I think you might have missed my thesis statement in the OP.
I believe we have had at least 2 ties during his lifetime.
Why would he? They sucked royally for his entire childhood.
The last one before the two in 2019 and 2021?
So he’s a bandwagon type? 
2019 + 2021 = 2 ties which was my point. He said their record during his lifetime was 119-216-1.
I feel like there ought to be a pill or surgery that you can get.
That’s the word for it.
My kind of surgery 
Kind of irrelevant.
I’m sure he’ll give his all for whoever is signing his big checks.
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I started watching the team during the Wayne Fontes era (I was a kid but the Lions were a massive part of my dad’s life and identity) but didn’t end up watching the majority of the games until the Rod Marinelli era (when I was out of college and an adult).
I’ve lived in Arizona since I was 15. The Cardinals have been to the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship game twice during this time (I actually went to the NFC Championship game here against the Eagles as I’d figured I’d never get a chance to see the Lions in one). I still am not a Cardinals fan as much as I’d want to be. My 4 year old and 2 year old daughters are though (and I’m absolutely okay with that).
My college team is the Detroit Lions of the NCAA though (the Arizona Wildcats). The best coach we’ve had during my fandom of that team was Rich Rodriguez who got chased out due to a sexual harassment scandal. I think bad football is just in my blood. I don’t know how Ohio State or Patriots fans can live with their team almost always having a winning record.
Edit: I do credit myself for the first win after the 0-16 streak. I was living in California at the time but I went to a wedding the day before and attended in person the game at Ford Field against the Washington Redskins on September 27, 2009 where the Lions won.
Coincidentally September 27 is my anniversary (September 27, 2014).
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Just thinking of the poor lads like Aidan that grew up in the Millen era, I feel lucky to have grown up in the Fontes/Barry era a.k.a. The Golden Era of Lions football, the teams that won one playoff game in a decade. Fuck me, what a franchise.
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Like I mentioned I really started following the Lions and the NFL very closely in Mariucci’s first year. I’ve lived in PA all my life about an hour and a half from Philly. While the Lions were contending for the top pick every year the Eagles were in the NFC Championship.
There’s something fascinating about watching a dumpster fire in progress, right??? Like, the Lions were around in the background when I was growing up–solid local NFL team, future hall-of-fame running back, fun offense, Jerry Ball and all that good stuff–but it never really moved the needle all that much for me. But when Barry retired, I really wanted to see how the team would respond, and I got hooked. At the time, I figured there’d be a down year or two, and then I’d get to watch the Lions build back up to a champion and be along for the ride. Lololololololololol
BTW, good on you for setting your daughters free of this madness.
Although the Lions didn’t win nearly as much as they should have during the Stafford era (which I attribute to mostly poor personnel choices by the GMs), the one thing that was very enjoyable about the Stafford era is that it seemed like the Lions were almost never out of a game.
We were privileged to witness 31 fourth quarter comebacks including the very first one, which I saw in person, the 38-37 win over the Browns in 2010.
In contrast, during the Fontes-Barry Sanders era, the Lions almost never came back from any large deficit. In contrast to Stafford, Rodney Peete had just three (3) 4th quarter comebacks as a Lions QB.
I specifically remember the 30-27 amazing victory over the Vikings in 1993 where the Lions were down 27-13 with . I was at the 24-20 comeback in 1991 where the Lions were down 20-3 with 6:50 to go.
Erik Kramer had a few more, four (4) total, but most of those games, the Lions were only down 1-4 points heading into the 4th quarter.
Anyway, between the Fontes-Sanders and Stafford eras, there’s a huge desert with few positive memories. The only one that sticks out is the Lions coming back to beat the Rams (the year they won the Super Bowl):
Crowell’s 57 yard reception on 4th and 28th is something I will probably never forget. A small oasis in the desert of the Matt Millen era.
Love Stinks. Yeah Yeah.
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God, I feel old reading this thread. Lem Barney, Mel Farr, anyone?
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My emotional investment in the Lions has waxed and waned since the first game that consciously registered on me: a 59-14 win in the 1957 NFL Championship game against the Browns. That investment bumped up right before the 2008 season which coincided with joining the Den. Is it the Den or the epic Lions dumpster fire (also called the Eternal Flame) which keeps me drawn in? It’s probably both, like Belichick and Brady.
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Wow – no idea! Thx for digging that up man!
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