reflection

This semester while writing these blogs I learned a lot about what really make writing fun. I always hated to do any sort of writing, assignment or not. I always pictured it as work and didn't think about what I could do to make it enjoyable. When we were able to pick our topic I decided to go with the Detroit Lions, a sports team I knew a lot about and enjoyed talking about. I was surprised at how much I was able to enjoy writing about the Lions each week, recapping the games and giving previews for upcoming ones. I learned a lot about myself too in this experience. I learned that I actually don't hate writing as much as I thought. Writing this blog also increased my knowledge of the NFL as a whole. I started paying more attention to stats and looking at who was contributing most for both the Lions and their opponents. This blog also gave me the freedom to write in more of a way that I talk in real life instead of putting on a fake scholarly sound. Also having the idea that anyone around the world has the ability to read my stuff made me want to do a better job and make it enjoyable and not hard to read. Despite being very enjoyable to write at first, I dad have some blogs I deeply dreaded to write. Times when the Lions lost a big game, or most of all when they traded Golden Tate. Tate had been my favorite player since Calvin Johnson retired and seeing him get traded upset me a bit, especially since we didn't get much in return. Writing the blog a few days later was a pain, as I didn't really want to think about the Lions and the fact that they were giving up on the season. That being said, I had some fun blogs to write as well. The blog after beating the patriots was fun for me. We had just come off the biggest win of the year and had our first 100 yard rusher in years. That blog I would have been able to write a five page essay on almost. Overall this assignment was one of the best writing assignments I've ever done and I learned a lot about me and my writing skills. It was fun to keep up this blog, but I am sorry (kinda) to say this is the last blog, and I am announcing my retirement from the blogging world. If your curious what happens to the Lions season for the next 3-4 weeks just google it.

Thanksgiving Football

Thanksgiving is a fun time in my house hold. Spending time with family, eating good food. But my favorite part of the Holiday is watching Football. We always go to my grandmas for Thanksgiving and eat a turkey lunch at around noon. After we gorge with food we move, or my grandpa calls it rolls, to the living room to turn on the Lions game. Thanksgiving game is always different than every other week. Instead of watching the game with my dad and I, I get to watch it and cheer with my grandparents and uncles. The Lions game of course finds a lot of hype around it. People call it the Detroit Superbowl because its the biggest game of the year for Detroit due to the fact they cant get to the real Superbowl. After watching the Lions, who usually lose, we watch the Dallas game which is always right after. This game is always more of a background noise as we do more talking and desert eating than paying attention to the game. We usually head home around 6, while the Dallas game is in the 3rd quarter. Then we get home, watch Thursday night football, and prepare to not eat again for another few days to recover. Thanksgiving truly is a great holiday and is ranked as one of my favorites. Then when Sunday came around, since Lions didn't play, I had no game to watch and be too interested in. Also the games that were being played on local TV were petty games, good teams playing bad teams or even worse 2 bad teams. There was not many good games that excited me to see. The best game of the week might have to have been Denver Vs Pittsburgh. The game went back and forth and I honestly was just waiting for the time when Pittsburgh would pull away. The only problem was that never happened. The game stayed close, each team scoring back and forth. eventually Denver was up by 7 and Pittsburgh had the ball, 1st and Goal, ready to punch it in and send the game to OT. Big Ben came out and bade a bad throw that got picked off ending the game. An ending that really spoiled the quality of the game for me. Next Sunday leads a nice slate for the NFL though. Lions will have the hardest game of the year, playing the one loss Rams. The Rams have a star young QB in Goff and will look to continue their win streak.

