I'm quitting the Lions (1 Viewer)

[Addai's Adidas]

Life long lions Fan here. I Think the last two years were flukes, not trends. They were, apparently, lucky to win that many games.

 

[Rovers]

I don't think a die hard like you could ever capture that passion with another team. When I gave up on the Mets, I basically stopped being a fan of baseball. There are a couple of teams I've always liked, coincidentally the Tigers and the SF Giants, but I'll never have that passion again.

I hope you are a Tigers fan anyways. I began to like that team in 1968. Northrup, Lolich, McClain et al... and I've always had a soft spot for them since. But only a rooting interest.

I still live and die with the Jets, and I've come close to the divorce several times. So, I understand the frustration.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I don't think a die hard like you could ever capture that passion with another team. When I gave up on the Mets, I basically stopped being a fan of baseball. There are a couple of teams I've always liked, coincidentally the Tigers and the SF Giants, but I'll never have that passion again. I hope you are a Tigers fan anyways. I began to like that team in 1968. Northrup, Lolich, McClain et al... and I've always had a soft spot for them since. But only a rooting interest. I still live and die with the Jets, and I've come close to the divorce several times. So, I understand the frustration.

Mickey used to have a winter cottage 3 miles from the village I grew up in. He snowmobiled with my dad's group and my sister babysat his girls. I still have an autographed Menu he signed for me in 1971.When I moved to Detroit a few years after college I visited him at his doughnut shop in Lake Orion. Biggest hero of my life.The Lions used to have a barnstorming basketball team in the off-season, and they would come to my hometown to play the alumni. Saw Charlie Sanders throw down a tommahawk. When I was 10, Wayne Rassmussen (DB) pulled me out of the stands to shoot free throws for Altie Taylor. I threw up an air ball, then swished the 2nd one. Lions won by a point that year.

 

[Da Guru]

The Lions really needed to get rid of Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew when they fired Matt Millen. These three clowns were together for every draft. If you are going to clean house and start fresh do it right. Right now they still have two major people running the team that were part of the worst decade in NFL history. Mayhew drafts like a Matt Millen clone..which he is since Millen was his mentor. And Tom Lewand should be nowhere near a draft room.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Detroit sports fans have no reason to complain about the last half century:

[*]Tigers won a memorable series in 1968 after being down 3-1 and started 1984 35-5 en route to another title

[*]Pistons won back to back titles 1989-90 with the Bad Boys and a shocker in 2004

[*]Red Wings have been the dominant NHL franchise with longest current streak of post-season appearances in all of North American professional sports (21 straight seasons), six President's Trophies and four Stanley Cups

Lions have given us nothing. One playoff win in 55 years. Not worthy.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Good news, there's plenty of room on the Buffalo Bills bandwagon and it's all rainbows and unicorns for us over here!

 

[PhantomJB]

Another one bites the dust

4-0 start, missed the playoffs at 9-7. Sims rookie year was a blast.

Yep. I used to park cars Sunday afternoon at the old Pontiac Silverdome.If you are a Lions fan, chances are good you are a Red Wings fan. That wait was 45 years but once it turned, it turned big.Hang in there.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Good news, there's plenty of room on the Buffalo Bills bandwagon and it's all rainbows and unicorns for us over here!

Must be the neighborhood, both owners have a house in Grosse Pointe Michigan. Ralph wanted to buy the Lions but Ford got there first.

 

[Hooper31]

Choose Seattle. We have great coffee and a bazillionaire owner.

 

[49er fan]

I can't take it anymore. I'm not investing myself in a team that will never know how to do what it takes to win. I'm sick of being miserable every fall. I'm choosing happiness over being loyal to a franchise that doesn't deserve my fanaticism.

Earliest memories: rookie Lem Barney intercepting Bart Starr, rolling over & running in a pick six. He and Mel Farr won defensive and offensive RotY in 1967.

Earliest non-memory. Collicky 3-month old baby boy was interrupting the family Thanksgiving. Grandpa laid me down in front of the t.v. The sights and sounds of Alex Karras & Co sacking Bart Starr eleven times calmed and soothed.

