Auchtoon!Michiganders Don’t Need Much
Full disclosure: I am not a Detroit Lions supporter. My team has always been the San Francisco 49ers. Or at least since I was 6 years old and I arbitrarily decided I liked their helmet the best on the side panel of my electric football game. (There is a deeper discussion here about the just how capricious tribalism can be, but that’s for another day).
However, if not all, most Michiganders are Lions fans, and there is definitely a positive vibe going on this year. Some of it is measurable — season tickets sold out this year for the first time in Ford Field history! But mostly what I’ve detected is an underlying current. It’s optimism, but an optimism that’s unique to Lions fans. Cautious optimism is much too mild. It’s more like hopefulness but without even a trace of positive expectations. (It comes from suffering a LOT of disappointment).
In any case, there are lots of terrible things going on in the world. There always are, of course. Still, the news of war, floods, fires, indictments, etc., seem to be hitting especially hard of late. You can’t blame Lions fans for allowing themselves to be hopeful about something.
Jon Lunderberg said,
August 18, 2023 @ 9:57 am
Detroit Lion fans have always been optimistic. The last time the Lions delivered was before either of us were born, 1957. That’s known as 65 years of dashed hopes and years of disappoint.
The season ticket sales are indicative of how desperate Detroit Lion fans are to have anything to cheer about. As a long-suffering Chicago Bear fan, (I loved the 1980’s), I wish the Detroit fans the best.
The Detroit Lions put a terrible product on the field and Michiganders support them. It reminds me of the McCaskeys.