A VERY SUPER AWESOME DAY TO MY FELLOW LIONS FANS!YES I AM SUPER PUMPED!
I have been drinking kool-aid this morning! Lions Uncaged was so awesome! Kudos to the Lions front-office for putting this event on! 15,000 fans came out in the rain waiting to see a Lions practice. If that is not the definition of a true fan then I have no idea what is. Unfortunately I was unable to get any autographs since they cut off the lines. Next time I will have to get there at 5:00 am! LOL I did get a few photos on my cell phone and hopefully will have them uploaded sometime soon.
I snagged some photos of various players. I got a couple of LB Ernie Sims. He looked up and saw that I was taking a couple of photos and I said to him "I'm wearing your jersey!" He smiled at me and seemed very encouraged that a fan was wearing his jersey. I am sure that makes them feel really encouraged that the fans support them. I believe he is going to have a Pro-Bowl year! That is a prediction I am NOT afraid to make.
I also got a few photos of Coach Jim Schwartz. He is so cool and down to earth! While I was taking a few photos there were younger children getting autographs, giving fist bumps to the kids and I thought man how special is that? You just fist bumped Jim Schwartz! Lucky kids. He was genuinely glad that the fans showed up enmasse.
Maybe we are all buying into it but I believe this Lions team is not setting us up for another heartbreak. I believe this team and coaching staff is for real and definitely headed in the right direction! It just wasn't the diehards that showed up but a lot of folks who wanted to see this new Lions team. It was such a great thing not only for Ford Field but the community. Football can really bring people together.
You all are probably wondering what I thought of the practice. I really liked how the defense looked and broke up some passes. The running plays were solid with FB Jerome Felton looking awesome and Kicker Jason Hanson was knocking them through the uprights. LOL He was even passing the ball between Nick Harris. Hanson has quite an arm! Look out Matt Stafford you might have some competition. It was such a great time for the younger fans to interact with the players. All of the QB's looked pretty good in their drills. Stafford, Culpepper, and Stanton got the ball going but there is still a lot of work to do. And this was just a practice. I am sure the Spartan basketball team has countless missed free throws and bad passes in practice.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was in attendance watching practice. I assumed it was partially because the NFL Hall of Fame Ceremony and Game is this weekend in Canton, Ohio not that far away. Coach Schwartz made some opening comments to all of us fans thanking us and was appreciative of the fact that many folks were out there standing in the rain waiting to enter. A sign of true fans. Coach Schwartz also said about how the front office would fight tooth and nail to keep our Thanksgiving game with the Commissioner being in attendance and witnessing us fans supporting the Thanksgiving game and not having it taken away from us.
I wish they would remove the blackout rules which I am very much against. It is punishing the fans and in this economy it is a true slap in the face. One of the few things people have going for them in their lives is a chance to watch football. People who are out of work and would like to watch a game can't because of these BS rules. If they are going to keep the rules then they can at least broadcast another game which they don't. I remember last year during one of the blackouts for the Lions they aired the movie Clueless in instead! Are you kidding me? Us fans are being subjected to that PETA nutcase's awful movie? That angers me to no end! These rules need to go. The advertisers will do much better when they advertise things like beer and potato chips. This is not fair or right! Hopefully those rules will come to a screeching halt.
After heading back to Lansing I called into 97.1 FM the Ticket and got on the air to Dennis Fithian and I mentioned about what a great idea the Lions Uncaged event was and how much fun it was. I also mentioned that the weakness I do see on the DLine is the DT position and hopefully it will be addressed pretty soon.
As some of you have learned I have bought a new car. A Black Chevy Cobalt! While at Ford Field I went to the Roar and More and got a few things. I got a Lions licence plate cover and a Lions window cling. I was going to get the car flag but I had to watch my nickels and dimes. I also picked up a couple more wall decorations. Well I think that's about all for now. I hope to be caught up with the stories from MLive on training camp really soon. If any of you are interested My Land O Links posts are collections of stories on the Lions from MLive. LOTS and LOTS of articles but they are all pretty short with great information from Tom Kowalski, Philip Zaroo, and others like Pat Caputo from the Oakland Press. Well enjoy the Bills vs. Titans game tonight and all of you have a safe and enjoyable Sunday :) See you all really soon! GO LIONS
That's great to hear that you had a real nice time there. Looking forward to seeing those pictures. If you could upload your call to 97.1 that would be great too.
ReplyDeleteI think the Lions have a beter year, which isn't saying much since it is almost impossible not to.
I am a bit mixed about Stafford starting. Sure, I'd like to see him get in there and see if he lives up to the billing and the investment the Lions have made, but I am also weary that a slow start or an injury might derail him. The Lions have no history whatsoever of molding young QBs, not since Bobby Layne have they had a solid young QB. You never know with young qbs whether you are getting the next Payton Manning or the next Ryan Leaf.