Thankfulness

As Thanksgiving approaches fast, I took some time to sit down and think of what I was thankful for. The normal things came to mind; family, friends, a house, food on the table, and the Detroit Lions. Wait a second. Did he just say the Detroit Lions? The Detroit Lions whose fans wear bags on their heads to games? The Detroit Lions who haven't had a winning season in who knowns when? The same Lions who lost every game last year? Yes, those Lions. I find it very easy to love the Lions when my team plays them. If I ask who the Eagles are playing this Sunday and I learn its the Lions, I breathe a sigh of relief. The Lions win, on average, three games a year. So you just have to hope that one of those three wins isn't against your team. I also really love the Lions when I just want a laugh. If you type in "Detroit Lions Bloopers" on Youtube, you will laugh for days, trust me. But then there are other times when I think, "I feel bad for Lions fans." Imagine how terrible it must be to watch your team lose every single week. And I think that being a Carolina Gamecock fan is bad.

While there are many reasons why one would hate the Lions, I can't. I just can't do it. I'm the kid brought up on the Rocky movies. I was taught, always play hard, fight to the end, just want it more. I don't think the Lions not wanting it is the problem. They just aren't good. That being said, they play hard. Those God awful Lions play hard. They may not win, but they fight. Its got to be hard to know you really don't have a chance in the game your about to play. And it can't help that their own fans can't watch them past one quarter. But thats why I have to like them. I have respect for the Lions. I pull for them to win. I'm not a die hard Lions fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I cheer for them. I pull for the underdog. And they are always the underdog.

The Lions have become a tradition in our family. Every Thanksgiving we go to Aunt L's house, eat turkey, enjoy company of family, hang out at her huge house, and then watch the Lions get slaughtered by the Cowboys or Patriots. I don't know why the Lions always play on Thanksgiving. I think whoever schedules the NFL games just likes putting the worst team in the league on national television so everyone can see them get waxed. Maybe its an on going joke in the NFL, "Hey, whose playing on Thanksgiving? The Lions, and that team whose going to beat the Lions." Honestly the Lions playing on Thanksgiving makes no sense. It truly is not in the best intrest of the NFL to have them play in that spot every year. The NBA doesn't do stuff like that on their Christmas game. They always have two of the league's really good teams battling it out. I think it was Celtics-Lakers last year. Now thats a game worth watching! This leads to the question, why do the Lions always play on Thanksgiving? Its simple, really. It has become a tradition, not just for my family, but for many people. If they took the Lions off of the Thanksgiving game, it would be chaos. As bad as they are, everyone wants to see them play. I could not imagine a Thanksgiving without the Lions. I guess that proves a point.

I'm thankful for the Lions because it brings my family together. I love watching them play, and I look forward to it all year long. That seems strange, but its true. In all the years I have been watching them play on Turkeyday, I don't they've have won once. Not once. But for some odd reason, it fits. Watching them play makes Thanksgiving seem more genuine to me. Maybe thats why they always end up trading punches with a storied franchise on the last Thursday of the month. The Lions have slowly grown on me, and I can't wait to see them play Green Bay on Thursday. Maybe this year they'll actually win.