The Lions Deserve to Lose Their Most Esteemed Organizational Prize
November 15, 2008 on 3:41 pm | In Uncategorized |The Lions will very likely be carrying an 0-11 record into their upcoming, nationally-televised, annual Thanksgiving Day game. The Lions are currently “celebrating”, or more aptly, desecrating their 75th season as a NFL franchise.
Amid this desecration, the Lions still cling dearly to their one heavily-televised game, at least off of the field. The Ford’s are big advertising contributors to the league, and utilize that as their leverage to stave off the naysayers at various media outlets who believe that the Lions perennial ineptitude should disqualify them from keeping the annual Turkey Day game and it’s prime broadcast position.
I would imagine that several other envious owners league-wide, in hushed, but growing louder tones, would like a slice of the Thanksgiving Day (monetary) pumpkin pie, too.
In my 30 years as a Lions fan, and four as a blogger, I never thought I would fully embrace this idea: The NFL should penalize the Lions for their inability to keep their organization credible and competitive. The Lions should lose their annual Turkey Day game.
Recently, ex-Lion Lomas Brown was interviewed on ESPN Radio. In that interview, Brown is unequivocable when he states that recent Lions players have no appreciation of what an honor the tradition of playing in the annual game is.
Brown: “The team doesn’t look at it as a tradition. When we were there, and I was fortunate to play in 11 of those games, that was a game you circled as soon as the schedule came out.” Brown later states “We took pride in going out and winning that game. We were the first game that you would see that day, and we took a lot of pride in it. And they just don’t do that (now).”
The proof is in the pudding. The Lions have lost four straight (and six of the past seven) games in their most high-profile game of each and every season. They have been thoroughly embarrassed throughout that criminally arduous process.
The normally intransigent Ford’s were so embarrassed during one loss, that they uncharacteristically dropped the axe on Steve Mariucci’s brief, disappointing tenure as the team’s head coach. Will they do the same to Rod Marinelli if he is unable to rally the troops and give at least a marginally-competitive performance against the Titans?
As much as I thought that the Lions could sink no lower than losing to Joey Harrington, as he QB’ed the Miami Dolphins against his former team, this season should easily trump that.
I don’t see any way in which the Lions will not be completely dismantled by the Tennessee Titans, who, if they enter the game 11-0, will be jacked to the gills, and looking to put the Lions away early, so that they can rest key players and avoid injury, as they march towards the playoffs.
The biggest losers are the Lions fans, themselves. Lions fans deserve a winner, and would like to enjoy more than just a tryptophan-induced coma after watching another Lions embarrassing performance on Thanksgiving. More than one fan has likely shrieked “Thanks for Nothing, A*holes!” in response to the Lions futility.
So I implore you Roger Goodell, do the right thing. Hit the Ford’s where it truly hurts. Take the annual Thanksgiving Day game away from this moribund nightmare of a NFL franchise!
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I’m not sure I agree with this piece. Why did the Lions get the game in the first place? How many other teams have a 75 year history? It’s more than just the Fords that would suffer if the game was taken away. It’s a Family tradition for a large slice of the region, both at the stadium and at home. For Fans like me that no longer get to Live in the Detroit area, it’s one of the few times we even get to see the Lions on TV. Sure, the Lions stink now, and have for some years and that is the Fords fault but they (and we) have been contributing to this league for many years and losing a beloved tradition just because other teams want to make more money jut seems like a crappy reason. I’d rather the league sensure old Man Ford by banning him for Ford field on game day until he can get his shit together. Maybe a new run could be that any team that has five conseutive non-competitive seasons in a row has to have mandatory consulting from the league office on player personel issues as well as coaching and scouting reviews. I mean heck, the NFL has stringent rules about who can buy a team, why would quality checks for the losers be so far fetched?
Comment by Mike — November 15, 2008 #
I don’t live in Michigan and about the only game I ever get to watch them is on Thanksgiving. Lions started the tradition, I think they deserve to keep it!
