I’m in my 50’s and have never enjoyed true success with the lions, as I suspect most non-boomer fans can relate. We had a few good seasons but no structural success was ever built into the team….that is until now.
This team feels different and I suspect this mostly has to do with MCDC, BH, and SFH. This is what gave me hope last year for this year’s season, and they have met expectations…mostly.
That is why the games since the Ravens have been so disheartening. It is enormously frustrating to see a team struggle against inferior teams when they can do better. It’s a let down. We know this team is different. We know they can succeed, but for some reason they can’t help but get in their own way, whether it’s offense, defense, and more likely, coaching.
In the past, watching the lions was kind of a masochistic affair. I enjoyed the game but when they lost it was SOL. Now? It hurts. It hurts because the organization is a real team…top to bottom and they’ve given this city and it’s fans REAL hope.
We want them to succeed so badly because it’s been so long since this city and fans have enjoyed anything positive. Detroit and southeast Michigan are full of awesome people and great history. But we’ve been the punching bag for the rest of the nation. Whether it’s being the poster child of urban blight and decline, or high crime and unemployment, or simply being has-beens that aren’t worthy of anything good, this city has endured endless ridicule and humiliation on a national level.
And I’m tired of it. That is why the lion’s shortcomings are so much more hard to take right now.
That being said, I do think this team embodies the best of this city and state. I believe we will make it there if we stay the course, maybe with a few tweaks and adjustments. In the end, I know I will be completely done with this team if they lose their focus and revert to SOL. But for now, I have faith in them and belief that Detroit’s best days are ahead of her.
Maybe the issue with SOLFs, or Lions fans in general, is reacting to strongly to the hype. Maybe a lack of nuance? I think I see the the realization of this than some of these replies. Other replies not so much.
If you delve into the details and look at the team’s strengths and weaknesses I think you’ll see that a loss the Ravens was kind of predictable. And so are some of the losses we have coming in the near future.
I say this is a helper and maybe a therapist. But keep in mind this could have been part of the rebuild, this year. It’s not. This was simply the first year of an open window. It’s okay to build gradually. Making the playoffs is a step forward. Let’s focus on that.
We just don’t have the talent to go against the big dogs. I think people confused productivity with talent a lot.
Call number two cornerback would not start anywhere. How much time would Raymond or Josh Reynolds see on better teams? Anzalone, Mike Barnes and Jack Campbell…could they start for any team in the league? What about pretty much any name we have on the defensive line that doesn’t end in Hutchinson? Probably only Hutchinson and McNeil would start other places.