My Detroit Lions

Every year around my birthday I get this warm fuzzy feeling and it’s not created by anticipation of gifts.  These feelings of joy, fear, anxiety, love, passion, dedication, and confusion are created by one thing and one thing only and that’s football season.  In general I love sports and follow almost every sport, with the exception of Nascar, but that’s a whole other post I won’t get into now.

Football season gets my full attention and, as I tell my girl friend, I believe this passion and love for the game comes from my playing time in high school.  Never the fastest or strongest, nor did I start until my senior year; I developed an appreciation of a game that requires teamwork and dedication to achieve victory.  Like a good friend’s father told me once my freshmen year, “ it’s the only thing I remember about high school.”

My Detroit Lions are going to the Super Bowl baby!!  I say this every year and with full confidence that we will achieve our goal.  The lions haven’t had a winning season since 2000 and that was a mere 9-7 3^rd place finish in the NFC north.  That was Bobby Ross’s last go around and hell I think Herman Moore was still on the roster.  Hell Bobby Ross was the last coach to see Barry Sanders in the starting lineup.

11 losing seasons in a row with a 0-16 season thrown in there as well makes it very hard to stick it out as a fan.  However this year is different and the smart guys that get paid to analyze the teams are agreeing with me.  A front four that will put fear in any opposing QB’s eyes, with some much-needed pickups at the linebacker position, the lion’s defense will cause some turnovers this year.

When we stay healthy and take the division back from the super bowl champs ( which we beat up last year by the way) all you dedicated lions fans will have a whole offseason of ”I told you this was the year”.  Stafford, Calvin, Best, Burleson, all 3 solid tight ends …..I’m getting goose bumps writing this!!!

Last night I watch a team that has grown up and forgotten the past.  The small taste of victory at the end of the season last year has inspired the team this year, along with adding depth.  The New England Patriots are not the team they once were but their offensive line is still ranked in the top 5 and we just man handled them last night putting Brady on the ground at least 10 times.

My retirement plan just might not work anymore.  My economics professor told me about a year ago that he had a friend that took a trip to Vegas each year and while he was there he would put a $ 500 bet on the Lions winning the super bowl.  Last year that would have made you a fair chunk of change, now Vegas is only paying 50-1 odds.  Go Lions!!