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| Chicago - Soldier Field |
Yes, it's that time of the year again. It's time to drink the Kool-Aid and eat the cornbread as our Detroit Lions are once again embarking on a Super Bowl season. They look so good in Allen Park says the local press so each year, we eat it all up and enjoy it. Even the year of the 0-16 season, there was optimism leading up to the season; serious optimism. Ten minutes into the first game that year, the optimism was down 21-0. One day, we all say. Friends and I have toured the Midwest for the past decade in search of the answer to seeing a good football team.
It started at Soldier Field in Chicago as Joey Harrington stunk up the joint. Great fans and no a-holes at the tailgating scene. And it was Chicago for Pete's sake!
We went to Cleveland and put up with some of the most vicious fans I have ever encountered. They take the word "passion" to another level. Al and Doke got a minor Budweiser shower at their seats. Both the Browns and Lions blew that year, we won the game, so the chant out of the stadium was "we suck less!" It was all fun at the tailgating scene until the music stopped from the car. Mr. Battery said bye-bye. All was well though when a good Samaritan next to the car gave us a jump.
Doing a 180 from that scene, the posse moved on to the Lambeau Field scene in Green Bay another year and toasted a few soda pops to probably the best fan base ever. Cheeseheads rule! That was one of the Jon Kitna years as I recall. Needless to say, we lost that one.
On to Cincinnati it was sometime after; yep, we lost that one too. Cincinnati gets high marks for the nightlife on the hills of the river valley. Tailgating at a quarry was quite a crazy scene as well.
Most recently, the tour went to the home of the chicken wing against a team, the Bills, just as bad as we were and...yes, we lost. I was overserved that weekend as it was my birthday and I was getting my game on. My game was off on the drive home as I had to request a "pull over" and get something off my chest, and out my mouth. Good times. Why do we do it though? Why do we keep rooting for this team? Heck, we even went to Canton, Ohio to see Barry Sanders get inducted into the Hall of Fame.
This year, the Lions' tour is staying local as we purchased a four game package at Ford Field. Rooting for the Lions is an addiction I guess and I'm not actively looking for a cure. They gave me the Kool-Aid early on in life as Billy Sims, Gary Danielson, Bubba Baker, and Freddie Scott flirted just enough with being good to think that better times were ahead. Barry kicked it up a notch but couldn't do it all. I feel for those poor kids whose first experiences of watching pro football was the Millen era. Imagine what they must think about pro football. All bad and that is no good.
We'll be in section 227, row 7 if anybody wants to say hello.
Go Lions, cornbread is free.
Trail Head
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| Chicago - Soldier Field |
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| Cleveland |
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| Cleveland - all well until the music stopped |
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| Cleveland |
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| Cleveland |
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| Cleveland |
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| Green Bay |
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| Green Bay |
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| Green Bay |
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| Green Bay |
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| Cincinnati |
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| Cincinnati |
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| Cincinnati - tailgating at the quarry |
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| Buffalo |
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| Buffalo |
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| Buffalo |
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| Buffalo |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame - Doke and Al with Wayne Fontes |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame - Billy Sims |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
