The Detroit Lions started the season with their first loss. Today, they beat the Bears 52-21. They had a fantastic season last year and fans like me hope to have another one.
I enjoy watching football and I have always been a Lions fan. However, I suppose I would be in the minority in a recent study.
The study from Wetten Online showed that more single Lions fans would give up true love to see their team win the big game than fans of any other team. A whopping 74% of Lions fans said they would prefer the Super Bowl win and 78% of football fans living in Michigan agreed.
I would love to see the Lions win the big game, but give up my true love? I don’t think so. I have to wonder how many significant others were present when this question was asked
To say that I have been waiting my entire life for this is an understatement! Like many Detroit Lions fans, I wondered if we’d ever get to see a winning season. This season was the best in the history of the team!
My nerves were shot as I waited for the kickoff. So much was riding on this game. The winner would take the #1 seed, while the loser seed #5. I have never really understood how that seeding thing works.
There was plenty of nail biting going on throughout the game, but it ended in a Lions victory! They beat the Vikings 31-9 and ended the season with a 15-2 record. Not to mention that the win gave us back-to-back NFC North Championships.
I saw a piece on the internet that said, “If I am dreaming, please don’t wake me!”
I was on the edge of my seat for much of the game. There were a few times where the Vikings were in position to score, but our defense held them off. Three field goals. That was all that the Vikings got. That lead to one of the funniest memes I’ve seen –
The entire state of Michigan is Honolulu Blue! The excitement and support surrounding this team is electrifying! Sounds of “Another One Bites the Dust” and “Don’t Stop Believing” are all over the radio. Detroit Lions Flags are being flown at homes and on cars and trucks. Detroit Lions shirts, jackets, and hats are all over the place. When a person wearing a Lions hat passes a person wearing a Lions jersey or jacket, there are smiles exchanged between them. We’re all in this together and we’re rooting for our team!
One local bakery really outdid themselves with their Lions support. This weekend in the front window at Home Bakery in Rochester, Michigan, there was quite a site. They displayed a life-size cake made in the image of Detroit Lions’ wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown standing on his head. People were lined up along the sidewalk to take photos.
It is truly a work of art!! Kudos to the creators!
Just two more wins gets us to the Super Bowl. Three wins total to win it all! I’m not a betting man, but I liked to see this headline:
The Lions are off this week and will play the winner of the Vikings/Rams game this weekend. It is entirely possible that we will play the Vikings again. We’ll know soon enough. For now, let me say, “If I am dreaming, please don’t wake me!”
16 years ago today, the Detroit Lions made history. Believe me, it is nothing to be proud of. It is a day that fans would rather forget. As a matter of fact, it is an entire season we’d like to forget. On December 28, 2008 the Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers to go 0-16 on the season. This made them the first team in NFL history to do so.
On the team roster that year was a young fella by the name of Dan Campbell.
One can only imagine what the members of the team felt after each game and after the season was over. Utter defeat? Shame? Embarrassment? A combination of all of those? It is hard to say. I would imagine that it is something they never will forget. I know that when I think back to certain things in my life, I get sick to my stomach remembering them. Maybe they do, too?
What I do know is that young man would return to Detroit in 2021 as the new head coach of the Lions. He knew all too well what this town longed for. He had a vision to take the Lions and turn them around. He has certainly done that. He has a way of motivating this team to go out and win. There is a whole new fight to this team and I am loving every minute of it!
In 2008, the Lions made history for going 0-16. The Lions have made history in 2024 in many other ways:
13 wins (to date) – the most in franchise history.
493 points scored this season (to date) – a franchise record
Amon-Ra St. Brown – first player in franchise history to record 100+ receptions and 10+ receiving touchdowns in consecutive seasons
Jared Goff – first QB in NFL history to complete at least 5 passes to 6 different receivers in a game
Jared Goff – first player in NFL history with 275+ passing yards, 2 TD passes, and a passer rating of 135+ in 5 games within a single season
What an amazing year! I am sure that there are plenty other stats I could post, too.
Keep up the great work, team! We are rooting for you! Go Lions!
