Lions Win, fans can't believe it
by JohnnyTruant on Sep 29, 2009 12:12 AM EDT
51 comments
Football is a grueling game, it's unforgiving in many aspects.
A game of Champions for sure, athletes must not only have the physical skill but also the mental fortitude to align themselves for the pursuit of perfection.
Last week after the Lions won their first game in a long time, I wanted to come over and congratulate you guys, you know, since the city of Detriot needed it and all.
Then I saw about 6 fanposts and a google amount of comments claiming how amazing it was.
When you score, act like you've been there before!
-- Walter Payton
Fans shouldn't get this excited about a win, they should expect it from their team each and every single week. The Lions beat the Redskins, who couldn't score a TD agains the Rams and have been held to under 20 points in 10 of their last 11 games.
The Redskins weren't a good team, but you can only beat who you play. You will be playing a good team this Sunday though.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit's main writer, Sean, or the site in general. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.
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Thanks for pissing in my corn flakes
Our team just ended a 19 game losing streak and we shouldn’t be excited? That was the most back-handed congrats I’ve ever read. Oh wait, it wasn’t a congrats, my bad. Typical snobbery from Chicago.
“since the city of Detriot needed it and all.” Again, more condescending Chicago snobbery.
Keep it to sports rivalries and we’ll get along just fine. Get personnal and act like some Blackhawk fans being thrilled and giddy (they really were) about people here losing their jobs, homes and everything we’ve worked for like we deserved it…
by JazzyBBP on Sep 29, 2009 1:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You're right
We shouldn’t celebrate after a win. We shouldn’t celebrate after we’ve been denied the opportunity to celebrate for 19 straight games. We shouldn’t celebrate after our team has played two very competitive games after having one of the worst teams in history. We should just sit quietly and nod our heads, but we aren’t allowed to smile, either.
Does the win mean a lot in the long run? Probably not. But, f*ck you, I want to celebrate.
Read my Lions analysis at: http://www.studyofsports.com/?cat=142
by simscity on Sep 29, 2009 1:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Bingo
TELL HIM WHAT HE’S WON SCOTTY (I would have said Johnny, but I can’t wait for my boy Davis to come here and shred this shi*….lmao)
We’re going to beat the Bears like it was nobody’s business. I can’t wait for it now. I wish it were happening tomorrow. The Bears? A “pretty good” team? Since when? I’ll tell you when….like back in 1985 when the Refrigerator Perry and Jim McMahon tried to be cool and FAILED.
by KDawg on Sep 29, 2009 1:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is it a mini Ditka or a regular sized Ditka?
by ImPuLsE on Sep 29, 2009 2:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Da Bears vs Ditka
Regular sized Ditka by 3……mini Ditka would win by a safety.
by KDawg on Sep 29, 2009 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
No offense
But this makes no sense for a team that hadn’t won in nearly two years. It’s tough to act like you’ve been there before when so many players had never even experienced a win before. Literally they hadn’t been there before.
What’s the harm in getting excited? It was the first win in 21 months.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Sep 29, 2009 2:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Precisely...
If it were a 3, 4 or even a 8 game losing streak…I would almost have to agree with you. Unfortunately no other fans base will likely ever have to struggle through a 19 game losing streak again, so it is impossible to put this in perspective.
“Act like you’ve been there before”….well my good sir, quite frankly we haven’t. I can’t speak for all of POD nation, or the entirety of the Lions’ fanbase, but when you haven’t won in 19 games…and you’ve lost 25 of 26 games…even though your head tells you it’s impossible for it to continue forever the punches just keep rolling on in. You start to question when the win will come, and eventually, in the darkest corners of your mind, you start to question IF the win will come.
So forgive me…you are correct in saying that a single victory shouldn’t mean so much…reality would force me to agree with you. But reality goes out the window when the surreal takes over. I can honestly say I forgot what it felt like to watch my team win. I remember now, and I’m ready to move on…I want more!
by Mushy on Sep 29, 2009 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
While I can't say
that any of my favorite sports teams won’t win for 21 months or that I can put myself in the shoes of any Lions fans, when you act like it’s such a surprise and that you didn’t expect it, it’s almost like the entire city of Detroit is telling the Lions, we didn’t think you could do it, congrats!