An eight year old boy had his heart broken by a half-footed kicker nailing a 63 yarder as time expired. First year starter Greg Landry - the last Detroit QB to go to a pro bowl - had driven the Lions to the 1 yard line and the go ahead FG. Could have run the clock down to 5 seconds, but excitedly called time out with 19 ticks left. Just enough time to field the kickoff, Billy Kilmer completed a 17 yard square out, and Tom Dempsey trotted out for his 15 minutes of fame.

Beat old man Blanda 18 days later on turkey day later en route to a wild card birth. Lost the lowest scoring playoff game ever, 5-0. Also lost (at the time) the highest scoring playoff game 25 years later, 58-37. We're unique, eh?

That 1970 playoff team was the only post-season appearance in the first quarter century after their 4th and last NFL Championship. In the 42 years since, Monte Clark prayed his way to two playoff births, Wayne Fontes smoked his way to four late season runs, Bobby Ross drove them to two Super Bowl tournaments, and Jim Schwartz last year. All 9 seasons ended with a thud, the only interruption to the ineptitude being the glorious Thumbs Up campaign of 1991, when we thumped the Cowboys 38-7.

That was the greatest day of my life. OK, third greatest, my kids might see this one day.

This team has teased and broken my heart scores of times in every conceivable manner. Nick Eddy getting hurt every GD year, Chuck Hughes dying on the field of Tiger Stadium (the only inigame fatality in the history of the league), 3rd stringer Jeff Komlo sleep walking the team through the 2-14 year that landed the team Billy Sims, becoming the first (and in 30+ years of OT, only) team to lose sudden death by giving up a kickoff return, Barry Sanders rushing for negative 13 yards in a playoff game, and too many embarrassing national t.v. losses to recount here.

I'm done. 50 years of pain is too much for any man. I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

Has to be northeast - can't see rooting for the Eagles, Pats or Redskins. Bills remind me too much of the Lions. Jets, ditto. Probably going Big Blue. Maybe I'll petition Joe to change my user name to Y.Am Tittle. But you know how it is, you need six months to a year to find yourself again after a breakup.

The ####### Ford family are the worst owners in all of sports. The don't care about winning, it's about shareholder value, and they make one inept hire after another. But whatever - the only objective here is complete apathy towards all things honululu blue and silver.

Love Detroit, all their other sports teams, and think my home state has more natural beauty than any other. But when it comes to the NFL, no Más.

Did they call it a "pick six" back in those days?

 

[49er fan]

You did get to witness the most exciting football player ever to walk the earth. Could be worse.

Yea, too bad he broke his leg last night and is out for the season

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

I can't take it anymore. I'm not investing myself in a team that will never know how to do what it takes to win. I'm sick of being miserable every fall. I'm choosing happiness over being loyal to a franchise that doesn't deserve my fanaticism.

Earliest memories: rookie Lem Barney intercepting Bart Starr, rolling over & running in a pick six. He and Mel Farr won defensive and offensive RotY in 1967.

Earliest non-memory. Collicky 3-month old baby boy was interrupting the family Thanksgiving. Grandpa laid me down in front of the t.v. The sights and sounds of Alex Karras & Co sacking Bart Starr eleven times calmed and soothed.

An eight year old boy had his heart broken by a half-footed kicker nailing a 63 yarder as time expired. First year starter Greg Landry - the last Detroit QB to go to a pro bowl - had driven the Lions to the 1 yard line and the go ahead FG. Could have run the clock down to 5 seconds, but excitedly called time out with 19 ticks left. Just enough time to field the kickoff, Billy Kilmer completed a 17 yard square out, and Tom Dempsey trotted out for his 15 minutes of fame.

Beat old man Blanda 18 days later on turkey day later en route to a wild card birth. Lost the lowest scoring playoff game ever, 5-0. Also lost (at the time) the highest scoring playoff game 25 years later, 58-37. We're unique, eh?

That 1970 playoff team was the only post-season appearance in the first quarter century after their 4th and last NFL Championship. In the 42 years since, Monte Clark prayed his way to two playoff births, Wayne Fontes smoked his way to four late season runs, Bobby Ross drove them to two Super Bowl tournaments, and Jim Schwartz last year. All 9 seasons ended with a thud, the only interruption to the ineptitude being the glorious Thumbs Up campaign of 1991, when we thumped the Cowboys 38-7.

That was the greatest day of my life. OK, third greatest, my kids might see this one day.