It was back to work this week for me, but what a weekend to look back on! I find myself full of gratitude with each day.
Turkey Day Miracle?
We stayed home on Thanksgiving. I put the turkey in the oven about noon, knowing it would be done around 4:00pm. I made a pot of coffee and sat down to watch the Lions game. They dominated the first half. The Bears sure showed up in the second half. It looked like we were heading for another Thanksgiving loss.
If you didn’t see the final two minutes of the game – you need to. I was floored. I truly do not know how we won that game!
When the clock wound down to :00, I couldn’t believe it. They cut to players on the field who were stumped as well. I was speechless. Honestly, though, that kind of loss was commonplace for the Lions a few years ago. It seemed like we always found a way to lose. It was almost odd to see it happen to someone else.
It was an ugly win, but it was a win. It makes this Lions fan proud to celebrate the many milestones this year!
Watching Jameson Williams hurdle the Bears players on the field was simply amazing!
Gingerbread
Nana invited the kids over on Friday to make Gingerbread houses. I’ve never done this in my life. It was fun to watch them decorate them. I think most of the candy went in their mouth instead of on the houses!
Works of art!!
Their cousins joined in when they got there. They all had so much fun.
Wild Lights!
We took the kids to the Detroit Zoo for the Wild Lights event later that night. I’m always impressed at the displays each year.
The kids loved every minute of it!
I won’t lie, it was cold! We try to do this early to miss the cold, but this year was probably the coldest year yet.
These animals are spectacular. I wish my camera took better pictures. Some of the shots I tried to take blurred. I can’t seem to figure out the “night vision” feature.
The kids were loving the “glow” stuff.
And they had this wall of lights with flowers on it. As the kids moved their hands across it, it played music, like bells.
We don’t have many traditions, but I truly love this one.
Catching Up … With Santa?
Saturday night, an old friend surprised his family by traveling to Michigan from Wyoming. It had been over 10 years since I have seen him. The last time he was in town, we were unable to hook up. This time, he reached out to me and asked to message some of our friends to arrange a visit.
We found a burger place and planned on being there around 5. Not every one was able to make it, which was sad. But we really had a great time catching up. Since I saw him last, he has grown out his beard and looks like Santa! I kidded him and told him I forgot my list.
The visit was a couple hours filled with laughter and stories. I had the kids at my mother in law’s and he had to head out to to his dad’s birthday party, so the party broke up all too quickly. Hopefully, it won’t be so long between visits and we can get the rest of the crew next time.
It was an exciting thing this week to see how well Ella is doing in school. She brought home a “book” that they were working on with her. It is short words with the short “a” sound. She read the entire thing to us! “Max The Cat” was the book and she did such a great job. I couldn’t be more proud of her. I wish I could figure out how to post the video.
I Was Being Honest
It looks like Sam’s side of the family is doing Thanksgiving on the Friday after the holiday. I was at work one night this week and she texted me about it. That was followed by, “So what do you want to do on Thanksgiving?”
Me, being me, I replied with two photos:
and ….
I think she is gonna be just fine with that!
Speaking of the Lions…
I don’t want to get TOO excited about this and I certainly don’t want to jinx anything, but ….
That brought a tear to my eye. I truly hope that they continue to play well and win games. It has been an amazing year of firsts for my team and I am very happy for them, our state, and my fellow fans.
I have always watched them. Even the year they went 0-16! It hasn’t been pretty, but I have always been a fan. I found a T-Shirt that I need to get myself.
A photo for no reason at all…
One week from today is Thanksgiving. So I asked AI to make me in a turkey hat.
I woke up yesterday morning to exactly what I expected in regard to social media. One side gloating and the other angry. Honestly, if the outcome had been different, it would have been the same way, just the other way around. It was the same here on WordPress, and because of that, I promise that this will be the last mention of politics on my blog for a very long time! Besides, I have other things to write about.
Bagging It Up
This past weekend, the weather was nice. So I decided that it was the perfect day to rearrange the garage. Every Spring and Fall I do this. I make sure that whatever seasonal machine I need is close to the door (snow blower or lawn mower). In the fall, I also put the lawn furniture and barbeque in the garage, so I need to make room for them, too.
