Now that the Detroit Lions are 5-0, the rest of the country is watching my adopted hometown with renewed fascination and, for once, not because something else went wrong. Some are even wondering if this remarkable transformation of a perpetual underdog team could herald a new day on the horizon for the entire city. Because, hey, if the Detroit Lions are winning? The Detroit Lions? Well, then apparently anything - and everything - can happen.
Keep in mind we're talking about a team that couldn't even manage to win not one damned game for the entire 2008 season. Think about that for a sec, man. I mean, there's bad, and then there's God-awful. Not managing to win even one game in a season ranks somewhere well below God-awful. Can you imagine what would happen to the city of Dallas - hell, the entire state of Texas - if the Cowboys wrapped up a season with no wins at all? Remember what Gov. Rick Perry said they do in Texas to folks who commit certain types of crimes in his state? How he said, essentially, that if you do these things then Texans won't lose an ounce of sleep after erasing those folks from the roster of life? Yeah, well one of those crimes is losing too many football games. Because you'd best believe if the Cowboys tried to pull that stunt of a no-win season then they would wake up one morning to find themselves bundled and strapped to a stake out in the middle of some wide open prairie, being barbequed over an open pit. Texas style.
But here in Detroit? No one ever expected the Lions to win. Ever. The only ones who held out any hope of a winning Lions season were the delusional. I would never characterize myself as a football aficionado - or an aficionado of any sport - but you didn't have to be any kind of expert to figure out that waiting for a Lions win was like waiting for sunshine at the bottom of the ocean. Inside a cave.
But then here comes 2011 and the Lions actually started out the season with a win. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And now we gotta see if they can keep the train running through this Sunday when they play the San Francisco 49ers. And what exactly are we supposed to do if they actually take this all the way to becoming...Division champs...?
Damn, dawg.
Right about now I'm anticipating it will be 85 degrees on New Year's Eve, 2012, and I'm expecting we just might see snow next July. Because if the Lions are winning?
Don't ever bet against Detroit.
Detroit Monster
Pamela Hilliard Owens
