NFL: Why I'm Not a Lions Fan

The draft.

It's not so much the four Wide Recievers in the first round in five years. Although, urgh. Wasting a draft pick that high on a marginal position is just dumb. Even a really great wide reciever on an otherwise average team doesn't affect the game that much. Not compared to positions like the quarterback or linemen, anyway. And it's not like there aren't plenty of talented receivers around. But, yeah, this one is special – just like the last three – and all the talking heads seem to love the pick so, whatever.

No, what really boggles my mind is the Stanton pick. The Lions could have traded up and had Quinn, like Cleveland, or, I don't know, traded down to stockpile picks because it's not like they don't have a lot of needs, but instead they went with the guy from MSU. Maybe it's just the Maize and Blue blood talking but, man, that's not a good pick. I'm really of the belief that playing for the hometown team is not what you want to do as a pro. There's just too much history, too much expectations, and plenty of people around looking to ride the coattails and all that. Generally speaking, it just doesn't work out well.

But, hey, it's the Lions. If they could ever put together a contending season, they'd rule the Detroit sports scene. They still pack Ford Field even with 50 years of futility so, you know, the fans are there. But they're really awful and it's things like the draft that are the reason why.