Seasons Over

Lions have officially lost three strait games, which means chances at coming back and making the playoffs are very unlikely. Lions mood really changed after the trade of Golden Tate. The offense started to struggle much more and was missing his productiveness. So far Detroit is looking at getting a top 10 draft pick. They should use this pick and look into a major wide receiver. Only a few short weeks ago I thought that Detroit had one of the best Wide Out duos in the league. Now we are missing a key receiver with the quick YAC abilities that we lost after the trade of Tate. Guys like AJ Brown or  Kelvin Harmon. Adding another big target for Stafford could really improve the offense and take them to the next level. Key injuries have a lot hurt the Lions this year. Injuries to TJ Lang and Ziggy Ansah and Darius Slay had hurt the Defense and Offensive line majorly. TJ Lang had just been put on the IR therefore ending his season. It is very likely that this will mark the end of TJ Lang's career in Detroit. His last few years have been filled with injuries and struggles to stay active. Ansah had also struggled with injuries and hasn't been able to be productive since getting first hurt. As much as I hate seeing Detroit lose, I half want them to almost lose out at least giving them a good draft pick. If they can add a key player out of the draft, It could possibly move them to a playoff level. They also need to get some key additions this off season in free agency. Gaining maybe a cornerback or offense linemen who have been in the league for a wile and are experienced. Stafford has been sacked 16 times over the last two games, with 10 sacks against Minnesota. Lions need to desperately get out of the mediocre ways while Stafford is still young. Stafford is getting older and I cant help but think that Detroit is squandering a good QB and not surrounding him with the needed talent. Overall, Lions need to get out of the middle of the pack and create a team that can get out of the NFC North. The rest of the division is improving with young QB or star QB and Lions are staying put. Lions have I'd say 4 or 5 more years to get a good team around Stafford before it will go back to a full rebuild process.

Lost Cause?

It was a rough week for Detroit fans. Lions suffered a harsh loss to the Minnesota Vikings this past week, losing 24-9.  Lions offensive line, who had been doing a pretty decent job overall this season gave up 10 sacks. Anytime a team sacks your quarterback more times than you get points, your team is destined for the loss. The game was hard to watch. I watched through half time when the score was 17 to 6. After that I couldn't stay and watch the game got so ugly. Once in a while I pulled up the stream on my phone, only to see a big turnover or sack by Minnesota and shut my phone right back off. Overall, Lions are in a tough position. Facing a 3-5 record, and having to play the division leading Chicago Bears twice in their next 3 games. The last game against Chicago will take place at Ford Field In Detroit on Thanksgiving.

This week though, Lions Bears will take place in "Windy City" Chicago. Bears are currently having the best start to the season in years. They have one of the top defenses in the league while keeping a solid offense as well. Lions are to the point where every game is a must win if they want a chance to possibly sneak into the playoffs. Odds of a Detroit playoff appearance is very low unless they can win at least 7 of their last 8 games. The loss of Golden Tate was visible with Stafford having struggles with connecting to his receivers. Theo Riddick lined up a couple of times as a slot receiver, taking the role of Tate, but the targets weren't the same. If the Lions want to turn their season around, a key is the run game on both ends of the ball. On offense its been seen that once the run game begins, the pass game opens up and Lions can find a groove. On defense Lions have an amazing pass defense, but struggle on the run defense. Things have gotten better after acquiring "Snacks" Harrison, and the returning of Ziggy Ansah, but much improvement is still needed. Other news, Lions cut Ameer Abdulah, running back, who started for the team the last few years. After missing the first hand full of games, Kerryon Johnson had taken over as the clear number one guy in the backfield. Lions resign Zach Zenner to a contract as well as a wide receiver to try to help fill the void left by Tate's departure.

Trade Deadline Depression

The NFL trade deadline has come and passed for the 2018-2019 season. I wasn't worried going into this years deadline because the Lions were in a good spot. They weren't in any need to drop any major contracts, and if a trade were to be made, I thought it would be getting rid of a minor player who was under performing. All day I heard rumors of Lions trading Golden Tate, which started to worry me. Ever since Calvin Johnson retirement, Tate instantly became my favorite player. I also truly believed that Tate is a huge key to the offense, and without him we would lose a lot of consistency and leadership. Thinking it wouldn't make sense for a trade like that I thought the rumors weren't true and everything would be fine. That is until I sat in my calculus class and my phone vibrated. I slowly pulled out my phone to see the reason for the buzz. When I looked at my phone I couldn't believe my eyes. the ESPN notification read: Lions trade WR Tate to Eagles. Forgetting about the fact that I'm in class I let out a long, depressing "Noooooo" For the rest of class I continuously ranted to anyone who would listen. "Why only a 3rd round pick" and "Are we really giving up on the season already" were only a few things being said. Things only got worse when I checked Instagram after school. Everything in my feed was about the trade, which did nothing but frustrate me. The worst was when I saw a post from Golden Tate himself asking what number he should wear in Philly. Now, over 24 hours after the trade, from the time I'm writing this, I've begun to mentally accept the trade. I'm still not happy or agree with the decision, but I am still confident in the key pieces still involved in the current roster. After the trade, Kenny Golladay will now be the number two receiver on the depth chart. We were also able to free up 2.2 million dollars of cap space which could be used to bring in a key player next season. I'm also hoping in the back of my mind that Tate, who is a free agent next year, might come back to Detroit. The chance of that happening is very low, but I can hope. This Sunday, Lions play the Minnesota Vikings, a divisional game. This game is a must win for Detroit, and the losing of Tate doesn't help our situation. Either way the Lions have to be ready for what the Vikings will give them.

