Fathead Blog

The day has finally come, again, to all woefully hopeful Detroiters. Day by day as we approach the start of the NFL season we attempt wash away the stench of another abysmal losing season. The only thing statistically easier than shortening up our memory to exclude our past embarrassments is to actually win one football game in a season. I mean you have to at least win one, right? RIGHT? …I digress.

The level at which the Detroit Lion fan base is able to shake off 2nd half meltdowns, commit inexcusable penalties and show a sub-collegiate performance that happened mere months ago is beyond human comprehension. With 2 wins in the past 32 games, some in this fan base aren’t hoping for a .500 season, they’re talking playoffs! They will all tell you that something is different this year, and I don’t necessarily have the capacity to remember back to when something was actually different.

Well, you’ll never win the lotto unless you play, but it seems like this team actually does have something different about them. The strides that Matthew Stafford has made and the potential he has shown entering his sophomore year is something that even the hardest Motown critic can’t help but get starry-eyed at. The GM, Martin Mayhew, was able to successfully overhaul a roster build during an 8 year span where logic failed to penetrate the front office. Jim Schwartz has a winning pedigree and doesn’t ‘Mariucci’ himself out of direct questions with the press. Most importantly, the fans aren’t left scratching their heads at the end of draft day and can get excited about the talent they have because many of their draft picks gain national appraise.

Don’t put your deposit down on playoff tickets yet boys; we still have a ways to go. Don’t lather yourselves up in Honolulu and get ready for a ‘Suh’per Bowl, but enjoy the flashes of what you’ll see this year, the second year of what an actual rebuilding period looks like. You won’t clinch an NFC championship, but you could gain some national respect. You won’t sniff the playoffs but you don’t have to be overpowered with the stench of what you left out on the gridiron last year. Enjoy this time of year Leo fans.  It is undeniably, historically and statistically the best time of the year to be a fan of the Detroit Lions.