11/19/08 A View From the Bleachers

By Peter Robins-Brown

When is it appropriate to go from supporting the last place team you grew up owing your allegiance to, to rooting for that same team to set a record for futility?

That is the question many Lions fans have been asking themselves lately, and I’ve gotten to wondering about whether or not it compromises one’s “sports morality” to openly cheer for the Lions to go on and become the first 0-16 team in NFL history.

This issue delves into the realm of sports loyalty. I’ve always held that it’s important to stick by your teams, no matter what. Which isn’t to say I haven’t violated that belief myself. It’s been several years since I’ve given the Lions a whole lot of thought. For the last half of the Matt Millen era I almost completely gave up on the franchise, only checking the occasional box score to find out just how lost the cause had become. So, it would be hypocritical of me to say you can never betray a fealty you’ve held since childhood.

The next step is whether you can go from apathy to downright antipathy concerning your deep-rooted association. Normally, I would say that isn’t a realm you can dive into. It might be OK to abandon a team you once held dear, but to go and take an active interest against them is a whole different story. It’s one thing not to stay in contact with an old friend who’s gone kind of crazy; it’s a whole other matter when you give that friend the name of a drug dealer you know.

That’s what makes this year’s Lions team such an odd case. It would seem anathema, if you are or have ever been a Lions fan, to root for them to lose 16 games this year. It would seem like you should be praying for them to pull off that one elusive win.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not doing that. For the first time in years I am actively interested in the Lions, and it’s because I want to see them lose every game. I don’t want it out of any bitterness or resentment I feel toward the franchise; I don’t want it because I think it would be funny (all right, maybe that’s part of the reason I want it); I want them to go 0-16 because I’ve always felt, if you’re going to do something, do it to all out.

When it comes down to it, plenty of teams have gone 3-13, or 2-14, or even 1-15, but the Lions can be the first team to throw up that truly magical 0’fer. And that would be something we could all look back on with a certain amount of sadistic pride.

One final note: While I am enjoying the unimaginable ineptitude of this franchise, I would prefer they were at least a competitive team, which leads me back to the glory days of yore: the 1990s. Ten or 12 years ago, did you ever think Lions fans would be pining for the days of Wayne Fontes?