This team has teased and broken my heart scores of times in every conceivable manner. Nick Eddy getting hurt every GD year, Chuck Hughes dying on the field of Tiger Stadium (the only inigame fatality in the history of the league), 3rd stringer Jeff Komlo sleep walking the team through the 2-14 year that landed the team Billy Sims, becoming the first (and in 30+ years of OT, only) team to lose sudden death by giving up a kickoff return, Barry Sanders rushing for negative 13 yards in a playoff game, and too many embarrassing national t.v. losses to recount here.

I'm done. 50 years of pain is too much for any man. I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

Has to be northeast - can't see rooting for the Eagles, Pats or Redskins. Bills remind me too much of the Lions. Jets, ditto. Probably going Big Blue. Maybe I'll petition Joe to change my user name to Y.Am Tittle. But you know how it is, you need six months to a year to find yourself again after a breakup.

The ####### Ford family are the worst owners in all of sports. The don't care about winning, it's about shareholder value, and they make one inept hire after another. But whatever - the only objective here is complete apathy towards all things honululu blue and silver.

Love Detroit, all their other sports teams, and think my home state has more natural beauty than any other. But when it comes to the NFL, no Más.

hate to break the news, but you don't count as a natural beauty, ms hilton.

 

[Seekay]

The Lions really needed to get rid of Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew when they fired Matt Millen. These three clowns were together for every draft. If you are going to clean house and start fresh do it right. Right now they still have two major people running the team that were part of the worst decade in NFL history. Mayhew drafts like a Matt Millen clone..which he is since Millen was his mentor. And Tom Lewand should be nowhere near a draft room.

You just can't stop there. Linehan is clueless he was horrible as head coach and in running the rams offense. Lions special teams have given up what? three KR/PR Tds this year. Logan had two muffed punts last night? why does this guy still have a job?Bottom line is as long as William Clay Ford owns this team he will continue put wrong people in place to do the jobs. Mike Ilitch looked like he was a walking skeleton during the League championship trophy ceremony but he and his kids know how to hire people who know what they hell they are doing.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I can't take it anymore. I'm not investing myself in a team that will never know how to do what it takes to win. I'm sick of being miserable every fall. I'm choosing happiness over being loyal to a franchise that doesn't deserve my fanaticism.

Earliest memories: rookie Lem Barney intercepting Bart Starr, rolling over & running in a pick six. He and Mel Farr won defensive and offensive RotY in 1967.

Earliest non-memory. Collicky 3-month old baby boy was interrupting the family Thanksgiving. Grandpa laid me down in front of the t.v. The sights and sounds of Alex Karras & Co sacking Bart Starr eleven times calmed and soothed.

An eight year old boy had his heart broken by a half-footed kicker nailing a 63 yarder as time expired. First year starter Greg Landry - the last Detroit QB to go to a pro bowl - had driven the Lions to the 1 yard line and the go ahead FG. Could have run the clock down to 5 seconds, but excitedly called time out with 19 ticks left. Just enough time to field the kickoff, Billy Kilmer completed a 17 yard square out, and Tom Dempsey trotted out for his 15 minutes of fame.

Beat old man Blanda 18 days later on turkey day later en route to a wild card birth. Lost the lowest scoring playoff game ever, 5-0. Also lost (at the time) the highest scoring playoff game 25 years later, 58-37. We're unique, eh?

That 1970 playoff team was the only post-season appearance in the first quarter century after their 4th and last NFL Championship. In the 42 years since, Monte Clark prayed his way to two playoff births, Wayne Fontes smoked his way to four late season runs, Bobby Ross drove them to two Super Bowl tournaments, and Jim Schwartz last year. All 9 seasons ended with a thud, the only interruption to the ineptitude being the glorious Thumbs Up campaign of 1991, when we thumped the Cowboys 38-7.

That was the greatest day of my life. OK, third greatest, my kids might see this one day.

This team has teased and broken my heart scores of times in every conceivable manner. Nick Eddy getting hurt every GD year, Chuck Hughes dying on the field of Tiger Stadium (the only inigame fatality in the history of the league), 3rd stringer Jeff Komlo sleep walking the team through the 2-14 year that landed the team Billy Sims, becoming the first (and in 30+ years of OT, only) team to lose sudden death by giving up a kickoff return, Barry Sanders rushing for negative 13 yards in a playoff game, and too many embarrassing national t.v. losses to recount here.