I pulled everything out of the garage and began to go through some of the boxes that were in there. I condensed things from one box to another and rearranged them on the shelf. Then I moved some of the other things closer to the wall to make room for everything else. There were some bags of clothes that I was supposed to take to Goodwill and forgot about, and the mice got to them, so I wound up throwing them away.
As someone who likes to keep things, mostly for sentimental reasons, I admit it was nice to throw a bunch of the stuff away. There was so much cardboard in there, I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I found a place for my toolboxes that will be much easier to access, and hung a bunch of tools up on the walls.
Once this was done (three hours later), I decided to start bagging leaves. I had gone out and bought bags and was finally able to start getting them up. I must have looked like a fool, as I was using my snow shovel as a “dustpan” for the leaves! It fits perfectly in the top of the leaf bags and makes it a little less messier.
15 bags later, my back was screaming at me to stop. I had really hoped that I could get it all done, but I was done. As I counted the bags, I thought, “Well, I have got to have most of it all bagged up!”
Uh, no. The above piles are just two of the 7 that are still around the front and back yards. Maybe this weekend I can finish?
I Was a Lions Fan Before It Was Cool
As a fan of the Detroit Lions, I have to admit that it is nice to have a team worth talking about! We’ve waited so long for this. Dan Campbell has really got our team doing well. When it came time to play the Packers last weekend, there was plenty of talk about how the Lions would lose on the road.
They came out and played some great football. The games are a lot of fun to watch because I never know what they are going to pull out of their helmets! When St. Brown scored a TD last weekend, I saw the “headstand” he did in the end zone and chuckled. Then I saw the photos online and I thought, “THAT is a fantastic picture!”
During the broadcast, they cut to a Lions fan who was wearing a cheese grater hat. For those who don’t know, the Packer fans are often called Cheese Heads and wear Cheese hats. I love this guy for wearing this and going viral on the internet! He had no idea until after the game, obviously, because he posted this:
Kudos Mr. Bodine! Kudos!
The Lions are 7-1 and I am enjoying the season! I am enjoying it so much, I asked AI to make me a Detroit Lion:
HOLY MACKERAL! I look fantastic!! I’m skinny, muscular, and handsome as ever! Put me in, coach! (Whoops, wrong sport.)
Make Yourself at Home
Sunday night, I got the kids to bed early. The school break was over and it was back into our routine Monday morning. Everyone decided to crash in our bed that night. I guess I woke up about midnight and as I changed positions in bed, I had to laugh. Andrew was next to me, Ella was in Sam’s spot and smack dab in the middle of them was our kitten, Bitsy!
She looks like she is very comfortable! No wonder I was falling out of bed!
Looking back at the past seven days, it’s been busy!
Still Kickin’
We had some issues with the soccer league that we signed Andrew up for. The communication prior to the actually first day was a mess. Do we need a uniform or not? Will the coach be there or not? It was not very well organized.
The first week, there was no coach. They texted the night before saying that neither the head coach or the assistant coach would be able to be there. This led to a mess of text messages wondering what the kids were going to do. They had two teen players lead the kids through some drills. For not knowing what they were supposed to do, the teens did OK.
The following week, the coach showed up. She had some drills planned, but she was the only one there. She was obviously overwhelmed. It was hard for her to keep the kids attention. With 30 minutes left, she decided to let the kids have “free play.” That basically meant that most of the left.
Week 3, the coach texted to say that neither coach could make it again. Andrew decided to stay home that week. We were totally ok with it, too. This led to an email from a league bigwig. “We noticed that only 5 of the 12 players showed up this week. Is there any concerns that you have? Is there something wrong?”
He opened up a can of worms. I wrote him a scathing e-mail back. I told him about the communication and the things that were never explained properly. I complained that we had to buy a uniform, when we were told that Andrew’s age group was going to be given a T-shirt to play in. I complained about the coach and the fact that there was no plan whatsoever for what was happening each week. I expressed my disappointment with the league and the poor planning and communication.
