Christmas and Football

Merry Christmas and Happy Festivus.

My "gift" to my dad and brother was to take them to see the Lions play the Bears on Sunday at Ford Field. Once again the Lions pulled defeat from the jaws of victory not that it would have really achieved anything either way. Detroit fans all over frequently debate how to fix the Lions. My answer, see the Saints rebuilding before this season. The only hard part is arranging a hurricane hitting Detroit....

The last pro game I had been to before Sunday was the 2005 Packers/Vikings NFC Wild Card game at Lambeau Field. This experience begs comparison to the overall experience Sunday.

First: Parking. In Green Bay, most of the area that the stadium is in is fairly nice and the out lots are usually business parking lots manned by non-profit groups (e.g. Boy Scout Troops). In Detroit there are either the overpriced privately owned lots near the stadium or the random vacant lots in neighborhoods of burned out and run down homes manned by homeless folks who are taking cash to watch your car. With all of the financial issues the city has wouldn't it make sense to reclaim those lots, convert them to parking and rake in the cash during both baseball and football season.

Second: Tailgating. In Green Bay the entire city is a tailgate party. Detroit? Tailgating, what's that?

Third: the stadium. Detroit wins hands down. Seats versus benches; roof versus open air, heat versus wind vortex. Yes, I like to be comfortable while I watch the game. Apparently it's macho to freeze while cheering on your team. Is this just compensation for not being tough enough to play????

Fourth: Fans. Green Bay religion. Detroit shame and perverse pride. Either way it's like the weather, always a topic of discussion. The Bears fans (of which there were many) Sunday were much more into it than the Detroit fans. Even when they were leading there was the feeling of impending doom.

Final: Tie. The experience in Green Bay is richer, but Detroit is still my team.

Outside of the Lions, the Cowboys collapse on Christmas was interesting. Why couldn't Garcia play that well in Detroit? Who will fire TO? The guy may have been a great player, but with this season's play (how many drops that hit him in the hands or chest?) and the continuing thuggish commentary and antics ("no matter how much you hate me I love me more") he's not worth the money for any team.

My call for the Super Bowl is Chargers vs. Saints. Brees being my choice for MVP this season.

On the fantasy side, I ended up in fifth of six just behind my supervisor and Brian won it all after coming from way behind and as fourth seed. Next year will be fun, I'm sure.

Until I write again.