Jim Schwartz felt the same way I do. You don’t want to define your team as a losing team that gets wins every so often.
Try and capture the zeitgeist of going to the playoffs.
You want to create an atmosphere where you expect your team to win every single game and if they don’t you’re disappointed and hold players accountable.
If you want to crown em...
by JohnnyTruant on Sep 29, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Really, are you that thick?
This team was going to be an underdog almost every single week. The knowledgeable fans knew we would not lose every game in 2009 but were not able to predict when we would snap the streak. Many of us thought we would beat Minnesota, more expected us to beat Washington, and a lot of us believe we will beat the Bears next week.
I am not sure why you think that Lions fans expected to go oh and sixteen again, I don’t recall many fans publicly saying that. There was a lot of angst over the Tampa Bay record, but personally I thought that was bullshit. I was never concerned about that streak because it is just a number. I will always define my team by their successes, not their failures. Losers define their team by the negatives, not by what they have achieved. This year we may likely lose more games than we win, but that will not stop us real fans from cheering our team on to victory every week. Part of being a fan is patience and not screaming like an idiot over every mistake and bad break. Perhaps we have been too patient over the years, but we don’t have a lot of control over the owner’s decision making process. I guess it is different in Chicago. I assume from your tone that you expect the Bears to go 15 and 1 and are pissed about losing to the Packers. Please, just worry about your team and keep your lectures for your site.
by NorthLeft12 on Sep 29, 2009 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i wonder how confident the bears fans were with sexy rexy at the helm
called being a selective fan…we don’t know about this type of belief here.
by londonlion on Sep 29, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
JohnnyTruant
You’ve been here before so I know your not a bad guy. But this post just shows how much you don’t know about our position. Losing 19 games straight, going through a winless season, having not had a winning feeling for 21 months, that’s not something you can imagine. It’s the worse thing I’ve been through as a sporting fan, it’s terrible, in every possible way. Being the butt of jokes, thinking you don’t deserve to be in the same conversation as other teams, waking up the morning of a game knowing you’ll probably lose, it was excrutiating.
But now, we’ve won, we’ve got that big W on our record for 2009, it’s a great feeling to have, and I hope we can get to the stage where a win seems normal, but right now, it’s just not.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Sep 29, 2009 2:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Obviously this guy needs a history lesson.
For fans of the Lions for around forty years we have gone through a lot. We have been in the playoffs a number of years and generally been competitive for most of that time. Just like most franchises, good years were mixed in with poor years. I can recall people calling for Wayne Fontes head because he ONLY got us into the playoffs every other year and ONLY won one playoff game. I was hopeful when Bobby Ross was hired, then Barry quit and Ross quit and Millen was hired and hell came to Detroit.
Other fans have no idea what 2008 was like for us; half the games over before the first half was over, and really only one game that I felt we actually had a chance to win [three others, one against the Bears, were teases] and that game was stolen by the refs and Marinelli’s blunders.
I think the national media has blown this out of proportion, as it is more of a relief to be done with the streak rather than a cause for raucous celebration. Happy? You bet! Ecstatic and dancing in the streets? No, not quite. We will save that celebration for getting to and winning the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile JT thanks for your congratulations, we will show our appreciation by kicking your teams ass this Sunday.
by NorthLeft12 on Sep 29, 2009 7:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Most of you aren't understanding what I'm saying
when the fans don’t expect a team to win, it hurts the team and creates a losing culture. So in essence when you can’t believe that your team won it’s adding to the losing culture. Even Schwartz said so in his post game locker room speech “I don’t know why we’re acting so excited when we expected to win this game.” Schwartz knows, and I know, the type of impact a losing culture can have on a team.
