Friday open thread: How did you become a Detroit Lions fan?

One of the great parts about this site is the community. I have never been a part of a more supportive, more intelligent internet comment section than the one we have here. Former managing editor Sean Yuille deserves a ton of credit for curating such an amazing set of Lions fans, but obviously you all deserve some credit, too.

One way I think we maintain such a healthy relationship (even if we may disagree at times) is our tendency to share stories and get to know each other better.

So during the next few weeks while there’s not much else going on, I’m going to try and focus our questions of the day on our community here. Let’s get to know each other better and share our stories.

Today’s Question of the Day is simple:

Why (and how) did you become a Lions fan?

My answer: It’s very simple: I was born into it. Every since I was big enough to go to—and enjoy—Lions games, I went with my family. I immediately took to football both because of the game itself and because of Barry Sanders, who was tearing up the league just as I was getting to know myself.

What’s more interesting is why I remain a Lions fan. It would have been easy for me to change my fandom, especially when I moved to California nine years ago. I know plenty of former Michiganders who shed their fandom as soon as they crossed state lines. I don’t fault them or call them fake fans or anything like that. To be a Lions fan can be torturous, and I completely understand giving that pain up.

But I truly believe this franchise has been headed in the right direction since Matthew Stafford joined the team. In fact, I think a lot of my current fandom has a lot to do with Stafford himself. Without him, it would be hard to be optimistic about the future of this team, even if he just crossed over the 30-year-old mark.

And by sticking with the team through the tough 2000s, I know that in the event of a Lions Super Bowl, the result would be indescribably rewarding. And the ever-lingering hope of that possibility keeps me going.

Your turn.