Wayne Fontes...Please Come Back

Lions Lose...Creatively!

If the purpose of instant replay, which destroys the rhythm of the games and drains all excitement out of the matchups, is to get the calls right, why would you ever negate automatic review because a coach throws the challenge flag? I guess the review isn't "automatic" after all. This one just may be more ridiculous than the tuck rule. How idiotic do NFL rules have to get before people stop watching?

Alex Karras, R.I.P.

Lions in January

This is really weird and I may be just imagining it, but I appear to be watching the Lions in an actual playoff game.

Update: Ah, back to reality...another loss.

At long last, the secret of why anyone would root for the Detroit Lions is revealed!

I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't post at least one of the hilarious Pure Michigan spoofs on Flint Expatriates. Warning: Very Strong Language. And if you're a Detroit Lions fan, I just wouldn't watch this.

Say Ya to Da Lions, Eh

Cross a yooper with a Lions fan and you've got yourself a strange combination.

Doug Farrar of Yahoo Sports reports:

As Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz broke his team's 2010 training camp on Wednesday, he had a special guest in-house -- Joe Paquette Jr., a 63-year-old man from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, who walked over 400 miles to attend a team practice. The long hike -- 425 miles in 18 days -- had something strong behind it.

The Elusive Super Bowl

Matt Millen may have done more than any other man in history to ensure that the Lions remain one of the few NFL teams to never play on Super Bowl Sunday.

With the New Orleans Saints victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday's NFC championship game, the Detroit Lions are now one of just four teams that has never made it to a Super Bowl.

• Cleveland Browns (Won 4 of 6 NFL championship appearances and went to 3 AFC championships in 1986, 1987 and 1989)
• Houston Texans (Expansion team still looking for its first playoff game)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (Expansion team that went to 2 AFC Championships in 1996 and 1999)
• Detroit Lions (Won 4 NFL championships and went to the NFC Championship in 1991)

Rust Belt Super Bowl

It's official. The Detroit Lions are not the worst team in the NFL.

Detroit Lions 38
Cleveland Browns 37

Finally

The Detroit Lions win!

Logo-riffic

In the discussion of the Detroit Lions new logo, I forgot to highlight my favorite version. It has a childlike simplicity mixed with a hint of seventies-era automotive badging, despite the fact it was dropped as the primary logo in 1969. And unlike the most recent incarnation, this lion doesn't look like he needs to lose a few pounds. Not sure it would work on a helmet, but I still think this is the best of the bunch.

The Detroit Lions: Shimmering Silver Glitter

Hey, the Detroit Lions have a new logo, which looks more like a wolf or a San Jose SabreCat than a Lion to me. (For the record, I've worked in San Jose and I can safely say that no matter how bad things get in Motown, it will never be as bad as San Jose.) The new proprietary font is cleverly called “NFL Lions” and, as you can see above, it is one ugly ass font. In fact, that font is far more offensive to me than last year's 0-16 season.




Now it's easy to poke fun at the Lions, like the folks at Real Clear Sports did with their suggestion that the team adopt a new Cowardly Lion logo.


But I'm trying to be constructive when I suggest that the Lions should take the opportunity to connect with Detroit history (Stroh's Brewery) and a favorite pastime of seemingly all Michiganders (drinking beer) and simply adopt the Stroh's Beer lion as their official mascot. As you can see below, the Stroh's lion has a cool crown and what appears to be either a pair of nunchucks or two lead pipes, which the Detroit football team can obviously use. Granted, later versions of the Stroh's lion indicate he traded in the weapons for a college diploma and some sort of butter-churn implement, but let's ignore that.




Of course, even if you don't like the new redesign, it can't be as bad as the 1980-81 upgrade: "The Lions changed the dull silver stripes and trim on their uniforms to a shimmering silver glitter. This only lasted two seasons because of complaints by other teams about the glare."

Running Quarterback

Are the Detroit Lions cursed? The fate of fugitive ex-QB Jeff Komlo would indicate they are.