If you want to crown em...
by JohnnyTruant on Sep 29, 2009 9:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
ummm...if recall...i don't remember a single note of sincerity in that part of his comment
yes the point was he expected his team to win…but he also went on to say, after prayer…..lets get back on the field & celebrate with the fans who have stuck it out with us. you don’t do that after every win either…but you have to let the players & fans enjoy it. you don’t cry after every win, but after being through this, many players seeing their first win in nearly two years…for any athlete that becomes emotional. it was our superbowl every week, we finally won it. let us collectively enjoy it. we were all part of the losing culture, and right now we are all collectively ridding ourselves of it. i don’t wish a 19 game skid on any fan or franchise…but perhaps you’d have a better understanding to have your bears do it. now that we have seen what we’ve all known and expected, that our team can win, we are looking at games through a different lense. don’t get me wrong, even last week, game 19 of the skid, we expected our team to be competitive, we all hoped for the win. but all we were truly expecting was for our rebuilding young team to do was show progress…knowing that if we saw that we could expect great things to come.
by londonlion on Sep 29, 2009 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pretty sure that's when the players don't think they can win
Unless fans are suiting up for the team now, I doubt the players could give a crap about the fact that fans don’t think they can win.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Sep 29, 2009 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
really I dont see any Lions players..
running into the streets celebrating. Right now, they are busting their asses off in practice. While I, a Lions fan, am still on a high from the game. I was here for all 19 loses. And I am going to milk this one until Sunday.
by JCruize on Sep 29, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
precisely
i think this is when you start to see schwartz shine…this is when he grabs the bull by the horns, puts the team through the ringers, telling them it was just one win, a big win, perhaps even huge…but now that we know first hand & have seen us get it done…lets see who else we can take down…lets see who else takes us for granted.
tennessee obviously misses haynesworth…but i am starting to wonder if they don’t miss the schwartz more…
by londonlion on Sep 29, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can't tell if you are joking or you really don't understand what you are saying
I was going to write a long discussion of this, but you are too ridiculous to rebut. I am going to just agree with CLF and congratulate you for being the jackass of the day.
If you truly don’t understand why we might be celebrating, then you can switch out your jackass of the day award for a moron of the day award. Try to think a little before you start typing. It usually turns out better.
by ATL Lion on Sep 29, 2009 12:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Man, I'm just itching to go off on Chicago sports
but I’ll wait until after Sunday. Why is it that a city I love so much has teams that irritate me to no end?
The Bears
The Blackhawks
The Bulls
The Cubs and White Sox (I don’t like baseball in general by the way)
Even The Fire (MLS Soccer)
My day just seems a little brighter when these teams lose.
Go Lions! Hand Rod Marinelli another loss.
by James L on Sep 29, 2009 2:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Quote: "You will be playing a good team this Sunday though."
Guess what….so will you.
Go Lions!
What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.
by GRLion on Sep 29, 2009 5:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
nothing to do with believing...
As Hyperion said above, you have been here before and have not been a douche. But this comment is quite classless. Most Lions fans, especially those on POD, have had hope the Lions would win every week so far. So for you to say we don’t believe it and have no expectations for our team is completely ignorant and naive. We celebrated a win, the first win of the year, the first win in almost two years, and it felt good. Based on your analysis of what fans should do, all that is allowed is booing and frowning.
Let me ask you this, when you guys almost lost to Seattle and All-Pro QB Seneca Wallace but found a way to come back, what was your reaction?
Point is, if you want tamer victory celebrations, watch golf. Oh wait, Tiger Woods even celebrates.
by lions_sucker on Sep 29, 2009 5:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Haha wow
What a douche bag you are Johnny. What was the point of this post? Had your favorite team lost 18 games in a row, you would be excited too.
Haha so you don’t get excited or celebrate when your team wins? Get over your self dude.
by packallday555 on Sep 30, 2009 12:36 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I couldn't disagree more with your assessment....
If you have ever played any kind of competitive team sport, you know that it consumes your whole identity. It defines who you are. If the Lions were merely breaking a 2 game losing streak vs teams they were expected to beat, I’d say you have a point.
When you have gone through the crushing turmoil that the Lions have been through, not just in the losing streak but everything that Matt Millen did to the franchise, it greatly weighs on your identity. As an athlete your mental attitude has to be resilient against criticism, but even that can be worn down over time. The biggest challenge you face is not the DT on the other side of the LOS, but the self-doubt that creeps in agreeing with all the critics that say you are a born loser.
But there is in each of us a burning ember of self-preservation, diginity, ego, whatever you want to call it that rises up and wages war against that doubt.
So this win over the Skins from a pure Xs and Os perspective is certainly just a win, but that is not what was celebrated. Something much larger was being celebrated that really only those players fully understand. It was a major victory in an ongoing war to re-gain that primal self-respect and diginity that we all strive for.
