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[Malto Marko]

THAT. WAS. AWESOME.

Then vote Aye, jackass!

[Kansas]

Aye? I ain't no foreigner. I'm from 'Merica. I'll vote with a 'yup', thank you very much.

[Marko69]

Quite feckin right, Kansas......, you yase yer ain tongue freend....., ye widnae catch me chantin "yup" that's fur sure..... Mach may soond like a right feckin bawsac so it wid.

I just read that back ^^. I don't even fucking understand it.

[Kansas]

I just read that back ^^. I don't even fucking understand it.

Aye?

[Marko69]

Naw!

[Hircine]

Canvsoneone maybe educate me a bit on thus history of this team? Like standout players and etc.

[LionsFanInJapan]

Some quotes from [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Detroit_Lions"]History of the Detroit Lions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

The History of the Detroit Lions, a professional American football franchise, dates back to 1929 when they played as the Portsmouth Spartans. Currently in its 84th season, the Lions are one of the National Football League's oldest franchises.

Early highlights as the Portsmouth Spartans include the "iron man" game against Green Bay in 1932. In that game, Spartan coach Potsy Clark refused to make even a single substitution against the defending NFL champion Packers. Portsmouth won 19–0 and used only 11 players all game

At the end of the 1932 season, the Spartans were tied for first place in the league with the Chicago Bears. That prompted what in retrospect became known as the first NFL playoff game. Blizzard conditions in Chicago meant the game was moved from Wrigley Field indoors to Chicago Stadium, which allowed for only an 80-yard field. The game was won 9-0 by the Bears, on a touchdown pass from Bronko Nagurski to Red Grange. The resulting interest led to the establishment of Eastern and Western conferences and a regular championship game beginning in 1933.

Under quarterback Dutch Clark, Detroit won its first NFL championship in 1935, defeating the New York Giants 26-7.

In 1943, the Lions and the New York Giants played to a 0–0 tie at Detroit – the last time an NFL game has ended with a scoreless tie.

Detroit enjoyed its greatest success in the 1950s. Led by quarterback Bobby Layne, the Lions made it to the NFL Championship for the first time in 17 years in 1952 and defeated Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns by a score of 17-7 on December 28. The next season saw a rematch of the two teams, in which Layne found Jim Doran for a 33-yard game-winning touchdown in the closing moments to win 17-16. In 1954, the two teams would meet again, with the Browns getting the upper hand with a 56-10 victory. Three years later, in the 1957 Western Conference Championship Game, Tobin Rote, starting for an injured Layne, rallied the team back from a 27-7 halftime deficit to the San Francisco 49ers with 24 unanswered points to win 31–27. The next week, in the NFL Championship Game, Rote threw for four touchdowns and ran in another as the Lions routed Cleveland 59-14 and claimed their third championship in six years.

On November 22, 1963 William Clay Ford, Sr. purchased a controlling interest in the team for $4.5 million. During his ownership tenure, the Lions have won just one playoff game.

Motown soul singer Marvin Gaye made plans, after the death of duet partner Tammi Terrell, to join the Lions and go into football. He gained weight and trained for his tryout in 1970, but was cut early on. He remained friends with a number of the players, particularly Mel Farr and Lem Barney, who appear as background vocalists on his 1971 classic single "What's Going On".

While playing at home against Chicago in Week 6 of the 1971 season, tragedy struck when wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed and died of a massive heart attack. He remains the only NFL player to ever die on the field. The team wore black armbands for the rest of the season, in which they finished 7-6-1.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1974, after over 35 years, the Lions played their final game in Tiger Stadium, where they lost to the Denver Broncos 31–27 in front of 51,157, amidst snow flurries and a 21-point Broncos 3rd quarter. The Lions moved to the newly constructed Silverdome and have played their home games indoors ever since (at Ford Field since 2002).

In 1980, the Lions drafted running back Billy Sims with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. He led the team back to a winning record for the first time in a decade, but at 9-7 they narrowly missed a playoff spot. Despite fine performances by Sims, the Lions were only able to finish at .500 in 1981. After the 1982 season was reduced to nine games by a players' strike, the NFL used a special playoff format with the eight best teams in each conference. The 4-5 Lions qualified, but were quickly sent packing by the soon-to-be-champion Washington Redskins.

The Lions finished at 9-7 again in 1983, but since their division was weak, they won it but then lost a close playoff at San Francisco on a missed field goal by Eddie Murray. The following year, Sims' career was abruptly ended by a knee injury and the team fell back to 4-11-1. There followed a slight improvement to 7-9 in 1985 and then only five wins in 1986. The NFL was forced to hire substitute players after another strike in 1987 shortened the season by one game in which the Lions finished 4-11. There followed a 4-12 season in 1988, after which the team drafted Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders. His first season saw a 7-9 record.

