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The Struggles of Being a Detroit Lions Fan

The Detroit Lions are a team that has disappointed their fans year in and year out. Ever since the Super Bowl era came about in 1966 the Lions have done nothing but make being a Lions fan an absolutely miserable experience. In 54 years, the team has amounted to just one playoff win. Yes, I repeat, ONE playoff win in 54 years. For some reason, the fans (like myself) still stick around and pray for a different outcome every single year, but have never been blessed with anything close to a successful season.

If you aren’t from Detroit, you wouldn’t understand how frustrating it is to watch this team play every Sunday for basically your whole life. It’s almost heartbreaking. Every sign points to us being a good football team. Good quarterback, veteran defense, great receivers, but for some reason we just can’t get it done. You see teams flip the script on their organizations every year, why not us?

Just How Bad Is It for Detroit Lions Fans?

I could sit here and list off a million things that me and the rest of Lions fans had to go through. The 10 second run-off verse Atlanta, the non pass interference call in the playoffs against Dallas, watching our quarterback step in the back of the end zone for a safety. Even Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders’ early retirements. The list goes on, what happens to this football team is just so abnormal, and no fan base has had to go through things like this.

Honestly, it is embarrassing to be a Lions fan. We are a laughing stock, there’s no other way to put it. Along with being a laughing stock, we are unexciting and irrelevant. Who cares about the Lions, and why should they care? The team is so mediocre every year, why should people outside of the fan base tune in at 1 o’clock on Sundays to watch them?

Oddly enough, Lions fans usually have pretty high exceptions for the team every year. Whether it comes from the free agency acquisitions, the draft picks, or even changes to the coaching staff, it seems as every year we think things are going to change. Our hopes and dreams are usually crushed about halfway through each season, though. Just like this year, as we see ourselves at the bottom of the NFC North, with no sight of a playoff berth.

It’s like a cycle, we are always excited and optimistic about the upcoming year, then boom, we’re in the ladder half of the season and all hope is lost. Every. Single. Year.

The 2008 Season

When we talk about the worst sports seasons of all time, the 2008 Detroit Lions have to be at the top of everyone’s list. The Lions were the first team ever to go 0-16 in an NFL season. But just how bad was the 2008 Lions team?

They were horrific, plain and simple. With a point differential of -249 and scoring only about 16 points per game, there’s no arguing against the fact that this is one of, if not the most horrific season by any sports team ever. The Lions had three different quarterbacks start 4 or more games that season, Dan Orlovsky (7), Jon Kitna (4), and Daunte Culpepper (5). The three quarterbacks equated to a TD/INT ratio of 17/19, 3,160 yards passing and a 69.6 passer rating. It’s difficult for a football fan to watch their favorite team go through three quarterbacks in one year, especially when they were all severely below average.

Rod Marinelli was the head coach of this team. In 2006, the Lions took a chance on the former defensive coordinator. Fans had high hopes for Marinelli as he had coached with guys like Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden in the past. He had the resume to be a great NFL Head Coach. With his tenure with the Lions, he had a record of 10-28. After three short years including the winless season, the fans ran him out of town, and he was fired.

The Matthew Stafford Era

The 2009 draft, a draft us Lions fans thought would turn the tide for the organization. Coming off the 0-16 season and getting the number one pick, there was one guy on the board that we couldn’t pass up. Georgia Quarterback, Matthew Stafford.

Stafford had the arm talent the league hasn’t seen in years, but he was being placed in a bad situation, as the team went winless the year prior. Since coming into the league, Stafford’s personal statistics have been record breaking. However, it has amounted to virtually nothing. But that’s not all his fault. Since Stafford has came into the league, he has only had one 1,000 yard rusher in Reggie Bush, and only a handful of games where a running back has had over 100 rushing yards. The offense is what seems so be an air raid, and has relied on Stafford heavily since his rookie year.

Matthew Stafford has mixed opinions from people in Detroit, you either love him, or hate him. You don’t see very often that a team has a top 10 quarterback, but can’t win football games. So you have to put the blame on someone, right? The season almost always lies on the quarterback’s shoulders. His statistics are off the charts, but still has a below .500 record as a starting quarterback for the Lions. He hasn’t been short on weapons, either. Calvin Johnson, Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones to name a few. He really hasn’t done anything with them, going 0-3 in his 3 playoff appearances.

I’m curious to see what the Detroit Lions do with Stafford in the future. With his talent under a good head coach and front office, I can see him succeeding somewhere else. It is upsetting as a fan to watch us throw away Stafford’s career.

No Light at The End of The Tunnel for The Detroit Lions

As what it seems to be another disappointing and unsuccessful season from the Lions in 2020, we look forward to the offseason to make some moves and become contenders. But with Martha Ford still running the team, I don’t expect any influential moves to take our team to the next level.

I’m hoping to see success in the near future, I really do. Even though I will remain optimistic, it’s hard to see a time when this team will be 11-5 again.

After all, they are the Same Old Lions.

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