#DETROIT LIONS HAIL MARY FOOTBALL PRO#

The statement doesnвЂ™t tell us whether these virtues are the cause or the effect of righteousness. In other words: Resilience, perseverance and resolve are important virtues. Proverbs advises, For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. Turns out, however, this particular sports cliche borrows from Jewish wisdom. The official register of sports cliches includes the old favorite, вЂњI donвЂ™t care how often my team gets knocked down, I care how many times we get back up.вЂќ The expression usually comes from some thick-necked, still-sweating coach or player looking out-of-place behind the podium of a post-game presser. I still love the Detroit Lions for the reasons IвЂ™ve always loved the Detroit Lions: TheyвЂ™ve taught my dad and me important life lessons and now they teach my sons those same lessons. So why, then? Why invest - time and money, energy and emotion - in supporting a team that perennially rewards its fans with relentless losing and literal tragedy? Yet another near-paralyzing neck injury to first-round pick Reggie Brown - visions of Johnnie Morton sprinting across the Silverdome turf clutching a defibrillator needed to revive Brown on the field spring to mind. Erik Andolsek, hit by a semi-truck while retrieving his mail. The in-game injury permanently paralyzing top offensive lineman Mike Utley, followed by the off-season death of a second star offensive lineman. 500, but they chalked up a Super Bowl and novelty rap song along the way.ДЄnd consider the real human toll. Since its last championship in 1957, the team has a record of 398-543. Of course the acute pain of any vexing, heartbreaking individual loss does not begin to approach the chronic agony borne of the sheer accumulation of defeat over the years, with precious little winning to offset the dejection. The вЂњCalvin Johnson RuleвЂќ the вЂњPhantom Facemask + Improbable Hail MaryвЂќ вЂњTaking the WindвЂќ the вЂњPass Interference Flag PickupвЂќ the вЂњTen Second RunoffвЂќ and most recently вЂњDeath by Field Goal,вЂќ Parts I and II. During their decades of ineptitude, the Lions have invented new and innovative ways to lose. Where else can 60,000 people from every rung on the economic ladder and every branch of the cultural tree get behind something - these days, anything - for an extended period of time, sharing excitement and anticipation, sorrow and joy? ThatвЂ™s what a cityвЂ™s football team provides.

It requires unyielding cooperation, but also demands individual effort that, at times, can be isolating and, at others, heroic. It embodies the clash between conditions you donвЂ™t control and reactions to those conditions, which you do control. Nevertheless, IвЂ™ll co-opt his mantra and re-phrase it - вЂњ football is like life.вЂќ That is, the sport provides a number of metaphors for life, tidy bits of wisdom applicable beyond Sunday afternoons.ДЇootball is complex and unpredictable. To quote Ted LassoвЂ™s Dani Rojas, вЂњfootball is life.вЂќ Sure, he was referring to fГєtbol, and his allusion to вЂњlifeвЂќ meant that the beautiful game happily consumes his every waking minute. The case for loving the sport is not hard to make. If, on the other hand, youвЂ™re open to thinking about the Detroit Lions more philosophically than your typical jersey-and-Zubaz-clad football fan, then maybe I have something you can nibble on.

#DETROIT LIONS HAIL MARY FOOTBALL PRO#

Similarly, if youвЂ™re looking for some magical insight as to how the fortunes of our pro football team are about to turn around, keep scrolling. В© 2019 Detroit Lions, Ltd.If youвЂ™re the type who believes that winning is everything, please proceed to the next article. No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written permission of the Detroit Lions.

Detroit lions hail mary football