And the second response comes from the Detroit Lions. Contents of the package include:- Detroit Lions pencil
- Detroit Lions rubber helmet keychain
- 2 Lions pocket schedules
- Detroit Lions helmet stickers
- Thank you letter with order form for players/team photos, media guides, and program on the back
Dear Detroit Lions Fan,
Thank you for your recent request for Lions' paraphernalia. Because of the large volume of inquiries we receive, it is impossible for us to answer each one on a personal basis.
In complying with your request, we have taken the liberty of including several items that we hope you will find interesting.
Thanks again for taking the time to contact us and please know that your support of the Detroit Lions is very much appreciated by the entire organization.
Thank you,
The Detroit Lions, Inc.
For a Souvenier Catalog, Please Call (800) 616-ROAR
Now, I have 2 issues with this letter:
1) Addressing this to "Detroit Lions fan" is a bit presumptuous at this point, isn't it?
2) My letter was not a shallow "request for Lions paraphernalia", but merely a question of "why should I be a Detroit Lions fan?" Then again, maybe the only reason they can think of is, "because we'll give you free stuff."
In all seriousness, thanks to Detroit for the goods.
One good thing about choosing the Lions, you'll be cheering for Eric Berry next year.
ReplyDeleteI'd rank them above Buffalo in the swag category but I wouldn't go much further than that in praises.
ReplyDeleteLions have more upside then Bills as TO will eventually bury that team and all their dreams. Oh yeah - I'm an eagle fan. Come join us while our popularity is low with Vick. But after they spin for a low first rounder next year (everyone needs a QB)- we'll make one last run to the SB in McNabbs last year. Great defense and crazy fans and we travel well - so we'll see you out in LA.
ReplyDeleteThis was my favorite part...
ReplyDelete"In complying with your request, we have taken the liberty of including several items that we hope you will find interesting."
Items we hope you will find interesting? I see stickers, pencils and a keychain. I wouldn't necessarily describe those as interesting. Ah, those Lions....
As a Detroit Lions fan since 1967, I suggest - nay implore you - to run the other direction while you still have time. Michigan has many things to recommend it - the people are friendly, the western and northern parts of the state are beautiful, and for sports teams, you've got Michigan and Michigan State (gotta love the Izzone), the resurgent Tigers, the always winning Wings, and a Pistons team that hopefully is on the way back up after last year's debacle. What it doesn't have is a professional football team. Check out the Cardinals, or the Bears, maybe the Jets or Falcons. Anybody but the Lions. If they couldn't do it with Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Brett Perriman and Johnny Morton on offense and Jerry Ball and Chris Spielman on defense, I don't think Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson and whoever is on the defense will help. Abandon hope all ye who enter here . . .
ReplyDeleteHopefully you don't live near Detroit. Having grown up near detroit I could never watch a Lions football game on TV because it was always blacked out due to poor attendance at the actual game. I only knew we had a football team because of Barry Sanders and Thanksgiving games. I think that's why everyone watches UM and MSU football.
ReplyDeleteSWF –
ReplyDeleteHere is the letter you deserved… instead of the form letter that was cranked out in the administrative offices of Ford Field:
I live in SE Michigan. I was baptized on the day that the Lions stormed back from a 20-point deficit in Kezar Stadium to defeat the 49ers and earn a spot in the 1957 NFL Championship game, which they won the following week, clobbering a great Cleveland team, 59-14.
As you do your research and make your decision, do yourself a favor. Read “Paper Lion” by George Plimpton, still acknowledged as one of the best sports books ever, 45 years after publication. That book is written in the context of time when the Lions weren’t the butt of Jay Leno punch lines. The Lions of 1963 were one of the best 5 or 6 best, highest-tradition NFL franchises of the day, along with the Bears, Giants, Packers, Browns, and newcomer Colts. Steelers? Bottom-feeders. 49ers? Mediocre. The Lions’ legacy was built on names like Bobby Layne and Dutch Clark and Joe Schmidt and Doak Walker and “Night Train” Lane… all in the NFL Hall of Fame. It’s a stark read to see the Lions treated in print with the respect that they had (then) earned.
No question that the Lions have been consistently disappointing under the watch of William Clay Ford, and downright horrible with Matt Millen at the helm. But they might have turned the corner. New head coach Jim Schwartz has a clear plan: run the football and stop the run. They did both with some success against the Vikings last week, albeit in a loss. Give Schwartz some credit for having the guts to hire the only 2 coordinators in the league who were former NFL coaches in Linehan and Cunningham. And finally, look at how the Titans have stumbled out of the gate without Schwartz. Maybe, just maybe, the Lions, under new GM Martin Mayhew, have gotten this hire right… and they are on the way up.
The Lions need good fans in this time of prospective ascent… not the weak sister front runner Michigan residents and expatriates posted above. Are the Patriots the best franchise of the last decade? Unquestionably. Is there a better cathedral in the NFL than Lambeau Field? No way. How many teams can boast the Super Bowl legacies of the Steelers, 49ers, and Cowboys? Very few. But the question you have to ask yourself is this: why take the easy route and jump on the bandwagon of a currently-successful NFL franchise? You will be as soft as the front runners to whom I just made reference… and that isn’t the essence of “fandom.”
Come aboard the Lions bandwagon… where you can be co-pilot!
I think you should choose the Lions. As a long-time Lions fan myself, I can tell you that there is no better team out there to keep your interest; because you're always waiting for "Next Year". And as an added bonus, Matt Millen isn't there anymore! So you see, the Lions are the embodiment of 'Hope Springs Eternal'!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I agree with the poster named Joe - - read the history, research the Lions, and you'll find out that they are one of the more storied programs in the NFL.
Here's a big Mike Utley thumbs-up to you, Future Lions Fan!
Come On SWF!! The Lions won their first game in hopes of gaining you as a fan!! GET ON BOARD!!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous from 4:56am on the 26th, what do you mean they were always blacked out when you were growing up? Last season was the first blackout in years, that's a new problem. Don't try to influence the single white fan's decision with lies. As far as why the Lions should be the team for the single white fan, you can get in on the ground level. The new regime of general manager Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz has already shown us more than the last one. We have good young players and a great new field right in downtown Detroit. We have a rich and colorful history, some good, some bad, some downright ugly, but history nonetheless. It would be very easy for you to choose the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Giants or some other hot franchise with multiple championships. But you're needed in Detroit. Help us restore the roar!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we dedicate that victory to the single white fan.
ReplyDeleteCoach Jim Schwartz