Monday, September 8, 2008

Losing With Style

There are plenty of NFL teams that are good at losing football games. The Lions? They make it an art form. Take yesterday's game as an example. They were losing 21-0 before the end of the first quarter and ultimately lost 34-21. That's bad enough. But they were playing Atlanta. A team that:

  • Finished last season 4-12. (19-29 over the last three seasons.) They were also the second worst scoring team in the NFC and allowed the third most points in the conference.
  • Has a rookie QB (Matt Ryan) starting his first official NFL game. (Said rookie's first pass went for a touchdown.)
  • A rookie head coach (Mike Smith), coaching his first official NFL game.
  • A team with a RB (Michael Turner) that was starting for the first time. (He was the backup to LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego.) He ran for 220 yards and 2 TDs and set a franchise rushing record. (I'm not insinuating Turner is bad. I drafted him for one of my fantasy football teams. But a franchise record in his first game as a starter? Only the Lions could let that happen.)
  • Plus, did I mention the game was against Atlanta?

During the summer the geniuses in the Lions marketing department had the gall to ask their fans, "Do you believe in now?"

I believe that question is answered. (As if it wasn't before it was even asked.) And I can't believe I'm paying DirecTV good money so I can watch this crap.