With the ascendance of the Detroit Tigers, on their way to the World Series after several years at the bottom of the Major League Baseball barrel, Detroit is indisputably the nation’s #1 sports town!

The WNBA’s Detroit Shock just won their second women’s basketball championship in three years. The Pistons and Red Wings are perennial title contenders. The Motor City shines as the home of sport champions… except for the Detroit Lions.

In striking contrast to all of the other Detroit teams, The Lions have been the worst team in football for decades, and this season is no exception. The Lions are 1-5, finally picking up their first win six weeks into the season with a victory over the mediocre Buffalo Bills.

For six years General Manager Matt Millen has caused the worst franchise in professional football to degenerate into perhaps the worst franchise in professional sports. He even has his own fansite: www.firemillen.com, and his departure would be met with much joy and celebration in Lionville. Much of the blame should also fall to owner William Ford, who runs the football team like he runs his automotive company - cut costs to increase profits, remove quality and lose marketshare.But when it comes down to it, the players have to step on the field and either perform or not. So are the Lions inspired by the Tigers and their turnaround?

“After watching the Tigers clinch, and watching (pitcher) Kenny Rogers pour champagne on a cop’s head, man, that’s what it’s all about,” said cornerback Dre Bly. “That’s fun. That’s excitement. Just getting to watch the fans here in Detroit go crazy, go nuts, after years of struggling, and finally getting to the playoffs and turning it around — that’s what it’s all about.

“I truly believe this is the best sports town. Fans have been very cooperative and patient, and supported us since I’ve been here.”

“You could see the other day that once you turn things around, the support will be really good in this town. Look at the support for the Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings. They’re just waiting on us,” Bly said. “I want to get this turned around, I know this town is waiting. I want to tell them to be patient a little longer. We’re close. We’re a different team than the last couple years. We play harder, and we’re close. There are a lot of games to be played.

“You know, we sell out the place, and we still have fans cheering during the important times of the game. We can’t be struggling like this forever. We will get more consistent. We’re close. I truly believe that.”

Yes, there are a lot of games left in this football season. Hopefully the Lions will win a few of them…
M-Live

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 15th, 2006 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Detroit Chocolate City. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.