Detroit Lions Weblog

Billy Sim’s audacious debut!

Doug Warren’s recent article, about Billy Sim’s 1st game as a Lion brought back a flood of memories for me. I can still remember watching that game against the Rams with my Dad to this day. I recall playing Nerf football in a friend’s backyard where everyone argued at length who should be the fortunate player who could pretend to be Tony Dorsett or Billy Sims. I will always remember Billy’s famous celebratory high-step as he emerged from the tunnel onto the field. Or the way he would dip his shoulder like the wing of an airplane and circle the end zone after scoring. Even Billy’s fit of anger that lead to him kicking over a table full of cups of Gatorade remains vivid in my mind. As great as Barry Sanders was, his somewhat cardboard demeanor makes him less memorable than those great days watching Billy.

Nostalgia plays a large part of my perception of those days I’m sure. Yet, it is hard to say that any figure in the history of the Lions, short of Bobby Layne, has had a similar impact. Especially when considering just how bad the Lions were when they drafted Sims. Barry Sanders, James Stewart, and many other backs may have made equal or larger contributions to the success of the Lion’s franchise but few will ever generate the same electricity that Sim’s was able to. If you’d like to buy some stuff from Billy check out the Billy Sims BBQ Store . Thanks for the memories, Billy!

June 1st Salary Cap cuts have been somewhat ant-climatic this season. There remains two players for the Lions to consider signing at this point: Ty Law and R.W. McQuarters. They will be fortunate to sign either one and each would contribute in different ways. Either way, if they add either there depth, experience, and quality of play in their secondary should improve significantly.