Just Win, Please?

0-13

Being a Lions fan sucks.

But, what I don’t understand is this argument that going 0-16 will somehow be “good for the Lions.” I have heard this argument made by various radio hosts, writers and even in this blog. Those making this claim see going 0-16 as the only way towards actual progress, explaining that it will change things by getting management and ownership to notice.

Frankly, I don’t buy that argument. Sounds like an excuse by fans, as if somehow laying a justification for setting the least desirable NFL record.

I am not suggesting that Lions fans who believe in this notion are rooting against their Lions, I just think they have become apathetic; so apathetic in fact, that they don’t even care if they lose every game. Even the die hards have stopped caring, but drown their sorrows by trying to justify it using the aforesaid change and notice theory.

Readers of this blog should be well informed that I am not a fan of the Detroit Lions ownership. But, despite my strong dislike of Lions ownership and upper management, I still have a little faith in these people. I know they have already taken notice, and if they haven’t, 0-16 isn’t going to snap them out of it; nothing will.

How do I know?

Think about it. NFL Owners are first and foremost businessmen. Even though William Clay is a proven, bad businessman, he still likely endorses the theory that the answer to 99 out of 100 questions is money. I know that he knows that the Lions are losing fistfuls of money. The Lions didn’t sell a lot of season tickets this year, as a result the Lions drastically cut ticket prices. Tickets still didn’t sell. Now, he is losing money because of mandatory NFL imposed black outs. Such giant fiscal problems are hard to ignore.

Want more proof? Matt Millen is unemployed.

Compare this year with the past. Millen lost as many as 13 games in the past, yet he kept his job. What is the difference this year? Fans stopped going to the games and spending money. Even Billy’s BFF was sacrificed for the sake of his true love: profit.

The “change and notice theory” is based on a ridiculous notion. It is based on the idea that William Clay, Tom Lewand, and whoever else is running this team are partying up in their “castle,” sipping fine wine, and rolling around in money laughing at the ignorance of those gullible fans making their retirement seem sooner and sooner; until, suddenly, week 17 ends: the music stops with a loud screech of a record scratching; someone drops their wine glass, shattering it; and they all sit up in silence and say, “Oh crap, we just went 0-16. What do we do now?!”

I am exaggerating, but the thought that going 0-16 will somehow give William Clay and his advisors an epiphany revealing the perfect general manager candidate; that foresight, of course, combined with a new found gift of persuasion, is outrageous.

Its not winning that drives people like those who run the Lions, its black dollar signs. Loses don’t get them to take notice; large red numbers with two parentheses around them do.

If you don’t believe in my shallow version of upper management and ownership’s human nature, a more positive outlook leads to the same conclusion. If you believe in good human nature you have to believe that most people who set out to do something, set out to do it well. Especially those who are successful enough to reach such a prestigious position as an NFL executive. I seriously doubt those running the Lions are proud to be the butt of every ESPN joke. Either way you look at it, it boils down to success and making money.

My theory? Going 0-16 will put a black mark on this team that will take years to shake off. Just look at the what happened to the 1976 Bucs. By now you should all know that the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the only winless team in the history of the NFL. After, an abysmal 0-14 season, do you know how they followed that season? They lost their next 12 games! It took Tampa 26 years to win a Super Bowl after that winless season. Reputations are hard to shake, and being the worst team ever could linger with the Lions for a long time.

Please do not think I am ignorant. Its not like I want the Lions to win out or something and miss out on the first overall pick. I just want to stay out of the record books. Being a Lions fan is hard enough, I don’t need more reason to be ridiculed.

Win a game, get the first pick, stay out of the record books and MOVE ON.