This morning we talked about “why we need more” than just backing into the playoffs from the Detroit Lions. And while that is true, we need to add another. A win Saturday Night at Seattle would go a long way in steadying this “same ‘ole Lions” talk. It won’t be gone, per say, but it’s a step in the right direction. Arguably a win Saturday night would mean more for the fans than anything else.
This blue collar town, full of hard working people are the most dedicated and passionate fans around. Every week they break their backs at jobs that never pay enough because that’s who we, as Detroiters are. We understand the value of hard work, we show up, never complain, and do our jobs. On Sundays, we get a little break from the grind. Especially during football season. We watch with bated breath as from one week to another we never know what the result will be. This year has been no exception. But still we show up, we cheer, and we live (or die) by the results.
Now, with Saturday on the horizon it is time for our team, our boys, OUR Lions to do something that hasn’t been done since the first Bush was in office. Win a playoff game. The Lions last playoff win was back on January 5, 1992, against the Dallas Cowboys. Kids who were born during that year have graduated college, gotten jobs, and even grown up to be able to legally watch their team in a bar with a nice brew. That’s too damn long.
For the fans, a win is what we long for, it’s something that we have only heard folk tale legends about since 1992. I was five years old when they last won, I don’t even remember it. I’ve hoped for it, dreamt about it, but never experienced it. Anyone my age or younger feels the same way. We love our boys, we cherish our Sunday afternoons in front of the tube watching them play–risking a heart attack each and every week–but we do it because we’re from Detroit, the Motor City, and we love our Lions. So as they take the field Saturday Night against the Seahawks, a win doesn’t just mean advancing to play either the Cowboys or the Falcons; no it runs much deeper than that. It means much more than a win or loss, to us fans–the ones who have been there through it all (including Matt Millen), it means everything.
