Wearing a Detroit Lions Jersey in Madison on a game day is the best feeling in the world. Passerby stare, cashiers cringe, and I smile like the world is golden. I was not born a Detroit Lions fan, nor thrust into it by some family legacy of fandom. I chose this life.
Flashback to 2008. The Detroit Lions went 0-16. They were the first team since 1976 to miraculously get 0 wins. I knew I had found my new favorite team. Nobody could ever call me a fair-weather fan if I backed the Lions after their disastrous season! So I packed up my Chicago Bears gear and threw it in the fire. I was now a Lions diehard.
Little did I know my favorite team had even more joy to come! My favorite player, Ndamukong Suh, has a stomping reputation. Whether it was knocking Morris’s helmet off after destroying him in a tackle, ripping Marion Barber’s dreads out of his head, or the legendary stomp on Dietrich-Smith of the Packers, Suh knows how to get his point across.
Suh makes football worth watching. Some say he is the ‘enemy’ making football into a backyard roughhouse. But, if I’m watching a game where 200 LB men beat the shit out of each other until a whistle gets blown and the league ignores concussions like the black plague, I want some post-play action!
If the NFL can pretend concussion after concussion really doesn’t impact a player’s (after career) life, then I can openly support a player who gets dirty on the best team in football.
Not only that, but Stafford’s roids usage inspires me that being a mediocre quarterback on roids is still better than a crappy quarterback with an intact, not disappearing, neck!
The Lions consistently get penalties, lose games, and acknowledge that their fans will still stand by them! Will they ever win a Super Bowl? Probably not. Do we care? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Being a Lions fan is about low expectations. We go into each game expecting a loss. That way, when a win happens we can celebrate one million times as hard!
I wear my Suh jersey with pride. It is inaccurate, as Suh now plays for the dreadful Miami Dolphins. However, it is Suh’s legacy, and dirty style-that will never leave the Lions. Suh stands for doing whatever you have to do to terrify the opponent, including getting rid of their helmet or throwing arm. I am too allegiant to the Lions to follow Suh into Dolphins fandom, but I fully support Suh in all of his endeavors. If he were to stomp on Stafford out of necessity, I would have to support it while hoping Stafford would retaliate.
The Detroit Lions’ fans are the best fans. We love our team-win or lose. We love our players-present and past. We love playing dirty and support the Lions like the NFL supports hiding evidence of long-term traumatic brain injuries. And with that kind of dedication, nothing will stop us.