In The Heat of October

Lions and Dolphins faced off this week, both teams needing a win to stay relevant in the playoff race. The game took place in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium and the game time temperature was 105 degrees. Pregame I wasn't sure how Detroit would play. The Lions have a reputation of not playing very well in extreme conditions and I was worried that this wasn't going to be different, but luckily it was. Dolphins start with the ball and go 3 and out and punt to Detroit. On the first drive Lions march it in for a TD score. All game long Miami struggled to get the ball down the field and make plays. On the other hand, Detroit was hot. The rushing game was the best it had been in years and Stafford was also making the throws he needed to throw.

Lions rookie running back Kerryon Johnson had a crazy game. He had 21 reviving yards and a whopping 158 rushing yards. Before this season Detroit hadn't had a 100 yard rusher since 2013. This season alone Johnson has been able to give out 2, 100+ yard games in only 5 games. The run game will be key to the Lions as the season progresses. Mathew Stafford has already been able to prove himself as a worthy quarterback in the league and is seen as a threat. If the run game can continue to develop Detroit might be a serious contender. Next week the Lions will travel back home to Detroit to take on the Seahawks. Seattle, who is only a few years removed from a Superbowl, is struggling with a depleting team. They have lost many of there better players to trades, free agency, or injury. Despite all the lost players, they still have QB Russel Wilson, who keeps the team a playoff contender. Once again both teams are facing a must win situation this week as both teams will try to avoid going under .500 and will try to propel themselves into the playoff race. Wilson and Stafford are having similar seasons this year. Going into this week I predict the Lions will win the game 28- 17. It would be a different story if the game was played in Seattle. Seattle is known for its "12th man" which is what they call their crowd. Due to the shape of the stadium, it makes it one of the loudest crowds in the country. Home field advantage can have a huge key in a close game, which is why I'm choosing the Lions in Detroit.

Bye Week Comments

Lions have finally reached their bye week. This week is important for the players to try to recover from injuries and rest their sore bodies. They also are given the extra week to practice areas in which the team is struggling. In the Lions case they need players like Ziggy Ansah, Theo Riddick, and TJ Lang to get healthy and back on the field. Lions have been going almost all season without defencive linemen Ziggy Ansah. Getting Ansah back will lead to a lot of needed help rushing the quarterback and stopping the run. Detroit so far has one of the lowest ranking rush defences in the league, and getting a healthy defence will greatly help. Lions are also using this week to use extra time to prepare for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins, who will be starting Brock Osweiler this week, is coming off of an overtime win against the Chicago Bears last week. From what I saw throughout that game Osweiler played a solid game. He threw for nearly 400 yards and threw 3 touchdowns. Despite the great game, there was still stints of old Osweiler from a season ago with his two picks. He struggled the last few years finding a team that would appreciate and use him. What hurt him majorly was the fact that he signed a major contract with the Texans, then under performed, which lead to the team trying to dump the contract. Before this year he signed with Miami, and with Ryan Tannehill injured he had been getting the start. If he plays like he did against Chicago, the Lions might be in for a tough game. I am hoping to see Osweiler play like he did last year and let our defence run all over him.

The other thing that is nearing at this point of the season is the trade deadline. This time of year rumors are always going crazy about who will trade who. There have been rumors that Detroit should trade receiver Golden Tate because people feel hes at his peek right now. I feel trading him would be a bad move due to the fact that he is a leader on the team and is a core piece in our receiving trio. I do feel on the other hand that we should look to trade Ameer Abdulah. Abdulah, running back, has struggled with injuries throughout the last few years. On top of that, when he is healthy, he isn't capable of putting up number like Johnson, Blount, and Riddick.

