19:00 Bye Bye Barry Discussion…

Impatiently waiting.

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I was so mad about finding this information out as well. Stayed up after the game. Gave it ample time past midnight. I think I probably didn’t click on Prime until 12:30… and saw that bullshit about the 7 start time.

Also shame on Amazon for starting at 7 with the runtime. Might be the best MNF game of the season and one Lions fans are very vested in, and they decided to bleed into it.

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Absolutely. At worst they should have put it at 5. But I see no reason they couldn’t have put it this am to get Detroit people juiced before a pivotal game. Especially when many of the viewers will be from the Midwest.

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Just thought of a different wrinkle. This won’t be live at 7. This will be available at 7. Meaning everybody will be watching on their own pace at their own time.

So word of caution; if you’re not watching right at 7, or you’re pausing / rewinding etc, may want to avoid this thread until you’ve finished it if you have no desire for spoilers.

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Was outstanding. Highly recommended viewing.

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Watch it after MNF. Damn good game.

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Nostalgia after 5 seconds. It’s too much. God I was so crushed. Great Doc. I won’t spoil it until later.

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Just finished the doco and came away with little surprise. Anyone who knows our history can fully understand why he walked. The team was going nowhere, and assets were tossed away as if Quintrincia was involved. Also, it has always been his demeaner. Granted I was pissed, more at the timing of departure. He could have faxed it in say, March. So not to screw up the future year with an unprepared draft, free agent and trade options. Now granted the brain trust was shit for the time. But, that still resonates in my mind.

Other than that, a good dude and was nice to see the old highlights. I’ll give it a “C+”.

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Very good I thought. We all know there were a lot of issues with the lions in the 90s and this doesn’t get into all of that but maintains a focus on Barry. It’s not all doom and gloom, there are some really great memories, awesome highlights of course, great interviews with a lot of people.

Also, RIP Tom Kowalski and Jamie Samuelson, they both are in it, not for long but quick little media clips from the time.

It seems like yesterday but I can’t believe that was 30 years ago now.

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That part was sad, even if you only knew who Killer was. But for those who knew who Jamie was as well, just stung a little on both parts. Could barely get through Mike’s opener the next day.

As for the documentary, I loved when Barry discussed the handing the ball to the ref: “when I’ve just run from sideline to sideline and up the field, not a lot of energy for dancing. Plus I don’t have that kind of rthym.” Classic Barry. For once I’d have loved to see him not be humble. Just “why celebrate? Been here before and I’ll be back here again”. But that’s not Barry.

Only cameo I wish they’d have put in was a quick one near the end with Peyton and Daniels taking credit for breaking the curse. That would have been awesome.

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Oh man I agree! That would’ve been great. There was a 5 second clip of them driving together but that was it.

For sure man. I was a fan of both of them and wish they were still with us.

I would’ve actually liked to see some more local media clips/interviews/people from that time, it was the heyday of WDFN, Stoney and Wojo, all that. Seeing a younger Stoney brought back memories of “what’s your beef” haha

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Haha loved that too. Quote a bit different from today’s Stoney. Heard he might be included in the FOX pregrame Thursday. They’re apparently doing some sort of montage on the city of Detroit and have been at 97.1 studios.

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Oh ok good to know! I’ll have to watch for it, thanks!

I some times think younger Lions fans may not fully understand how much Detroit Lions fans have endured over the years. Watching this documentary brought back a lot of heart breaking losses. I remember the disbelief when Barry walked away. He was a generational player.

This documentary also highlights why the current Lions are so special to the state of Michigan, the city of Detroit and Lions fans everywhere. We haven’t seen this sort of fire from the Lions before. It’s why Ford Field is so loud you can’t even hear the person next to you, and why you see thousands of Lions fans show up to stadiums all over the country. The success of this team means a lot to this fan base. So whether Hutch is the next Long, whether you should take a RB in the first, etc, etc means nothing to me. I just know when I turn on the Lions these days I expect a competitive team and not heart break. That’s what I take away from this documentary, and it’s a damn shame someone as great as Barry Sanders couldn’t have experienced that in his career.

…Well, that and Barry Sanders is the best running back who ever played or ever will play this game.

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We all have had our Lions dreams and expectations crushed whenever we thought an organizational change happened or when we drafted someone high thinking this was it, to only be crushed with the SOL talk. Just became our thing. With Barry, we were all angry that he left in such short notice because he was our glimmer of any kind of hope. But as time heals wounds and gives perspective many can understand why he left and put the blame on WCF and the front office. Now it’s just crazy to think we might actually have an owner in Shelia and a front office that backs the team and the fans.

Always hesitant to go all in, worried to get your heart crushed again, can you imagine what a SB celebration could be like? It wouldn’t just be one parade, it would be a weekend blue juice lion fest that would almost need the travel the state, not just Detroit.

There could be so many docs made of the Detroit teams and its fan base…. Keep them coming.

I have always loved Barry and will watch this.

The way he left, specifically when, pissed me off at the time as it screwed the team, not that it may have mattered with the ineptitude they excelled at.

The more distance from him leaving as he me more just appreciating how excellent he really was and I get why he left.

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I have always thought a documentary like “the last run” (I think it’s called?). The Bulls one. Just a five-parter on the history of the Lions. The tragedies, the bad calls, the bad drafts, the bad management etc etc. I think it would be epic. Anyone who isn’t a fan could watch it and have an “idea” of heartbreak, but really just have no idea if you aren’t a Lions fan. But at the least a solid perspective of why the jokes for the last 30 years just bounce of us. Nothing you could say compares to the actual experience.

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This was a great watch. As a fan of the team since the 60’s, but as an out-of-towner who was unable to get a whole lot of info on the team before the internet really hit in the mid-late 90’s, a few things came to light for me.

First, well, I guess now I do understand why he left. I always thought Ross was the reason, but now I know that was only part of it. While I knew our front office sucked, this documentary really brought to light the good players that we lost for no good reason. I guess for Barry, losing Glover really hurt.

Second, it took a very very long time for me to let Barry off of the hook, and alot of it was that he had a talent that no other human had, and by retiring when he did, he didn’t exploit it fully. It just seemed to me such a waste and such a shame that perhaps he didn’t fully appreciate his gift. But I’ll never know his side fully and what you put your body through while in the NFL. Part of the reason I liked Barry so much when he played was that he DIDN"T care about accolades, and I’ve come to realize that that was part of the reason he retired. I didn’t really realize HOW MUCH he REALLY didn’t care for accolades.

Third, his Dad. Really had no idea about all that stuff.

One of the things that the movie brought out was how much the city and fans were behind the team in 1991. And later on, someone saying that 1991 was supposed to be just the beginning – but the rest never happened. I just hope 1991 does not equal 2023. God, I hope not.

I’ve heard two things from Barry on the timing. One is that he “knew” he was done after his last game. If true, his last second decision “may” have cost us Marshall Faulk. I have also heard him say that he didn’t want to announce after that game or early in the offseason because he “thought” maybe as camp got closer that the juices would come flowing back, but they didn’t. I’d like to feel like the later is true. But based on his escape to England because he didn’t want the media circus sure to follow, it’s also highly possible that he just avoided doing it until the last second because he was not looking forward to what was going to come of it and just put it off, somewhat selfishly IMHO. Is my love of Barry tarnished? It was at the time, but now, experiencing a full 51 years of mostly Lion futility, I cherish what we had when we had him. The greatest runner ever to do it.

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I’ve watched it three times now looking for the part that Scott Mitchell was blamed for Barry not winning. Mitchell was never even mentioned :man_shrugging:

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