Jahmyr Gibbs #26 of the Detroit Lions celebrates his touchdown with fan at Ford Field
I will be honest. Whenever I saw a someone wearing a Lions jersey or baseball cap, I would think to myself, "Poor soul."
Year after year after year — for 66 years — Lions fans faithfully— and so often unreservedly —supported a team that excelled in one thing: snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Community does not depend upon winning. If that were the case, Lions fans would have stopped supporting the team decades ago. Community depends upon shared experiences, and in the case of the Lions, shared disappointment and hardship.
Misery
What Lions fan can forget head coach Marty Morningweig on a blustery day in November in Champaign, Illinois — where the rival Chicago Bears were playing while Soldier Field was being remodeled — saying at the coin toss for overtime, “We’ll take the wind.” (This is after the Lions had a double-digit lead late in the game, only to falter to force overtime.)
And in due fashion, the Bears took the ball and, in a couple of plays, kicked a field goal to win. (These days, teams must first score a touchdown, but that was the rule then.)
For decades the nation knew the Lions as the team that always lost on Thanksgiving Day. In their moments of despair, Lions fans may have prayed to St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes…
St. Jude… Pray for us.
Our Lions are so helpless and inept.
Intercede for us.
Grant the Honolulu Blue and Silver their just due.
We do not despair (at least until October).
Faith
This team is different, with the Lions made it to the NFC title game for the first time in 30-plus years. And while the team lost to the 49-ers, it has developed the mindset of winning.
Which, frankly, is what every Lions fan for decades has possessed. Without rhyme or reason, fans showed up, paid for their tickets, and rooted hard for "Them Lions."
Detroit and its environs have had many winning teams in baseball, basketball, and hockey. Not to mention the championship successes of two local universities — Michigan and Michigan State. Only the Lions have foundered.
Until now.
Solidarity
Shared faith, tempered by misery, creates solidarity.
Now is the time to salute the solidarity that the Lions fans share with their team. And, more importantly, with one another. They believed in their team despite the reality of losing years, losing decades… never losing hope, however.
Attending the Lions game is a ritual. Fans know their seatmates. They connect over shared experiences, mostly painful, but not all.
After all, the Lions were the home of the most excellent running back of all time, Barry Sanders. He was a running back so skillful that even though everyone in the stands — not to mention the opposing side of the field — knew Barry would get the ball. I like to say that Barry would gain a yard, be stopped behind the line, and then rip off a 60-yard touchdown run… leaving the opposing team gasping and the fans standing and cheering.
Lesson to remember
As the fictional coach Ted Lasso said, "If you care about someone, and you got a little love in your heart, there ain't nothing you can't get through together." Caring is what nurtures community, and it does not come from the top, nor even the bottom, it comes from within. Individuals believing in the cause and sharing their belief – and their commitment – with those around them. Togetherness enables management and workers to bond and in turn seek to do what may be hard, but necessary. Through thick and thin.
True Community
Now, fans can take pride in knowing that what they — along their grandparents, parents, and siblings — had hoped for has occurred.
The Lions team are winners. Something their fans have always been.
They persevered. They stayed with the team. They believed.
Go Lions!