I never got an email back. However, the team got a new coach. He was texting us early in the week and keeping us abreast of what was in store. It was night and day when we got there last week. This coach was GOOD. He kept the kids engaged for the whole time. They had a blast. He even encouraged siblings to come and play, too, which Ella loved!
After those first couple weeks, Andrew kept saying that he didn’t want to go to soccer. He really was hating it. The new coach was supportive, and encouraging to every kid on the team. Andrew loved being able to help him and all of a sudden, he is loving soccer. Go figure.
Sign Here
School has been the absolute best thing for Ella. She comes home with stories every day. She talks about her friends and what they did at school. She tells us who the day’s “helper” was and what everyone wore to school that day.
They have her working on writing her name. She’s getting pretty good at it. First name now and last name next week. I love seeing how hard she is working …
As I got in the car to head to work today, Sam stopped me. She handed me a rolled up piece of paper. Ella had painted a picture at school. She wanted Sam to give it to me to put up at work. I don’t have my own office. I share the tech room with the rest of the staff. A beautiful work of art like this should be shared, so I put it on the bulletin board!
90% Done
I posted recently about finally being able to stain my deck. This week I stained the posts white. It looks great. I really thought I was done, but noticed in this photo that blue under the wood. I think I am going to stain that white, too. Very happy with the way it looks.
Winning!
It’s been nice to have some winning teams in Michigan lately. Monday night, my Detroit Lions wowed folks on Monday Night Football. I love the new black uniforms.
The last time the Lions beat the Seahawks was back in 2012! They had lost the last six games they played against them and that worried some folks. There was no need to worry, as Jared Goff had a stellar (and perfect) day! It was a record day for him, completing all 18 of his passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Before Monday, only six players in NFL history have finished a game with a 100% completion rate with at least eight attempts. Goff is the first QB to finish perfect with more than 10 attempts and first to do it with over 200 yards.
What was even cooler was that Goff caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Amon-Ra St. Brown on an end-around pass. Goff said that the pay has been in the play book for awhile, but they never seemed to have the right time to use it.
The Detroit Tigers surprised every one over the past few weeks. Back on August 11, they Tigers were 55-63 and 10 games out of a play off spot. Their chance of making the playoffs was 0.2%!!! When they clinched a Wild Card spot, Tiger’s announcer, Jason Benetti, had the perfect thing to say:
“A city that doesn’t care about the odds has a baseball team to match.”
In the Wildcard Playoffs, they faced the 2nd hottest team in the American League – The Houston Astros. Since August 11, the Detroit Tigers are 33-13! Yesterday, they swept the Astros and will face Cleveland in the American League Divisional Series! Game 1 is Saturday!
It is Groundhog Day. The above critter is not a groundhog, I realize. Perhaps, I should have posted an appropriate groundhog picture? Hold on a sec ….
…. Ok, I’m back. I have one.
You’re welcome.
The kids each got to enjoy a special day today. Andrew got to spend the day at Nana’s house and Ella got to go shopping with mommy. They both had lots to tell me about their day when they called me tonight. Both Sam and her mom said that each kid is very different when they are alone. They obviously missed each other. Tonight at bedtime, Sam sent me this:
I don’t know what is funnier – the sunglasses, the fact that Ella is reading my Columbo book, or that Andrew is staring at a blank page! LOL
Our pup is growing so much. She is like a Moose! I turned on the TV the other day and was laying on the couch. She was laying on the floor next to me. I was scrolling my phone when all of a sudden she jumped up on the couch and on me. She obviously needed attention.
I am not a tattoo guy. I’ve never really felt the need to get one. I have heard that once you get one, you tend to get more. There are plenty of tattoo horror stories. People get one with a name of a lover and then they break up and stuff like that. I saw something online the other day that just made me shake my head.
I have posted about the excitement I had over the Detroit Lions season this year. I had hoped that they would win the Championship game and go on to the Super Bowl. Some people chose them to win it all. I really can’t imagine being so confident that I would go and get the following tattoo:
One can only hope that they can change that year to 2025!
Coming Soon:
I’m excited for the next round of Turntable Talk, which is going to be about great movie soundtracks. Which movie soundtrack would you pick as your favorite?