I'm done. 50 years of pain is too much for any man. I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

Has to be northeast - can't see rooting for the Eagles, Pats or Redskins. Bills remind me too much of the Lions. Jets, ditto. Probably going Big Blue. Maybe I'll petition Joe to change my user name to Y.Am Tittle. But you know how it is, you need six months to a year to find yourself again after a breakup.

The ####### Ford family are the worst owners in all of sports. The don't care about winning, it's about shareholder value, and they make one inept hire after another. But whatever - the only objective here is complete apathy towards all things honululu blue and silver.

Love Detroit, all their other sports teams, and think my home state has more natural beauty than any other. But when it comes to the NFL, no Más.

Did they call it a "pick six" back in those days?

Only at Hazel Park.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Who gives a chit about the Lions? The Tigers are in the WS!

 

[BobbyLayne]

Who gives a chit about the Lions? The Tigers are in the WS!

 

[lod01]

I'm done. 50 years of pain is too much for any man. I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

If you want to stick with a winner, become a fan of my dynasty FF team. You love winning virtually every week.

 

[Mentos]

I don't want to be a Jets fan anymore but I have no choice. How do you undo a quarter century of rooting for a team, disliking most other teams and dealing with all the memories?

 

[wadegarrett]

As a Pat's fan I can tell you that things can change. (but a new owner helps!)

[clevelandfan]
[/clevelandfan]

 

[Phenix]

You do not even deserve to be a Detroit fan. Yeah they have been a pretty bad team for many years, but bet you did not feel this way last year.

Detroit is suffering from the Madden jinx, next year they will be back competing. That is a talented team bit by a bad secondary that I'm sure will be the priority next draft and offseason. It takes time, understand the factors and circumstances of the season and team, then just being a crybaby fan.

I have to be honest and say the original post is shameful if those are his true feelings for his favorite team he has loved for ever. You sir, are not a fan, and Detroit fans on this board do not even want you as a fan.

But keep crying, thats what true fans and grown men do.

 

[wiscstlatlmia]

I know how you feel. I was born in Detroit and moved to Arizona as a kid (I'm 46 now). I've loved the Lions my whole life, and I've been huge Cardinals fan ever since they moved here. Think how it feels to have not just your favorite, but your two favorite teams be laughing stocks. But think about this. After all the failures and embarrassments, going to Tampa to see the Cardinals play in the Super Bowl was one of the best experiences of my life. With the teams I root for, it will probably never happen again. But part of the fun (if you can call it that) of rooting for a bad franchise is the hope that one day you might catch lightning in a bottle and make a run like the Cards did a few years back. I believe those types of runs mean more to guys like you and me than they do to the average Steelers, Patriots, or Giants fans because those moment are so few and far between for us. If you give up now, you are giving up on ever experiencing a moment like that. You might start to like another franchise, but you will never love it. It is the difference between thinking a girl is hot and experiencing true love.Don't give up on true love.

 

[Phenix]

Who gives a chit about the Lions? The Tigers are in the WS!

How did you feel about the Tigers when they were sucking in the late 90's? Did you quit them too? Tigers do not want you as a fan either, they like true fans, not fairweather.

 

[Wrigley]

At least you're not a fair-weather Pats/Yanks/Laker fan.

 

[Da Guru]

I'm done. 50 years of pain is too much for any man. I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

 

[Insein]

Denial: First stage of Grief.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Who gives a chit about the Lions? The Tigers are in the WS!

How did you feel about the Tigers when they were sucking in the late 90's? Did you quit them too? Tigers do not want you as a fan either, they like true fans, not fairweather.

I've followed them daily my entire life - including the 102 loss season the year after Kaline retired and the 119 disaster a decade ago. Just as a point of information, I am the antithesis of a fairweather badwagoner. From Stormin' Norman and Gates to Miggy and Prince, they've always been interwoven in the fabric of my life. But the Lions are a swirrling black hole of pain and misery. It is cathartic to finally cut them out of my life.

 

[Hooper31]

I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

This could be good stuff. I'm thinking other teams need to submit applications. I will write up a rationale for why you should become a Seahawk fan.

 

[Vector]

Good news, there's plenty of room on the Buffalo Bills bandwagon and it's all rainbows and unicorns for us over here!

Must be the neighborhood, both owners have a house in Grosse Pointe Michigan. Ralph wanted to buy the Lions but Ford got there first.