Kickers are People Too

When a team doesn't have the start they were hoping for to start out the season, they can always turn to divisional games to dig themselves out of a hole. The Lions found themselves in this position with a 1-3 record going into a home game against the rival Green Bay Packers. For years Packers have dominated in the series against Detroit. On many occasions, when it looked like Lions were going to come out with a dub, Aaron Rodgers would throw a crazy Hail Mary TD pass, or a long field goal kick, But this week, the result was different. Early game Detroit was moving the ball, and I'll admit, getting lucky. On the opening drive quarterback Mathew Stafford threw a long TD pass to Marvin Jones Jr before getting a holding call that brought the play back. Due to that they were forced to punt, and the luck started to set in. On the punt, a Packers player accidentally touched the ball, therefore making the ball live and giving possession to whoever gets it. Detroit recovers and gets the ball on about the 1 yard line. After only one play they were able to move those ten yard to make the score 7-0. This series of plays shows how the rest of the game went. Green Bay has always been known for being one of the better teams in the league. They very rarely come out and miss opportunities to score points, but that's exactly what they did this week. Lions defence was all over Rodgers, forcing him to get rid of the ball quickly or even taking the sack. Lions were also able to strip sack Rodgers not once but twice. On top of this Detroit was moving the ball on offence, making moves and scoring. Ultimately, the 3 turnovers by Green Bay isn't what lead to their loss, it was the missed field goals. Packers kicker, Mason Crosby lined up for 5 field goals and 1 extra point, but missed the point after as well as 4 of the 5 field goals. He finally made the only field goal of the game late in the game after the game was already out of reach.

 The NFL is a harsh place for kickers. Many easily can lose their jobs for missing one field goal because it may have been a big moment or chance to win the game. If Crosby would have been able to make all of his field goal kicks, the packers would have had the lead, assuming the Lions wouldn't have changed their play style with a closer game. I feel that many kickers in this league can easily be unappreciated because of the fact that their only job is to kick it through the uprights. They are expected to make those kicks consistently on a  weekly basis which is not easy to do. Detroit went through struggles with kickers after Jason Hanson retired. Hanson, who was one of the better kickers in the league, left Detroit with no one to immediately take his place. After a hand full of kickers who struggled, Lions finally sign Matt Prater, who has been able to hit crazy long field goals and isn't afraid to nail one to win the game.

 Overall this weeks win was big for Detroit, especially being against a division rival. Next week Lions have a bye week and will have time to practice get healed for the back stretch of the season.

Another "L" for the Collection

This past week Detroit found themselves in a must win decision against the Dallas Cowboys. Both of these teams cam into the week with a 1-2 record and each had their own batch of troubles. Before this week, the cowboys passing offence had struggled. They were ranked 31 of 32 teams in passing yards per game over the first three games of the season.Detroit also had problems going into this game, but theirs seemed less prevalent and I felt that we were the better team. The game stayed close the entire time, both teams taking comfortable leads at one point. At halftime Dallas held at 13 to 10 lead. For the first time this season, Lions had a 1 o'clock game on Sunday afternoon. My football season routine was finally able to be put into action after 3 weeks of different timed games. My grandpa came over after church and him along with my dad watched the game, especially excited as half time came to an end. Second half started and Dallas came out hot. Zeke Elliot, who already had been having a very good game, decided to completely go off. He was running seamlessly through the defence line for an easy ten yards on almost every attempt. He was also making plays as a receiver making giant gains. Despite Dallas' strong performance, Detroit found a way to not let the game slip from them. They kept the game close and continued to score. Late in the game, the Lions had an opportunity to take the lead and win the game. Down 6, the Lions march down the field while running the clock fairly low to score a touchdown pass to Golden Tate. When Tate received the ball and had the lane open to run into the end zone, he hold the ball out toward the defender taunting him.

