TMD,  when you get a chance,  take a look at the TV Ratings and Lions merchandise sales during the times when the team is winning or even completive in the standings.  The numbers are going to surprise you.   They are much higher than you apparently believe is the case.

 

If the NFL was truly trying to hold the Lions down,  why then did the last two Madden Covers feature Lions players?    Calvin Johnson was on the cover in 2012.   Barry Sanders was on the cover in 2013.  Did any other NFL team have consecutive players on the Madden cover?  My guess is no.   A team that isn't popular isn't going to be able to accomplish this.

 

The bottom line is if the NFL truly wanted the Lions to remain average or below,   the Thanksgiving Day tradition would have ended.   The league recognizes that this tradition is an important part of the league formula.

 

Teams have no choice regarding going to London.   An owner can beg not to go to London but sooner rather than later,  his team is going to be playing there if the league continues its current business model.

 

If you want to criticize the Lions for not interviewing Bill O'Brien,  the basis that a strong case can be made is the team didn't fire Jim Schwartz after the OT loss to the Giants that eliminated the Lions from the playoffs.    O' Brien probably was too far along in contract negotiations with the Texans to turn in another direction,  as long as the Texans were satisfying his requests.   My guess is privately,  the Lions called O' Brien to try to set up an interview but he said no.   Many things never make it to social media.

 

The Lions are a definition of a historic fan base.   The team has been in the Detroit area for 80 seasons.  How many other franchises have been in the same area for 80 seasons?  

 

If the Lions and Jaguars make good football decisions and don't have the plans derailed by key injuries,  there's no reason to think they can't succeed in their current markets.   Unfortunately for both of us,  our respective teams have made too many mistakes over the years.   The blame shouldn't be placed on the NFL.  

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