Does that make them the Grosse Point Blanks ?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Good news, there's plenty of room on the Buffalo Bills bandwagon and it's all rainbows and unicorns for us over here!

Must be the neighborhood, both owners have a house in Grosse Pointe Michigan. Ralph wanted to buy the Lions but Ford got there first.

Does that make them the Grosse Point Blanks ?

At least Ralph got to the big game a few times, but yes.

 

[letter_j]

I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

This could be good stuff. I'm thinking other teams need to submit applications. I will write up a rationale for why you should become a Seahawk fan.

 

[kutta]

Who gives a chit about the Lions? The Tigers are in the WS!

How did you feel about the Tigers when they were sucking in the late 90's? Did you quit them too? Tigers do not want you as a fan either, they like true fans, not fairweather.

I've followed them daily my entire life - including the 102 loss season the year after Kaline retired and the 119 disaster a decade ago. Just as a point of information, I am the antithesis of a fairweather badwagoner. From Stormin' Norman and Gates to Miggy and Prince, they've always been interwoven in the fabric of my life. But the Lions are a swirrling black hole of pain and misery. It is cathartic to finally cut them out of my life.

Here's a cool story for you.We lived in the Detroit when I was growing up, and I was a huge fan of the Kaline Tigers as a kid. My dad had a heating and cooling business, and one day he came home with an autographed Tiger baseball, with Al Kaline autographed in the sweet spot. He said that he did some furnace work at Willie Horton's bar, and Willie couldn't pay his bill, so he gave my dad that ball instead. He was kind of mad about it, but also thought it was pretty cool.My dad passed away when I was 15, but I still have the ball. It is one of my most prized possessions.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Who gives a chit about the Lions? The Tigers are in the WS!

How did you feel about the Tigers when they were sucking in the late 90's? Did you quit them too? Tigers do not want you as a fan either, they like true fans, not fairweather.

I've followed them daily my entire life - including the 102 loss season the year after Kaline retired and the 119 disaster a decade ago. Just as a point of information, I am the antithesis of a fairweather badwagoner. From Stormin' Norman and Gates to Miggy and Prince, they've always been interwoven in the fabric of my life.

But the Lions are a swirrling black hole of pain and misery. It is cathartic to finally cut them out of my life.

Here's a cool story for you.We lived in the Detroit when I was growing up, and I was a huge fan of the Kaline Tigers as a kid. My dad had a heating and cooling business, and one day he came home with an autographed Tiger baseball, with Al Kaline autographed in the sweet spot. He said that he did some furnace work at Willie Horton's bar, and Willie couldn't pay his bill, so he gave my dad that ball instead. He was kind of mad about it, but also thought it was pretty cool.

My dad passed away when I was 15, but I still have the ball. It is one of my most prized possessions.

I remember the day Campaneris threw his bat at Lerrin LaGrow in the ALCS. The strongest man in baseball came in from left field and snapped the bat in half. Then he started milling around the infield holding one half in each hand. Nobody came within 20 fee of him.Will never forget that day. I was about 10, and my mom had asked me to wake her up from a nap for the start of the game. Of course I forgot. Only time in my entire life she laid a hand on me - cuffed me upside the head and told me to NEVER think the playoffs are something you take for granted.



Rest in peace, momma.

 

[Runningman]

One playoff win in 50 years is more than enough to cut a team loose. At least take a few years off and recharge the batteries. Being that bad for that long they don't deserve any fans.

 

[Sweetness_34]

Stay with your team. It is sweeter when they do win it all

Signed,

Blackhawks and White Sox fan!

 

[Annyong]

Stay with your team. It is sweeter when they do win it allSigned,Blackhawks and White Sox fan!

Agreed.Signed,Cubs Fan

 

[ImTheScientist]

Choose Seattle. We have great coffee and a bazillionaire owner.

 

[ImTheScientist]

Stay with your team. It is sweeter when they do win it allSigned,Blackhawks and White Sox fan!

Agreed, Signed LA Kings Fan.

 

[Wrigley]

Stay with your team. It is sweeter when they do win it allSigned,Blackhawks and White Sox fan!

Agreed.Signed,Cubs Fan

love you brother

 

[BobbyLayne]

G

I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next.

