When it comes to lightning rods in Detroit sports, Matthew Stafford may be the biggest of all-time.
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Whether you listen to local sports radio, read the papers, partake in social media, or just have conversations around the water cooler, you have likely heard plenty people give their opinion on the Detroit Lions signal caller. Some of those opinions praise Stafford and insist he is an elite quarterback who is stuck on a crappy franchise, while others are convinced that the former No. 1 overall pick is the main reason why the Lions have not been able to get over the hump for the past decade.
If you have not already done so, hop on Twitter or Facebook the next time the Detroit Lions take the field and search for “Matthew Stafford.” Then take a few minutes to browse through the thousands of comments that are either loving him or bashing him.
Over the past couple of seasons, the number of Stafford haters on social media has continued to grow and to get louder. In fact, when you read through many of the comments, you can sense pure anger towards the Lions quarterback.
Stafford insists he cannot hear the hate
Well, one person who could care less about the haters is, Matthew Stafford.
When asked about the comments on social media, Stafford made it clear that it does not bother him one bit. Mostly, because he does not even see it. In fact, he sees it as counterproductive to participate in things like Twitter and Facebook.
From Lions Wire:
“I don’t see what good it does me, to be honest with you,” Stafford responded when asked in his weekly press conference about the growing virulence of negative fans. “I’m in here every day working my tail off, trying to be as good as I can for this team to help us win. Whatever anybody else wants to say, that’s up to them. The better we play as a team, the better I play as a quarterback, the less you’ll ask me about it.”
“No. I don’t have it, so it’s pretty easy for me,” Stafford stated matter-of-factly. “I don’t really pay attention too much to it, to tell you the truth, anywhere. So, I just go about my business and try to be as good as I can for the guys in this room.”
At this point, what does Matthew Stafford have to do to get some the haters to turn? Is it too late?