Celeberating it is a way of “cleaning house” from all the negative residue and preparing for a new mental outlook. So players and fans alike ought to celebrate the win as a preparation for a new set of expectations, free from self-doubt and newly furnished with a sober but fierce determination to perform at the hightest level going forward.
by MusicCityDawg on Sep 30, 2009 11:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
since you're one of the only people who had a real rebuttal
If the Lions were merely breaking a 2 game losing streak vs teams they were expected to beat, I’d say you have a point.
you should expect your team to prepare and be able to win every game
I agree with your assessment of self doubt, and if you play in a franchise where the fan base has all but given up (obviously not a majority of people on this blog) then it adds to the losing culture and takes away that “burning ember of self-preservation.”
It was a major victory in an ongoing war to re-gain that primal self-respect and diginity that we all strive for.
little melodramatic, it was a game that many people actually expected the Lions to win.
Celeberating it is a way of "cleaning house" from all the negative residue and preparing for a new mental outlook
yes, but celebrating to the point where it may be your last or only victory of the season is an act which in fact is saying “hey boys, enjoy the win, you’re probably only going to get a few of these.”
As for all the people that jumped all over me, feeling the need to call me derogatory names and not form an intelligent reply about the Lions “culture of losing”…
who would you say that the best Lions player from the past couple of decades is?
Several years after retirement, and repeated refusals to discuss the abruptness of it, Sanders finally admitted that the culture of losing in the Lions’ organization was too much to deal with even though he said that he could still play. He explained that it robbed him of his competitive spirit, and he saw no reason to believe things were going to improve. He also stated that there were tears in his eyes as the Lions lost the final game of his career the season before he left, because he knew in his heart he was never going to play another NFL game – “I sobbed for 3 months.”
—Barry Sanders
If you want to crown em...
by JohnnyTruant on Sep 30, 2009 8:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Your right... players should act like they have been there before. And not ..
Do something stupid. Oh lets see… Something stupid like a music video.
by JCruize on Sep 30, 2009 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The most derogatory name you were called was....
“douche bag” and that was by a Packer fan (packallday). “Thick” was mentioned, but indirectly, and “Jackass” was the only other derogatory comment made toward you. You can’t expect to come to our site, tell us LIONS FANS how to react to OUR TEAM winning, and be welcomed with open arms and warm regards. If you do…..then “thick” is an understatement.
by KDawg on Sep 30, 2009 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Lions "culture of losing"
You’re not telling us anything we don’t already know, dude. Sr. has been holding this fanbase hostage my entire life and then some, we’re all well aware of it and Barrys comments about it.
We’re not celebrating it like it will be our last, we’re celebrating it because after that horrendous streak I hope no fan of any team should endure, it will be the first of many more wins to come. I’m thinking win #2 is coming this Sunday
We had Matt Millen in charge for 8 years and you can see how he did. How can you say we should expect our team to win when we had to deal with the debacle he gave us fans year after year after year and not give a damn about it? Millen really didn’t care. He didn’t give us the hope and drove this franchise further into losing. If you’re not a Lions fan, you wouldn’t truely understand.
But then again, you should understand about a losing culture since you’re also a Cubs fan…
by JazzyBBP on Sep 30, 2009 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Cubs fan teaching Lions fan on how to be a winner…Irony or amazing coincidence? lol
by JazzyBBP on Oct 1, 2009 9:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yep
and our head coach the last 3 years, the one that Millen hired, the head coach that didn’t give us a chance to win, Marinelli…….where is he now? Whose ear is he whispering his “wisdom” in now?
What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.
by GRLion on Oct 1, 2009 2:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol
If the Cubs ever win the World Series again (they haven’t been able to accomplish that feat again since 1908, even though they were there 7 times), I think the Detroit riots will be pale in comparison to how much of the windy city that burns that night….lol. People would think that the end of the world was upon us. ;o)
by KDawg on Oct 1, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rioters will start the fires and it will be blamed on a friggin’ cow
by JazzyBBP on Oct 1, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Someone please do us all a favour and put in a FanPost that will get this clown's post off the front page of this site?
I for one would greatly appreciate it!
by NorthLeft12 on Oct 1, 2009 2:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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