This could be good stuff. I'm thinking other teams need to submit applications. I will write up a rationale for why you should become a Seahawk fan.

Friday in the FFA?Thing is, I'm not sure I can break the provincial paradigmn. The new team has to be, at a minimum, in the same time zone.



And as much as I love schtick, not sure I want to entrust the FFA with picking anything for me. But I could entertain offers and submissions.

Current thinking in order of preference:

NYG

NYJ

Buf

Pit

Bal

Phi

Was

NE

Cle

Cin

StL

Out: NFC North, west of the Mississippi, & Confederacy. I might make exceptions - always loved the Broncos fan base. Seattle has an insane environment. NOLA is a special place.

No rush, it's a big life changing committment.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Yeah, one of those teams is not EST.

 

[ImTheScientist]

You might as well just switch to the previous years super bowl winner. Your buddies can call you Bandwagon BOOBYLANE.

 

[Reepicheep]

You might as well just switch to the previous years super bowl winner. Your buddies can call you Bandwagon BOOBYLANE.

Or perhaps try to pick the SB winner at the beginning of the season and root for that team. Keep it fresh. Merchandise would get expensive though.

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

[*]Pistons won back to back titles 1989-90 with the Bad Boys and a shocker in 2004

Those '00s Pistons teams winning "only" one title might actually be another knife in Detroit's heart, even though they were underdogs vs. LA.

 

[haterade]

I'm no lions fan... but im a fan of lions fans...

As a cardinals fan i know we are kindred spirits.

Buckle down!

 

[jon_mx]

I know how you feel. I started watching last nights game and just really did not care. I did not even bother to watch the second half. Just not a fun team to like. At least with Barry Sanders and the run and shoot they were exciting. Stafford and Calvin are likable, but so disappointing.

 

[Lionz will turn it around!]

Been a fan my whole life as it was forced on me at birth. I too would live and die with the Lions and when Barry retired like he did I lost a little for him and the Lions. True, Barry was pissed as he felt like the "owners" didn't try to get better talent, and they did not, but to just quit took a little out of me. I root for the Lions but I root for a few other teams I just don't live and die with my teams.

Now I live and die with my fantasy teams and just enjoy good football every week.

 

[Islander]

I know how you feel. I was born in Detroit and moved to Arizona as a kid (I'm 46 now). I've loved the Lions my whole life, and I've been huge Cardinals fan ever since they moved here. Think how it feels to have not just your favorite, but your two favorite teams be laughing stocks. But think about this. After all the failures and embarrassments, going to Tampa to see the Cardinals play in the Super Bowl was one of the best experiences of my life. With the teams I root for, it will probably never happen again. But part of the fun (if you can call it that) of rooting for a bad franchise is the hope that one day you might catch lightning in a bottle and make a run like the Cards did a few years back. I believe those types of runs mean more to guys like you and me than they do to the average Steelers, Patriots, or Giants fans because those moment are so few and far between for us. If you give up now, you are giving up on ever experiencing a moment like that. You might start to like another franchise, but you will never love it. It is the difference between thinking a girl is hot and experiencing true love.Don't give up on true love.

Fully agreed with this. The more a team suffers, and the longer you suffer, the better it feels when you finally win. For a variety of reasons, my team happens to be from another sport and not even a pro league (closest comparison would be equivalent of NCAA football, but in hockey), but it does not matter for the purposes of the argument here. I saw more game 7 losses at home than I can remember, and my team had never won anything, ever. Then finally against all odds in the final on a winner-take-all game, at home, in overtime, decades of heart-breaking losses were overcome in one unforgettable moment. I do not follow baseball, but I can imagine that Red Sox fans were probably more ecstatic about their 2004 world series win than some other franchises who won several times. The same could be said of the Bills, Vikings, Lions, etc. if and when they eventually win.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Been a fan my whole life as it was forced on me at birth. I too would live and die with the Lions and when Barry retired like he did I lost a little for him and the Lions. True, Barry was pissed as he felt like the "owners" didn't try to get better talent, and they did not, but to just quit took a little out of me. I root for the Lions but I root for a few other teams I just don't live and die with my teams.Now I live and die with my fantasy teams and just enjoy good football every week.

Interesting perspective, thanks.

