By Nicholas Grenke
Western Herald
“It might be a six yard run, it might be a 60 yard run, but it’s gonna take your breath away from you.”
- Gary Danielson, ESPN Football Analyst
The Detroit Lions weren’t always this bad. Ten years ago there was a reason for watching them.
Barry Sanders ended his career before the 1999 season, and for thousands of people in Michigan, something ended as well: Hope for the Lions. The team has gone 49-117 since then and been the laughing stock of the NFL, living through the Matt Milan era, and so many quarterbacks that the best one played piano better than football. (Yeah I can’t hate Joey Harrington, seemed like a nice guy.)
Realizing Sanders has been gone for 10 years makes me feel old. But it was also the reason why I still watch the Lions.
Something gets engrained to you when you’re watching something magical happen every Sunday (and on Thanksgiving) on the TV next to your dad as a child.
Sanders made me proud to be a Lions fan, not because they were a great team, but because I had someone to be proud of in front of my Bears fan friends in Grade school. If you YouTube his highlight reels you’ll be amazed by how a football player could move.
Also in the age of Terrell Owens and Chad OchoCinco, Sanders did something even more remarkable that made my dad proud. He just handed the referee the ball.
Nicholas Grenke, a Western Herald sports writer, is a senior majoring in journalism and can be reached at nickgrenke@yahoo.com
About heraldstaff