“Pride of the Lions” – Right Thing, Wrong Time
I was very happy to hear that after 76 seasons, the Lions have FINALLY decided to honor the teams greatest players with a new ”wall of fame” known as the “Pride of the Lions”. The inaugural class of 12 hall of famers will have their names, numbers and service years displayed on the wall inside Ford Field that was once the old Hudson Warehouse.
I was also very DISAPPOINTED to hear that the Lions chose to finally do so: in the midst of some of the WORST skids in NFL history (2-31, 32-105), in the middle of another DREADFUL 1-8 season, during halftime of a game that will probably be BLACKED OUT from TV in the Detroit, Lansing and Flint markets, and most importantly, in front of what will probably be, THOUSANDS of EMPTY SEATS.
Either the Lions didn’t consider how embarrassing it will be for both the franchise and the players it’s honoring, to have such an important dedication in front of thousands of empty seats or they did so simply to help sell tickets to a battle between the two WORST teams in the league. Although the latter seems to be working, (as of this writing there were less than 10,000 seats available) in either case, it’s wrong and inexcusable. This event should be held a time of optimism and in front of a guaranteed sell out crowd so fans at home could watch on TV as well. In other words, for the Lions…. opening day.
I’ve been a diehard Lions fan for more than 40 years now and always will be…. but sometimes they make you wonder why.
It was one year ago tonight, that I nearly lost my life.
I’ve been going to Detroit Lion training/mini camps for 20 years now. After interviewing dozens and dozens of players over two decades… it’s not very often you get a quote from a player that you’ve NEVER heard before…. Tuesday, I did, courtesy of new Lions Linebacker Larry Foote. When I asked the former Wolverine and Steeler if he felt any pressure being the only two-time Superbowl champion on the team that other players are looking to for leadership… he simply smiled and said…. “I make love to pressure!” Click here to hear from Foote and the rest of the Lion linebackers:
The Detroit Lions will open a mandatory three day “mini camp” on Tuesday (June 23rd)… their last official team workouts until the opening of “training camp” in late July. At the end of OTA’s (organized team activities) I had a chance to talk with Booth Newspapers Lions Beat Writer Tom Kowalski, about the team heading into mini camp. Click here to see that interview: http://tinyurl.com/lr3nuz