I’m also taking part in the 10th Annual Favorite TV Show Episode in March. It is hosted again by Terry of A Shroud of Thoughts. I’m going with one from a show I have written about before, but worth being featured again.
I was up late last night. Naturally I watched the NFC Championship game rooting for the Lions. The first half they looked like a Super Bowl team! I’m not sure what happened at half time, but it wasn’t pretty. To be up by 17 points and then lose, well, it hurt.
Almost immediately, social media began to slam them. I was surprised. This team had done things that they haven’t done in decades. One loss and people were done. It’s insane. I wrote on Facebook today:
I am proud to be a Lions Fan. I think it took all of 5 minutes after the game for the fairweather fans to begin their “Same Old Lions” posts. Do me a favor – find another team to get behind. This is by far the most exciting and memorable season I have had the chance to watch. This is NOT the “same old Lions” – far from it.
What a turnaround for this team! They gave us more to celebrate this season than the last 30! I am proud of this team and the names that have become household names over the past few weeks! I am excited for next season!
Everyone jumped on Coach Dan Campbell who went for some big plays on 4th down that didn’t happen. ”He should have ….” Ok, but had Reynolds actually CAUGHT the ball, no one would have been dissing on the coach. We got to where we were because of those big chances! Reynolds missed a couple catches, Gibbs fumbled, Goff missed a few targets. It all added up and San Fran took advantage of it.
Someone wrote that the game was “a reminder that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now. The goal isn’t always to get the trophy, the goal is to be better than you were before. Winning is wonderful, winning against yourself is a blessing.” They went on to say, “I hope you made yourself proud. There is such a deeper meaning to this season than the Super Bowl.”
THAT is so true.
What a year! I’ve never been embarrassed to be a Lions fan, and I am so proud of the fantastic season I got to experience.
I posted earlier that this blog celebrates it’s 6th year today. Technically, I guess that blog was the first of year #6, however, this is the first blog with more … content.
He’s a comedian
This morning, Andrew was moving all the chairs in the living room around. He kept pushing them away from the wall. So I looked at him and said, “Hey, Two Men and a Truck! What are you doing over there?” He looked at me and then started making the sound of a truck horn beeping! It really cracked me up.
Whoops!Ouch!
Ok, so my slip and fall was not as bad as that guy, but it hurt. Monday, I was getting stuff out to the car and as I was shutting the trunk and turning to go back in the house I lost my footing. I slipped on the ice and came down flat on my back. The wind was knocked out of me, but luckily I didn’t crack my head on the driveway.
I was finally able to get up and get back in the house. I was a bit sore but moving ok until I went to get in the shower. I took my T-shirt off and as I raised my arms there was a breathtaking sharp pain that shot up from my lower back. It had me in tears. I sat on the couch for much longer than I wanted to hoping that the pain would go away.
When I finally attempted to get up, I was able to but I could still feel that pain. I thought maybe standing in the hot shower would help. It did a bit. I wound up going to work and had the heated seats on all the way. It was similar to a heating pad and helped a lot. It was a very slow go at work, however.
Tuesday when I woke up, I knew I needed to see the doctor. I could hardly walk. The pain was awful. Thanks to some muscle relaxers and a whole lot of ibuprofen, I was able to work today. It still hurts and I am still being very careful.
GM Gets It
The above logo was what General Motors has done in support of the Detroit Lions. I thought this was pretty cool. Then today I saw something even cooler. Now if you are wondering how big the Lions getting this far is – check out this text message that was sent out to folks at the Flint Assembly Plant:
They altered the start time for the shifts on Sunday night!!! That is HUGE!!!
According to all the stuff I am seeing, the Lions are the underdogs in the upcoming contest against the San Francisco 49ers. I think that just makes us want it more! One of the best things I’ve seen on the internet this week was this photo with our head coach Dan Campbell:
This is the farthest I have ever seen the team go in my lifetime. I would love to see them advance (and win) the Super Bowl. I truly hope that this is their year. It has been a great one to watch. On to San Fran …
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 