Welcome to the Pride: 2015 edition

I am happy to announce that nine new people will be a part of Pride Of Detroit's editorial team going forward (six editors and three writers). Here's an introduction from each new member of the team:

Editors

Aaron Meckes - Growing up on the east side of Michigan, I became hooked on Detroit Lions football the first time I attended training camp at Saginaw Valley State University. I was 7 years old and got to meet Charlie Batch and Jason Hanson and got a blood-stained glove from Luther Elliss. I've been a diehard ever since. I now reside in Holland, Michigan, with my wife and shepherd puppy, Leo.

Andrew Keating - My name is Andrew Keating. I've been reading SB Nation and Pride Of Detroit for about two years now, so I'm incredibly excited to be able to contribute to this community as an editor. I'm a third-generation Lions fan from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and a junior at the University of Michigan, currently living in Ann Arbor. I'm a passionate fan of both college and pro football -- my roommates say I'm a little too passionate at times -- but I hold a special place in my heart for the Lions. When I'm not cheering in the Big House on Saturdays or yelling at my TV screen on Sundays, I write and edit for the University of Michigan Every Three Weekly (@Every3Weekly for those interested), a satirical campus newspaper similar to The Onion. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work on this site, covering the team I love. Here's hoping for a great season, both for POD and our Lions!

John Cherette - I was born and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan, and currently live in Mount Pleasant with my dog, Bilbo Waggins. I transferred from Kalamazoo College to Central Michigan University last fall, where I will be a senior majoring in Sociology. I've been a lifelong Lions fan, which by definition means I am a very patient person. While other teams lift their Lombardi Trophies and celebrate playoff wins, I'm content to root for the Honolulu blue, hoping against hope this is our year.

I've edited and written in a number of settings, but never had a chance to cover the Lions. I'm excited for Lions football this year. Though it seems like I say this every year, things are coming together, and I think Jim Caldwell is the perfect antithesis to Jim Schwartz's "Schwartziness." I'm not shooting the moon, not saying we're Super Bowl-bound, but a playoff win would be nice for a fan who's never experienced the feeling.

Kyle Yost - Hey, my name is Kyle Yost and I am excited to join the editorial staff at Pride Of Detroit. Growing up in Grand Rapids and living there until college, being a Lions fan came naturally. I attended Cornell University and graduated a couple of years ago with a degree in Operations Engineering. I now am working as a managerial consultant based out of Syracuse, New York. My wife and I got married last summer, and she is currently in her third year of medical school. I have been a Lions fan since a young age, with my first memories being games in the early 2000s. Like most fans, I am always filled with hope and optimism, and I am sure that the best days for the Lions are yet to come! I also love the Tigers, Wings, Pistons and Michigan, as well as the English club Tottenham Hotspur.

Ryan Mathews - I'm Ryan Mathews, a born and raised Michigander currently residing in Clarkston. I'm attending school at Oakland University, where I'm in the final year of finishing up my Bachelor of Arts in English with a teaching certificate. The first Lions game I ever went to was Oct. 19, 1997, at the Silverdome against the New York Football Giants, and I've been a fan/masochist ever since. My dad and I left that game early and were in the car listening to the radio when Scott Mitchell hooked up with Johnnie Morton for a TD late in the fourth quarter to tie the game and send it to OT... The Lions then proceeded to do Lions things and lost on something like a 70-yard TD pass on the Giants' first possession of OT. Forward down the field almost 20 years later and I'm looking forward to spending this season -- and hopefully many more to come -- with Pride Of Detroit!

(And yes, I owned a Boss Bailey jersey.)

Solomon Williams - I am a native of Southfield, Michigan. I grew up in the suburb right outside of Detroit following Lions football. Although relatively young, I have been a long-time fan for over a decade, dating as far back as the Johnnie Morton and Pontiac Silverdome days for the team. I'm currently a senior and media student at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I'm pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism. It is with great excitement I join the POD team as an editor and enthusiast for all things Detroit.

Writers

Chris Lemieux - I grew up in Toledo, where I currently reside for the time being (circumstances always change and I'm always on the move, as it was not 15 months ago I was living in Georgia). I've been a Lions fan for as long as I can remember, although I will freely admit that memory is short, unreliable and notoriously spotty on all things prior to the 21st century beyond what I read about; there's also a good, healthy blank period between '07 and '09 when I was living in Canada with little access to American football. However, I'm led to believe nothing important happened during those years, and I will take the words of others on this. I'm also an avid follower of the college game, and in the absence of football I generally watch boxing and the NBA. When time permits, I'm usually watching whatever movies I can; I wouldn't say I'm a film buff yet, but I like to think I'm working on such a position.

Drew Erickson - My name is Drew Erickson and I am from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am typically still a resident there but am temporarily living in Melbourne, Florida. I am 24 years old and have been a Lions fan for as long as I can remember, latching on to the team as a kid when I made the fateful decision of choosing Barry Sanders as my favorite player.

Though I attended Wartburg College, a tiny D-III school, my collegiate fandom lies with the Iowa Hawkeyes. In college, I studied finance (and a few other things that I will probably never use) and consider myself a numbers-oriented person. I look forward to interacting with all of the great and loyal fans here at POD.

Joseph Buszek - Hi there, Pride Of Detroit. I'm Joseph -- a Detroit native who's been living in Chicago since 1998, slowly and secretly destroying the hearts of Bears fans for nearly two decades. I run a video production company in Chicago, and when I'm not shooting or editing video, I'm usually obsessing over football stats or spending too much time on my PS4. I've been a Lions fan since I was a kid in the 80s, which I'm confident makes me the oldest contributor to the site but probably also makes me the only one who remembers watching the Lions win a playoff game. I'm looking forward to that happening again. I'm also looking forward to working with a bunch of great writers at a site I really like. Plus, I'm pretty sure it means I can write off Sunday Ticket on my taxes now. I need to look into that.