Pedley's Ponderings

There comes a time in a man’s life when he has to take stock of certain things and ask himself, “Why?” I found myself doing just that recently at the culmination of the NFL’s regular season.

I’ve been a Detroit Lions fan since age 7 or 8. You might find this peculiar, as I live nowhere near Michigan. However, I was drawn to the franchise because of a deep appreciation for Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders. His electric style of play and upstanding character made him my No. 1 role model growing up, and I stuck with the Motor City Kitties after he retired. It’s a decision I’ve come to regret.

They’ve done absolutely nothing during my 20-plus years of fandom. Their last playoff victory was recorded on Jan. 8, 1992, five days before I turned 1. They’ve been to the playoffs only a handful of times since and have won their division just twice since I’ve breathed air. Their ineptitude burnt out Sanders, who retired young, and it also forced future Hall of Fame wide out Calvin Johnson to walk away from the game. They were also the first franchise to record an 0-16 record. The Cleveland Browns have since joined them in that dubious club, but if you pay attention to football, you’re aware the Browns have turned it around.

There’s no hope of that happening in Detroit. After hiring former New England assistant Matt Patricia in 2018, he was sent packing mid-season this year after failing to achieve anything close mediocrity. The Lions are in the hunt for yet another head coach, and by my eye, they’re five-plus years from being even remotely competitive. The defense is trash, their offense is a dud, and ever-resilient quarterback Matt Stafford is no doubt getting sick of being pounded into the dirt 16 Sundays a year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he walks soon, too.

The final straw for me came two weeks ago when I was thumbing through my Twitter feed. I came across a tweet from the Detroit Free Press that read, “Lions coaching search: Where things stand with Pat Fitzgerald and Todd Bowles.” I rolled my eyes and groaned loudly. Fitzgerald is the head coach at Northwestern, and though he works miracles there some years, I have no confidence any of that will translate to the NFL. Bowles, on the other hand, is used goods and flamed out badly at the helm of the New York Jets a few years back. The fact that they were even included in the discussion about being Detroit’s next coach was enough for me to wash my hands of the franchise. There’s no point in doing this anymore.

My friends have given me some guff about my decision and said that they’re going to hold me to my word “when Detroit is good again.” I laughed, because that day will never come. The Lions are chronically inept and will never go anywhere under current ownership.

I’m in the unique position of being in the market for a new team at the age of 30. An early contender is the Buffalo Bills, and it’s not because they’ve seen success in recent years – I simply like their logo and team colors, and their fans seem like they know how to have a good time. I’m a pretty cheap date, apparently.

Honestly though, I might just stick to being a casual observer of the NFL going forward. I’ve grown so apathetic about wins and losses thanks to the Lions that I don’t see much sense in hitching my wagon to a new team. I’m comfortable with that decision, because continuing to care even the slightest amount about Detroit football anymore is a waste of energy.

Many people will say that I can’t back out on my team when they’re down, but they’ve been down my whole life. It’s been a toxic marriage and divorce is the only logical option for this broken union.

Nick Pedley is the news editor of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.