In 1991, the Lions started the season by being shut out on national television, 45–0, by the Washington Redskins. The Lions then rebounded, winning their next five games. They went 12–4 for the season, and won their first division title in eight years, capping the regular season with a win over the then-defending, and soon to be repeating, AFC Champion Buffalo Bills. They were inspired late in the season by the loss of guard Mike Utley, who sustained a career-ending paralysis injury against the Los Angeles Rams on November 17, 1991. As Utley was carted off the field in that game he flashed a "thumbs up" to his teammates and the Silverdome crowd. It became a rallying symbol for the remainder of the season.

In the playoffs, the Lions dismembered the Cowboys 38-6 for the team's only postseason win since 1957. However, they were completely overpowered by the Redskins 41-10 in the NFC Championship. This was the first time a team that had been shut out in its opener had reached the conference title round. Two teams have since matched this feat: The Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots did it in 2003.

In 1997, Barry Sanders ran for 2,053 rushing yards. At the time, his career total rushing 15,269 yards was second only to Walter Payton's 16,726 yards and he joined Jim Brown as the only players among the NFL's 50 all-time rushing leaders to average 5 yards a carry, but he retired abruptly after the 1998 season. Emmitt Smith has since broken Payton's record, accumulating 18,355 career rushing yards, which bumped down Sanders to the #3 spot on the list of total career rushing yards.

After finishing the 2000–2001 season at 9–7, and missing the playoffs by a field goal in the season's last game, Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr. hired Matt Millen, a former player and broadcaster, as president and CEO.

Over seven seasons under Millen's leadership as team president, the Detroit Lions owned the NFL's worst winning percentage (31–81, .277), never had a winning season, never finished higher than third place in the NFC North, and did not play in any post-season games. Millen received a five-year contract extension at the start of the 2005 season.

The beginning of the 2008 season was a continuation of the 2007 season. During the 2008 season, the Lions were winless (0-16), becoming the first team in NFL history to lose 16 games in a single season, and thereby winning the right to the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The irony in the 0-16 season is that the lions were a perfect 4-0 in the preseason.

Players for the Detroit Lions whose numbers have been retired:

#7 - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_%22Dutch%22_Clark"]Dutch Clark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
#20 - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Sanders"]Barry Sanders - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
#22 - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Layne"]Bobby Layne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
#37 - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doak_Walker"]Doak Walker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
#56 - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Schmidt"]Joe Schmidt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
#85 - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Hughes"]Chuck Hughes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Detroit Lions in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

20 Lem Barney, DB (1992)
14 Jack Christiansen, DB (1970)
7 Dutch Clark, QB (1963)
76 Lou Creekmur, G/T (1996)
77 Curley Culp, DT (2013)
35 Bill Dudley, HB (1966)
72 Frank Gatski, C (1985)
35 John Henry Johnson, FB (1987)
81 Dick "Night Train" Lane, DB (1974)
28 Yale Lary, DB, P (1979)
22 Bobby Layne, QB (1967)
44 Dick LeBeau, DB (2010)
30 Ollie Matson, RB (1972)
20 Barry Sanders, RB (2004)
88 Charlie Sanders, TE (2007)
56 Joe Schmidt, LB (1973)
37 Doak Walker, HB (1986)
50 Alex Wojciechowicz, C, LB (1968)

[Kansas]

Hircine, you can jump on the bandwagon if you want to cuz your still young enough to jump off real quick when they start ripping your heart out.

But us old-timers have no choice. We're chained to the rear bumper of that thing like captured runaway slaves being dragged back to the plantation.

[-Deborah-]

LOL

[Hircine]

Why is everyone so pessimistic, lol. You guys all sound fed up with the team. Aren't they doing well now?

[Malto Marko]

4 games in one season does not wipe clean 50 years of futility.

Edit: A few years back they were 6-2 at the bye only to loose the next 8 games.

We have seen more futility than success and until success becomes the norm, a long time Lions fan will temper their enthusiasm.

[Hircine]

4 games in one season does not wipe clean 50 years of futility.

Edit: A few years back they were 6-2 at the bye only to loose the next 8 games.

We have seen more futility than success and until success becomes the norm, a long time Lions fan will temper their enthusiasm.

And what of aspiring new fans? How should they feel?

Honestly, I'm still kinda undecided. I am leaning towards steelers due to the fact I'm going to be rooting for the Pirates and penguins. So rooting for the steelers also kinda makes sense, no?

[LionsFanInJapan]

Yup. The Steelers are a great time to root for.

[Panoptes]

I'm done.

The team picks you, you don't pick the team.

You initially said you were feeling the Lions but have gone on to prove that is not the case.

Shit or get off the pot already.

[Hircine]

I'm done.

The team picks you, you don't pick the team.

You initially said you were feeling the Lions but have gone on to prove that is not the case.

Shit or get off the pot already.

I'm not proving anything. I'm merely reflecting what I'm feeling right now.

Honestly, I'm probably going with the steelers. While I like Calvin Johnson and Stafford, I just find the steelers history more appealing and I got a vibe from it.

I thank everyone for their feedback. Thanks