Comment by Chris — November 15, 2008 #
No, they Lions should keep this game and tradition. It’s only fair. Other teams did not WANT this game for years, just the Lions. They deserve it. And what happens when things DO turn around for this team? Will giving up this game seem like such a great idea then? You are just ticked off right now, lashing out selfishly and hurtfully at the Fords.
Comment by Tim Robertson — November 15, 2008 #
Lashing out maybe, but selfishly and hurtfully? Please, His comments were objective as hell and a good arguement can be made for the Lions losing the game, I just hope they don’t.
Comment by Mike — November 16, 2008 #
Hey Guys–
First off, I love the Turkey Day game as much as all of you. What I don’t like, though, is to watch a bunch of players who’d obviously rather not play on the holiday, and care not a lick about the tradition and significance of that game.
Furthermore, the Lions front office and ownership, have run an unmitigated disaster of a franchise into the ground, despite every opportunity provided by the NFL, which holds league-parity as it’s deity, for them to turn it around.
I believe, along with many other fans, that the Ford’s are too comfortable with the ridiculous state of disrepair the team has resided within. They have no urgency for things to be different. They are negligent as an ownership.
Shouldn’t they be strongly-urged, if they can’t do it own their own internally, to address the ill-health and poor performance of what once was one of the league’s flagship franchises?!? The NFL has given them two Super Bowls for pete’s sake!
Tim–I appreciate your comments, but at the Lions current pace, it will be 2050 before the Lions have a relevant and credible team. As far as the Ford’s go, they obviously have no concern about you or I, the people ho have supported this misbegotten franchise by buying jerseys, T-shirts, Tix, and the like. They are quite insulated from how I think or feel, in my opinion.
They have essentially utilized the Marie Antoinette maxim “Let them eat cake” in regards to our hunger for a competitive team. This team is nothing but a folly for them, even if Junior had the guts to run Matt Millen out of town.
Mike–I agree, the league is a socialist regime, it should step in and take all of the measures necessary to save a franchise with a rich tradition that has become a complete caricature of a NFL team. I have no problem with them appointing a consulting team to help the Ford’s find suitable replacements for Marinelli and Millen.
Ultimately, my point is, we all deserve better. I can’t justify any of our allegiances to the team, but it should at least be worth something to the players, coaches, front office and ownership. The mere fact that we are having this discussion shows that the Lions fans have been too loyal and patient for the Ford’s to care. Shame on them.
Comment by Steve — November 17, 2008 #
I couldn’t imagine the Thanksgiving Day game going away. When I lived out of state, it was the one game I could count on watching at home. I can understand the talk about taking it away from the Lions–after all, who wants to watch a game with a preordained outcome? It is a tradition in most Michigan households (even those who don’t particularly care about football).
Please Mr. Ford, make progress with this organization. Don’t let them take this from us.
Comment by Yukon Dan — November 18, 2008 #
The real question is, given the continued demise of the “Big 3″ and the apparent resistance to giving a “bail out”/hand-out of cash to them, will the Ford’s, vis a vis Ford Motor Co., lose their juice to retain the rights to playing that game if Ford decides to discontinue advertising so heavily during NFL game broadcasts?
The health of the franchise may become a moot point, if it comes down to cash.
Comment by Steve — November 18, 2008 #
Somehow, I doubt the NFL has any trouble selling add space, or needs Ford to advertise for that matter. Also, even if the Big three all file for chapter 11, they will not go away. They may come out even stronger with the UAW contracts off their backs. The one thing the Fords WILL have to be scared of is empty seats due to an impoverished fan base. My bet is that even with no money, if the Fords put a better than average team on the field (say 10 and 6) they would fill the seats for 5 years just based on renewed hope, jobs or no jobs. Let’s face it, we (Detroiters) LOVE the Lions.
Comment by Mike — November 19, 2008 #
This morning, on WDFN, Killer provided several reasons why the Thanksgiving game won’t go away. Let’s just hope he is right.
Comment by Yukon Dan — November 21, 2008 #