Giving up the Lions?

[johnny2x2x]

I've always been a sports fan. Like a lot of kids it was a good way to bond with my dad and my other male relatives. Basketball, Hockey, Football, Baseball, and Boxing, I loved them all and spetn hours and hours studying stats and player profiles. Into my adult years, at some point I realized I was just spending too much time being a sports fan. I never missed a game on TV. At some point I decided I had to quit some sports, I chose hockey. I loved my Wings, but the new NHL became pussified a few years ago and barely worth watching. I haven't watched a hockey game all the way through since the playoffs a few years ago. Next came the Pistons, this was pretty easy when they started stinking, I now don't even know their rotation and haven;t watched a whole NBA game in a long while.

Still, I spend too much time (especially according to my girlfriend) watching Sports. So I'm down to 4 teams I follow, the Lions, the Tigers, Spartan Football, and Spartan Basketball. 1 of the 4 has to go. Being an MSU alumnus, I'm not going to give up the Spartan teams, especially now that our Football has been pretty good the last several years. It's a very exciting time to root for the Tigers, this and the fact that my girlfriend actually enjoys watching Tiger games, means the Tigers make the cut. So the Lions are all that's left.

I don't have to describe to anyone here what it's been like to be a Lions fan. The only thing possibly worse would to be a Cubs fan. The organization is pathetic and outside of Barry Sanders there has been almost no reason to watch for the last 30+ years. Calvin Johnson is really the only thing that makes it tough, he is a once in a lifetime talent. But, this team and this franchise are going nowhere. The group was as poorly of a coached Lions team this season as I have ever witnessed (This includes such coaching lumenaries as Monte Clark, Wayne Fontes, Marty Morninweg, and Rod Marinelli). Yes, this coaching staff might be worse than any of them. The front office has also left the roster in salary cap hell, and it's clear to me the team is about to go into wholesale rebuilding mode.

So why waste my time with the Lions anymore? I have a friend who moved to Chicago for 6 months and became a Bears fan even after he moved back, he said it's the best decision he's even made and has never looked back. So should I quit the Lions? Should I take time away and jump on the bandwagon if they ever become good? It's a tough decision, I've been with them through so much, but when is enough enough? Why let the Lions ruin my mood between 10-16 Sunday's each Fall anymore?

 

[Mitchrapp]

You can't just let a team go.

 

[zyxt9]

i get that u r an alum, but spartan football and basketball are going nowhere fast so it isn't as if u get to watch a winning team there.

my point is, instead of deciding never to watch a particular team or sport ever again, just follow them once in awhile until one proves worthy of watching for a particular season, or maybe even a couple seasons in a row. one thing about being a fan of michigan based teams is that there always seems to be one team that picks up the slack for all the rest. after the Tigers 84 and 87 came the Pistons, then the Red Wings picked it up, then the Pistons and back to the Wings and now the Tigers. toss in a couple UM or Sparty teams - depending on allegiance - and there is bound to be a Michigan based team that is fun to watch in a given year. be dedicated to those teams while loosely following the others. rotate to new "hot" team as needed.

this will save you much angst while still keeping you at a minimum aware of what is happening.

as for the girlfriend...she can either watch with you or not, her choice, but don't let her influence your decision. you let her know that team X is having a great season and you are going to follow them, that she is welcome to join you in the fun, or she can go do something she enjoys more. nothing says she has to watch with you, if it is a long term relationship you will find there is plenty of time to do things together and still be able to enjoy other things in life individually. that makes for a much healthier relationship.

you don't want to have found out Super Bowl Sunday that you missed a great Lions season and the only game you get to enjoy is the Super Bowl. now, if that did happen and the Lions lost, then we are all hunting you down as it is all your fault because you were the jinx all along! ;P

 

[Mitchrapp]

And to be honest, this isn't a wife. I would never let a GF tell you what you should do.

 

[LKP]

No need to give up on them. Get NFL Game rewind. You can watch a Lions game in 30 minutes

 

[Mitchrapp]

NFL rewind is good and reasonably price.

 

[cmlfactor]

Was very tempted to do this but the Lions are in my blood...kinda like the Malaria. But they're my team nonetheless. I've "adopted" other teams over the last few years to take the sting out of the Lions' losses but those team will never be truly "my" team. I look at next years' opponents and I see another 4-12 disaster in the making...but I'm going to reserve judgement until after the draft and see who is healthy and who is not going into Week 1.

 

[johnny2x2x]

At the very least, I'm going to start using the DVR to record the games and then watching them when I feel like it.

 

[motown1958]

I have tried to say I dont care and tried to make it so I have to work on sundays but every week I swap shifts and am right back in front of my TV watching the yearly shit show that is the Lions organization. Maybe one day we will all be rewarded for having endured this team for our entire lives and we will get to be perennial winners like the cowboys and 49ers of the 80's and 90's or the steelers of the 70's and mid 2000's or the Patriots of the entirety of the 2000's and so far this decade as well. But I will never give up on this team I cant do it. My dad talked about giving up on the abysmal Red Wings teams of the 70's and 80's lovingly referred to as the dead things but if he stopped watching this past 20+ years would have been for naught. A sports team is part of who you are my team may suck but every gameday you live and breathe. Its an escape from all the other monotonous shit that occurs in everyday life. Even if you end up losing your voice because youre screaming at the tv to make those assholes play better even though they cant hear you.

 

[schles192]

Look at the schedule, pick the games that look like wins, only watch those games.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I gotta idea. Break up with your chick, problem solved. Its doomed anyway.

