The Lions, and the city of Detroit, are giving a huge middle finger to longtime haters
Donald Trump, not so long ago, did something many politicians, and others, have done for years: he trashed the city of Detroit.
Actually, in an interview with Sean Hannity, he disparaged a number of majority-Black cities because, well, that's what he does. He said Chicago was "worse than Afghanistan." Trump added: "We have cities that are worse, in some cases far worse. Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at what's happening in Oakland. Take a look at what's happening in Baltimore."
The response from those city's defenders was swift. One was Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, who said: "Michiganders know better."
Detroit has been a punching bag of the right for decades. Said Rush Limbaugh in 2013: "The town has been a Petri dish of everything the Democrat party stands for. You have massive welfare states where citizens are given things left and right in order to buy their votes. You have no opposition whatsoever."
The city, like many others, has definite problems, to be sure, but the attacks on Detroit are often chock full of bad faith. The fact Detroit is a majority-Black city is part of that bad faith attack. Notice that when Trump mentions problem cities he doesn't talk about high crime rates in red states.
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This brings us to the remarkable story of the Lions. The true America's Team. A legit underdog story.
One of the things you heard constantly from Lions players after the franchise won its first playoff game in 32 years by beating the Rams was how happy players were for the city. You heard it from them over and over and over again.
"It means a whole lot to this city," quarterback Jared Goff said. "We knew what it meant when this season started to get into the playoffs and then to get this win. And, you know, it’s just the beginning for us. We’ve got some run left."
You have to fully understand what's happening here. It's not just the win on the field that makes this story so incredible. It's what the win stands for. Part of it, in essence, is a middle finger to the people who have disparaged Detroit. Not just the Lions but the city. Detroit has, again, produced something special after constantly being told how incapable it was of doing that.
The franchise has felt some semblance of this type of pride before. No, not like this, but close. The Lions have historically been so downtrodden that the team late during the 1991 season celebrated being in first place in the division. Not winning the division. Just being in first place with a 9-4 record in November of that year. At that point the Lions hadn't had a winning record since 1983.
"This is a very special day in Lions history," said tackle Lomas Brown, at that point in his seventh season with the Lions, after the team beat the Bears. "It feels strange to be in first place."
"I'll tell you the difference between the Lions of the past and the Lions now," defensive lineman Jerry Ball said then. "The players have different standards. (Before) they didn't care too much. They just wanted their paychecks. But we've gotten that bad blood out of here."
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This is how far the Lions have come. From celebrating being in first place late in the season, to celebrating a playoff win, and all the while, Detroit has never left their side. The Lions didn't leave the city's side.
Brown used to talk a great deal about his affection for the city. I always believed that a number of Lions players felt like they needed to defend it from the constant attacks. I don't think that's changed. In fact, it might be even more pronounced.
Detroit isn't without flaws but it's also not the hell people who hate majority-Black cities want it to be. It has heart and guts. It beats the odds and will surprise you when you least expect it. It has beautiful qualities that people like Trump can't, or won't, see. In other words, it's just like the team it loves.
