for Detroit Lions fans.
“I think, honestly, the longer you wait, the sweeter it is,” Bryant said. “When they finally do it’s gonna be that much better.”
“I saw that in our fans, in the parade, in how many people came out. I mean, what was it, the seventh largest gathering in human history? It was pretty cool.”
Bryant, who was drafted by the Cubs in 2013, had only been in with the franchise for a couple of years when they won the World Series. He admits his experience of waiting for a title was not the same as Cubs fans.
“That’s a tough one because I didn’t really get to experience the length of (the wait) with the Cubs fans,” Bryant admitted.
When asked about whether or not 61 years is enough for Lions fans to wait, Bryant acknowledged it is but laughed when comparing it to what Cubs fans waited.
“Yeah, absolutely. That’s a pretty long time, but 108 years is almost double it,” he laughed.