 

[SofaKings]

I don't think a die hard like you could ever capture that passion with another team. When I gave up on the Mets, I basically stopped being a fan of baseball. There are a couple of teams I've always liked, coincidentally the Tigers and the SF Giants, but I'll never have that passion again. I hope you are a Tigers fan anyways. I began to like that team in 1968. Northrup, Lolich, McClain et al... and I've always had a soft spot for them since. But only a rooting interest. I still live and die with the Jets, and I've come close to the divorce several times. So, I understand the frustration.

Mickey used to have a winter cottage 3 miles from the village I grew up in. He snowmobiled with my dad's group and my sister babysat his girls. I still have an autographed Menu he signed for me in 1971.When I moved to Detroit a few years after college I visited him at his doughnut shop in Lake Orion. Biggest hero of my life.The Lions used to have a barnstorming basketball team in the off-season, and they would come to my hometown to play the alumni. Saw Charlie Sanders throw down a tommahawk. When I was 10, Wayne Rassmussen (DB) pulled me out of the stands to shoot free throws for Altie Taylor. I threw up an air ball, then swished the 2nd one. Lions won by a point that year.

I remember that basketball team. They came to my middle school. A pretty fun night. I've had Lions season tix for about 6 years now. Ups and downs are tough but they are MY NFL team and it will be a long time before I give up on them.

 

[fred_1_15301]

I can't take it anymore. I'm not investing myself in a team that will never know how to do what it takes to win. I'm sick of being miserable every fall. I'm choosing happiness over being loyal to a franchise that doesn't deserve my fanaticism. Earliest memories: rookie Lem Barney intercepting Bart Starr, rolling over & running in a pick six. He and Mel Farr won defensive and offensive RotY in 1967.Earliest non-memory. Collicky 3-month old baby boy was interrupting the family Thanksgiving. Grandpa laid me down in front of the t.v. The sights and sounds of Alex Karras & Co sacking Bart Starr eleven times calmed and soothed.An eight year old boy had his heart broken by a half-footed kicker nailing a 63 yarder as time expired. First year starter Greg Landry - the last Detroit QB to go to a pro bowl - had driven the Lions to the 1 yard line and the go ahead FG. Could have run the clock down to 5 seconds, but excitedly called time out with 19 ticks left. Just enough time to field the kickoff, Billy Kilmer completed a 17 yard square out, and Tom Dempsey trotted out for his 15 minutes of fame.Beat old man Blanda 18 days later on turkey day later en route to a wild card birth. Lost the lowest scoring playoff game ever, 5-0. Also lost (at the time) the highest scoring playoff game 25 years later, 58-37. We're unique, eh?That 1970 playoff team was the only post-season appearance in the first quarter century after their 4th and last NFL Championship. In the 42 years since, Monte Clark prayed his way to two playoff births, Wayne Fontes smoked his way to four late season runs, Bobby Ross drove them to two Super Bowl tournaments, and Jim Schwartz last year. All 9 seasons ended with a thud, the only interruption to the ineptitude being the glorious Thumbs Up campaign of 1991, when we thumped the Cowboys 38-7. That was the greatest day of my life. OK, third greatest, my kids might see this one day.This team has teased and broken my heart scores of times in every conceivable manner. Nick Eddy getting hurt every GD year, Chuck Hughes dying on the field of Tiger Stadium (the only inigame fatality in the history of the league), 3rd stringer Jeff Komlo sleep walking the team through the 2-14 year that landed the team Billy Sims, becoming the first (and in 30+ years of OT, only) team to lose sudden death by giving up a kickoff return, Barry Sanders rushing for negative 13 yards in a playoff game, and too many embarrassing national t.v. losses to recount here.I'm done. 50 years of pain is too much for any man. I'm going to spend the rest of 2012 deciding who to become a fan of next. Has to be northeast - can't see rooting for the Eagles, Pats or Redskins. Bills remind me too much of the Lions. Jets, ditto. Probably going Big Blue. Maybe I'll petition Joe to change my user name to Y.Am Tittle. But you know how it is, you need six months to a year to find yourself again after a breakup.The ####### Ford family are the worst owners in all of sports. The don't care about winning, it's about shareholder value, and they make one inept hire after another. But whatever - the only objective here is complete apathy towards all things honululu blue and silver.Love Detroit, all their other sports teams, and think my home state has more natural beauty than any other. But when it comes to the NFL, no Más.

If I can remain a Pirates fan, you can remain a Lions fan.