[Authors note: Recommend listening to song provided]
This just in: The Detroit Lions have been exposed. In a recent article written for the Detroit News, the Lions have been playing the part of the Washington Generals for the past half century. According to an anonymous beat writer for the team, the NFL approached Mr. William Clay Ford in 1964 to puchase the Lions but sources of why have always been sketchy. The league was having financial trouble around this time with no T.V contracts in place so they devised a plan. The league needed a shill, a team that would show up when scheduled but like an orchestrated wrestling match, the outcomes were always predetermined and the Lions were to be on the losing end. To make things look legit, unlike the Washington Generals the Lions were allowed to win a few games every now and then.
For those of you in your 20's or younger you might not know the Washington Generals. Does the name Harlem Globetrotters ring a bell? The Globetrotters were initially a serious competitive team and gradually worked comic routines into their act until they became known more for entertainment than sports. But what most of us remember from those days of Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain, Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, George "Meadowlark" Lemon, and Fred "Curly" Neal is that they ALWAYS beat the Washington Generals.
With the NFL on the verge of collapse, they summoned their version of the Generals in the name of the Detroit Lions. Think about…what a great plan. Who would ever question a team named the Lions to lie down and play dead week in and week out, year after year. Lions are ferocious animals; the irony makes it all the more comical. It was an easy decision for Mr. Ford to accept the NFL’s proposal. The Ford Motor Co was having financial problems much like the NFL and needed a plan. All the Lions had to do was collect their annual stipend from the league, keep quiet, and lay down most weeks for their opponent. In return, the league could secretly bet on the Lions games knowing the outcomes prior to kickoff. I would say plan well executed, until now.
Now that the cat was let out of the bag the Lions are scrambling on what to do. Detroit fans are already quoting Dennis Green, "they are who we thought they were." Even Matt Millen, recently fired Lion's GM only to land an analyst role on NBC was shocked as revealed on his one on one interview yesterday. His response, "You mean we were suppose to be losing? I was actually trying to build a winning team."
This just in: The Detroit Lions have been exposed. In a recent article written for the Detroit News, the Lions have been playing the part of the Washington Generals for the past half century. According to an anonymous beat writer for the team, the NFL approached Mr. William Clay Ford in 1964 to puchase the Lions but sources of why have always been sketchy. The league was having financial trouble around this time with no T.V contracts in place so they devised a plan. The league needed a shill, a team that would show up when scheduled but like an orchestrated wrestling match, the outcomes were always predetermined and the Lions were to be on the losing end. To make things look legit, unlike the Washington Generals the Lions were allowed to win a few games every now and then.
For those of you in your 20's or younger you might not know the Washington Generals. Does the name Harlem Globetrotters ring a bell? The Globetrotters were initially a serious competitive team and gradually worked comic routines into their act until they became known more for entertainment than sports. But what most of us remember from those days of Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain, Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, George "Meadowlark" Lemon, and Fred "Curly" Neal is that they ALWAYS beat the Washington Generals.
With the NFL on the verge of collapse, they summoned their version of the Generals in the name of the Detroit Lions. Think about…what a great plan. Who would ever question a team named the Lions to lie down and play dead week in and week out, year after year. Lions are ferocious animals; the irony makes it all the more comical. It was an easy decision for Mr. Ford to accept the NFL’s proposal. The Ford Motor Co was having financial problems much like the NFL and needed a plan. All the Lions had to do was collect their annual stipend from the league, keep quiet, and lay down most weeks for their opponent. In return, the league could secretly bet on the Lions games knowing the outcomes prior to kickoff. I would say plan well executed, until now.
Now that the cat was let out of the bag the Lions are scrambling on what to do. Detroit fans are already quoting Dennis Green, "they are who we thought they were." Even Matt Millen, recently fired Lion's GM only to land an analyst role on NBC was shocked as revealed on his one on one interview yesterday. His response, "You mean we were suppose to be losing? I was actually trying to build a winning team."