If you have seen enough Lions games, you'd know, Tate likes to have fun when he scores, weather it doing a funny or cool celebration after, or waving a finger to the defender telling him not to try, hes not fast enough to catch him. After the TD, and made extra point, Lions had the lead 24-23 with a little more than 2 minutes to play. All Detroit had to do was play solid defence and mainly keep the ball away from Elliot. First few plays, our defence looks good, keeping them to minimal gains. Suddenly one of our defensive linemen strips the ball from Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and the ball rolls backwards. All Detroit had to do was grab the ball before anyone else and the game would be over. Sadly that didn't happen and the Cowboys recovered. Next play Dallas made a huge reception to none other than Zeke Elliot for a huge gain. After the fumble the offence went crazy, keeping the ball moving up the field. Finally with only 3 seconds on the clock, Dallas lines up for a field goal. If they make it they win, if they miss they lose. Of course, due to the shortness of the kick it went through and once again the Lions lose 24-26. Things are beginning to get frustrating now being 1-3, especially with the fact that two of the losses were very winnable games. Looking ahead though, Lions play Green Bay nest week, their first divisional game. If the Lions can win most of those divisional games this year, they can be put in a solid position to still win the play offs. Check out next weeks blog to see if Lions can start a turn around by beating the Packers or not.

Off To The Superbowl?

Every year its an on going joke that when Lions fans see their team win we find ourselves getting over excited and claiming that this is the year we finally make the Superbowl. Lions fans around the globe were definitely feeling that vibe this Sunday when the Lions beat the New England Patriots 26-10. From the start of the game, Detroit moved the ball more effectively. Lions defence came out strong and didn't allow the Tom Brady offence to even convert a 3rd down until late in the second quarter. I believe the biggest factor laid into place why the Lions beat New England is the fact that they were able to have a running game for the first time in literally five years. For the first time since Thanksgiving 2013, a Detroit Lions running back rushed for over 100 yards in a game. This stat might not seem like a very big deal until you realize that in that gap of time there have been over 300 one hundred yard rushers from other teams. Another important detail is the Detroit rusher who claimed the 100 yard game is rookie back Kerryon Johnson. The fact that he is only a rookie means he has a lot of improving yet to do and adjusting to how the NFL is different from football at a collegiate level. Personally I think that Johnson is going to have a very successful career with the Lions and will be an All-Pro back.

Lions defence also showed a lot of energy in Sundays victory. They held Tom Brady to only 133 yards and one touchdown. Corner back Darius Slay had an interception late in the game which almost sealed the game. While watching the defence this week, I noticed on many occasions, the second the ball got handed to the back at least 3 or 4 defenders were right on him ready to make the pay. Detroit had more spring in their step than anybody on the Patriots. Another key in why we were able to come out with the win is the fact that the Lions were able to keep the ball out of Tom Brady's hands as much as possible. Lions had the ball on offense for nearly 70% of the game, which didn't leave the Pats much time for a comeback. Overall this win was a well needed win to avoid going 0-3. Next week the Lions play at 1 ET against the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas. Both teams are 1-2 and are trying to get back to .500. No matter what team your cheering for this next week, it will be a good game. Check out the blog next week for another update and rundown about the game.

Conflicting Schedule

Week two of the NFL season has come and gone, and there were quite a few interesting games. One of those games was definitely the Lions vs 49ers game. Ever since the Lions suffered a big loss to the Jets in week one, I was ready and hoping that they would bounce back against San Fransisco. But before I could get too excited for the game, one of the worst things possible happened. I got scheduled for work, during the game. DUN DUN DUN! I knew that there was no way I was gonna be able to focus on working at all without knowing what was going on in the game, so I set up my strategy. I work at McDonald's, but I'm in the back making the food, so costumers don't see if I whip out my phone to check the score. The main part of the plan is hoping that the manager that is working is one of the more "chill" or laid back managers that don't care if you look at you phone as long as you work. I pull into the McDonald's parking lot, ready to go inside. The moment of truth, who is the manager. Turns out it was one of the chill managers, but I still wasn't able to focus on work. Every time I went to do something I thought "What if we just made a huge play that everyone will be talking about and I missed it". This led to me checking my phone an over obnoxious amount of times. One of my coworkers said that he could tell how the game was doing simply on how quickly I worked. If Lions scored I would be bouncing around, quick to do what I was asked. On the other hand, when 49ers were scoring I slowed down. Towards the end of my shift I give one last glance at my phone, Lions losing 13 to 30 in the fourth quarter. That's when I stopped checking. No way they were going to come back from down 17, with only around 10 minutes to play, right.

