If only the 'lemon' laws applied to NFL owners...Then maybe
the NFL fans in Detroit would have some hope of getting
a good team to cheer for. Here in my continuing
mission to help de-program fans in the grip of the
Detroit Lions I will update the sorry state of the team.
The
Lions recently broke the NFL record for consecutive road
losses (24 AND COUNTING)
and are set to, thankfully, end their season next week.
It's been a banner year for the Lions, new coach, new
fines, new embarrassments, yet the ownership still
clings to the belief that things are heading in the
right direction.
The Sad Truth
The reality is that there is no reason to believe that
the Lions are any closer to winning now than in the
previous 40 years of the Ford family ownership.
But winning doesn't matter to the Ford family. It
only matters that their fans think
they care. The NFL ownership system has protected them from their
own stupidity, allowing them to profit while exhibiting
total incompetence in team affairs.
Winning isn't hard unless you're the
Lions
Many
people believe that the NFL has one of the best systems
in place to maintain competition among its teams.
Salary caps, franchise player designations, and revenue
sharing all conspire to maintain league 'parity' and
perpetuate mediocrity. The system is designed to
beat down great teams and rebuild bad teams. So
given this climate where 75% of the teams have played in
Super Bowl why have the Lions only been able to manage a
single play-off victory? It all comes back to
ownership which has been the one consistent factor for
the last 40 years.
Some
misguided Lions fans are probably thinking, 'But Phil
it's hard to win in the NFL. It's even harder in the
postseason. Give the Ford family a break...' Winning is
hard? Going to the Super Bowl must be even harder to
accomplish.
Consider this list of Super Bowl participants:
|
Ravens |
Chiefs |
Redskins |
Patriots |
|
Bills |
Raiders |
Steelers |
Giants |
|
Bengals |
Jets |
Rams |
Chargers |
|
Broncos |
Vikings |
Eagles |
Falcons |
|
Colts |
Dallas |
49'ers |
Titans |
|
Packers |
Miami |
Bears |
Buccaneers |
24
teams have not only won in postseason but have advanced
all the way to the Super Bowl!!!
Let's
look at the remaining teams:
|
Browns |
Texans |
Jaguars |
Panthers |
|
|
|
Cardinals |
Saints |
Seahawks |
Lions |
| |
4 of
these teams (Browns, Texans, Jaguars, and Panthers) are
recent expansion teams. That leaves the fearsome four-
the worst teams in the NFL. The Lions are not
unlucky. They are owned by people who simply can't make
decisions that lead to success on the field. There
is no other reasonable explanation.
Classy Organization?
Many in the professional media write about how well
respected the Fords are among people in the league.
Of course they are are, everyone likes you if you're
easy to beat! They go on to to praise the Lions as
being a classy organization. Let's discuss the
classy the things that this organization has done over
the last couple of years:
2002-
Broke their lease with the Pontiac Silverdome
2003- Announced that Marty Morninweig would
return as head coach, fired him 3 weeks later
2003- Hired Steve Mariucci as new Head Coach,
fined for not following minority hiring guidelines
2003- Team President calls former player 'faggot'
2003- Lions break consecutive road loss streak
record.
Wow,
there's a record of class...
Is there any hope?
No.
As long as the the Ford Family owns the Detroit Lions
there is no hope that Lions will ever be winning team.
Their greatest achievement is that they haven't blown
the family fortune (yet!) They apply the same
play-it-safe mentality to the management of their sports team.
|
