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I don’t remember if that’s a saying anymore, but I sure remember when it was.  Being a born and bred Detroit girl, I’ve spent many years watching the Lions.  My dad loved to watch them, so did my brothers, so did I – occasionally.  Okay, so I wasn’t a full-fledged football enthusiast, but more of a watch the random game which usually involved the Lions.  In the 70s, my favorite team was the Minnesota Vikings, led by Fran Tarkenton, but my loyalty always remained with the Lions.  Being a Lions fan, means you are tough.  You have to be.  Year after year of bad plays, bad calls, bad seasons.  Somehow though, in the beginning of each season, they could get you fired up, they’d win a couple of preseason games, make you hope a bit.  Yes, maybe this is the year they will do it.  Then they would start their sad losing streak, but you had to keep watching, like watching a train wreck.  And, the jokes.  Yes, you had to be tough to be a Lions fan – ROAR.  A perfect season, 0-16. Ha, ha! Sob.

Restore the Roar.  My son had that at the end of his phone message for years.  He was a diehard Lions fan.  He had Lion Fatheads on his first car, and owned a crazy amount of Lions memorabilia, shirts, caps jerseys, and the like.  He and my dad loved to talk football, and Pete knew a LOT about football.  He could store football stats and facts in his brain like no other.  He reflects now that his fandom formed some of his character, his resilience and optimism.  His fandom was not about winning, mainly because they never won.  They did have a certain appeal though, you couldn’t help but root for them, that is, if you’re from Michigan.  The Lions were the child only a mother could love.  Pete was partly the reason my husband and I kept watching the Lions.  We had a passing interest, but my husband was not a devout fan either.  We did have this deep couch in our basement where we could lay together and watch football and intermittently nap.  The perfect way to watch the Lions games. 

The Lions have had some very talented players over the years.  Barry Sanders, maybe the greatest running back ever, Lem Barney, Alex Karras, Billy Sims, Greg Landry, Calvin Johnson, one of the best wide receivers ever, and many more.  It was magic watching Calvin’s long body reach up and retrieve a bullet pass from Matt Stafford, another of the Lion’s greats.  I also have to give a nod to Dexter Bussey, a very solid player, and a wonderful man, whom I worked with after his football career and who gave my son an autographed football.

After so many years of watching the Lions steal defeat from the jaws of victory, could this be their year?   They made the playoffs!  That was incredibly exciting, especially playing against the Rams led by our former quarterback Matthew Stafford.  I still like Matt and am glad he got his Super bowl win.  Now, maybe it’s our turn.  We played a great game against the Rams.  A very commanding start.  The Rams kept it close, which kept the excitement going.  There was a moment of doubt, will we really do this? Then, it was all over.  We had the win.  WE HAD THE WIN.  Not only were we in the playoffs for the first time in over 30 years, but we won.  Then we won again, against the Bucs, another good game, well played on both sides.  It seems almost surreal.  The Lions, playing smart, not getting bad calls, winning.  I like it. 

My son, Pete, made an interesting observation, will the Lions lose their identity if they by some chance get in the Super Bowl?  And, what if they win?  No more butt of the joke of the NFL?  No more heartbreak kid.  No more, yeah, we’re tough, we’re from Detroit, and we’re Lions fans!  Beat that.  Sure, the town will go insane if they win the Super Bowl.  Detroit has devoted fans for sure, even when the teams don’t play well. And, when they do, watch out!  It will be wild.  But, it will cause a shift, a disturbance in the force.  We will be a winning franchise.  We are already causing a shift by getting into the playoffs.  Personally, I am ready for this.  It is just too fun to watch them play so well.  I’m okay if we have to move to the ranks of winners, be just like all the other teams that have made it to the Super Bowl.  Although, we still won’t be like all the other teams.  They don’t have our history. They don’t have our story. They don’t have our grit. I say, ‘Restore the Roar.’  Go Lions!