 

[byco42]

Been a Lions' fan since 1965. Obviously, I'm not giving up. Like I'm going to support the Panthers now? Nope...it's somewhat comfortable to continuously experience the same brand of frustration for 47 consecutive seasons. Some more than others. 1970, 1980, 1991, 2001, 2008 and this season, in fact, are especially vexing.

 

[cheeno]

See your problem is she doesn't understand your level of devotion to something that hurts you constantly and deeply.

My idea:

Beat your girlfriend.

Promise you'll change. Tell her your biggest mistakes and how you'll fix it. Ask her to come back.

If she comes back tell her "now you know what it's like being a Lions fan."

If she doesn't, problem solved. Win Win.

 

[boogerlovejoy]

I gotta idea. Break up with your chick, problem solved. Its doomed anyway.

I've got another idea Johnny......stop being a fuckin pussy. Jesus your OP was the most boring, irreverent piece of shit I've read in a while. That's INCLUDING mhughes' brainless ramblings!!

You sound like a guy with the mental fortitude of a 4 year old girl. Something doesn't go your way....you lie down in a corner and cry until somebody makes your boo boo all better.
It's football. You watch the game. Enjoy it, win or lose.....and go back about your life. If your so invested in it that them losing has an actual affect on your every day life you need professional help.

Do you cry at sad commercials too???

 

[cmlfactor]

Pretty much every team that motown mentioned that have enjoyed runs of success have also suffered swaths of despair. The Patriots were awful when they first came into the league...the Steelers maybe averaged 2 wins per season through the 60s and early 70s. 49ers had their issues through most of the first decade of the 20th century. The Cowboys have been a shadow of their former selves since those SB teams of the 90s. I have no doubt that one day this organization will pull through and become a yearly threat. It may not happen in the next 5 years, maybe not even the next 10...but it will happen.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Dump the chick.

 

[axemillen]

I think a big part of the enjoyment of being a lions fan is that it is so hopeless. You follow them through the terrible years(decades) and then when they do finally win you can say "I was a fan through the rough times too". And think about how awesome it's going to feel when they are successful. No chick could seperate me from my lions. She would be
shown the door first.

Besides, you know the moment you walk away they will start winning....on second thought, maybe you should stop following them.

 

[manchild98]

I've never even tried to give them up because it wouldn't happen.

As for the girlfriend thing....what have you asked her to give up? Because if the answer is nothing then either tell her to deal with the fact that you like football or make her give up something that she spends hours a week doing....give up her phone or something like that. I always thought football is the easiest sport for a chick to deal with because it's just 1 day a week and the team usually plays on the same day...not very hard to plan around.

 

[adam86107]

I'm with Mitch, dump the girl. If she is just you're GF and already asking you to give up things that you have been devoted to for a very long then it's just going to get worse, especially if you give in to her request. Plus, you've got another 8 months before Lions football starts back, by that time you're likely to find another gal anyway.

 

[tonyballs]

I've always been a sports fan. Like a lot of kids it was a good way to bond with my dad and my other male relatives. Basketball, Hockey, Football, Baseball, and Boxing, I loved them all and spetn hours and hours studying stats and player profiles. Into my adult years, at some point I realized I was just spending too much time being a sports fan. I never missed a game on TV. At some point I decided I had to quit some sports, I chose hockey. I loved my Wings, but the new NHL became pussified a few years ago and barely worth watching. I haven't watched a hockey game all the way through since the playoffs a few years ago. Next came the Pistons, this was pretty easy when they started stinking, I now don't even know their rotation and haven;t watched a whole NBA game in a long while.

Still, I spend too much time (especially according to my girlfriend) watching Sports. So I'm down to 4 teams I follow, the Lions, the Tigers, Spartan Football, and Spartan Basketball. 1 of the 4 has to go. Being an MSU alumnus, I'm not going to give up the Spartan teams, especially now that our Football has been pretty good the last several years. It's a very exciting time to root for the Tigers, this and the fact that my girlfriend actually enjoys watching Tiger games, means the Tigers make the cut. So the Lions are all that's left.

I don't have to describe to anyone here what it's been like to be a Lions fan. The only thing possibly worse would to be a Cubs fan. The organization is pathetic and outside of Barry Sanders there has been almost no reason to watch for the last 30+ years. Calvin Johnson is really the only thing that makes it tough, he is a once in a lifetime talent. But, this team and this franchise are going nowhere. The group was as poorly of a coached Lions team this season as I have ever witnessed (This includes such coaching lumenaries as Monte Clark, Wayne Fontes, Marty Morninweg, and Rod Marinelli). Yes, this coaching staff might be worse than any of them. The front office has also left the roster in salary cap hell, and it's clear to me the team is about to go into wholesale rebuilding mode.

So why waste my time with the Lions anymore? I have a friend who moved to Chicago for 6 months and became a Bears fan even after he moved back, he said it's the best decision he's even made and has never looked back. So should I quit the Lions? Should I take time away and jump on the bandwagon if they ever become good? It's a tough decision, I've been with them through so much, but when is enough enough? Why let the Lions ruin my mood between 10-16 Sunday's each Fall anymore?

Your man-card is officially revoked. Now, get the fuck off this board....that was pathetic, dude.

Oh, and everybody else is spot on. Lose the broad. No way ANYBODY listens to a chick when it comes to sports. It's the cardinal rule.."stay away and mind your own fn business" when i'm watching the game.
I've made a lot of changes in my life. My wife has helped me big time realizing that i can be a better person. My family, my job, my EVERYTHING is because of my wife. Total 360, but when it comes to sports, she leaves me alone. That's how it should be...

Take your fn skirt off.