 But I was wrong, when I got out of worked and looked at my phone, Lions were only trailing by 3 points with the score 27 to 30 and only 3 minutes to play. I decide to stay in the McDonald's parking lot to watch the end of the game on my phone.49ers had the ball, Lions need to play good defence and retain possession of the ball to get any chance to win. 3rd down comes, all we need is a stop and the balls ours. Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers quarterback throws the ball, and Lions pick it off and run it into field goal range. I begin to celebrate in my car until I notice that there was a flag on the play, holding. just like that, the 49ers have the ball back and a first down. My celebration quickly turns to frustration and I begin to yell at the refs through my phone, or at least till I see an older gentleman give me a weird look. he was probably thinking "working at McDonald's isn't that bad, is it". Lions defence does end up getting a stop, and Lions get the ball but time is too little and the are unable to score, therefore giving us another loss. Next Sunday, Lions play the Patriots at 8:30 on NBC. Also make sure to read next weeks blog to get some of my opinions about Tom Brady and why the Lions should or shouldn't have beat him.

Used to Disappointment

To be completely honest, if I had to sum up my life as a Lions fan in one word, it would be disappointment. That is exactly what I felt this past Monday when the Lions lost to the New York Jets, 44-17. Week one of the NFL season is always marked on my calender from the moment the previous season ends. There is always so much anticipation for the new year, and a fresh slate where every team has a chance to win the Superbowl, except the Browns, they got their own issues. Excitement was especially high this year after keeping most, if not all key offensive and defensive players on the team and only added talent and got better. There was also a lot of commotion for Lions new head coach, Matt Patricia. Patrica has been in New England as the Defensive Coordinator for the past five years and has been in that organization since 2004. When Detroit hired him after last season for the head coaching job, many people had hopes that he would be able to bring the same winning culture that is in place in New England to Detroit. Those hopes were dampened a bit after a huge loss to the Jets in week one. The expectations were that Detroit, a more proven and experienced team, would dominate against the Jets who were being led by rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. In fact, on the first play of the game, Darnold threw an interception to defensive back Quandre Diggs who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

I thought the game was over at this point. Rookie quarterbacks first throw turns out to be a pick six, no way he's going to bounce back from that very quickly. I was later proven wrong when two drives later, Jets march down the field and tie the game up at 7 a piece. Lions get the ball back and Mathew Stafford throws and interception, and Jets end up with a field goal. Lions again get the ball back, and again Stafford throws a pick on back to back drives. Luck goes Stafford's way though as immediately after the pick, the Jets player fumbles the ball and Detroit recovers. Lions, who have regained control of the ball attempt and miss a field goal. The fans at Ford Field begin to boo the home team. After what seemed like forever, halftime finally came. I was nervious, hoping we could come out of the tunnel more collected than we were in the first half. First drive of the game Lions march down the field and score a touchdown and ties the game at 17. Thats when the game goes completly down hill. Stafford contiues to throw 2 more picks and end the game with 4. Jets humiliate the Lions, beating them by 27 points, and not allowing them to score after the opening drive in the second half. Next week Detroit will try to bounce back against the San Fransisco 49ers on Sunday at 4:05 PM. They will be facing quaterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who also stuggled last week throwing 3 interceptions himself. Many Lions fans, including me are really hoping this past week was only a lack of preparedness and that they will bounce back next week and get a win.

Learning to Love the Sport

Detroit. Many different things come to mind when people think of this city. Companies like Ford made the city popular and earned it the nicknamed "The Motor City". The city of Detroit hasn't seen all great days though, as they have been plagued with bankruptcy and other big problems in recent years. Even amongst the turmoil the city always shows up to support the hometown Lions football team. My love for football and in particular the Detroit Lions came from my dad. Starting when I was ten years old I loved sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoons with my dad, continuously asking him questions about what was going on. Now looking bad I realize the patience he must have shown after being asked over and over what a holding call meant while he was just trying to enjoy the game. As I learned more about the rules of the game, and got to know the players, games started to become more enjoyable for me to watch. I began to look forward to Sunday afternoons, rushing into the house after church to turn the TV to the game. Weekdays I would be looking at players stats and comparing them to other players around the league. I very quickly fell in love with Calvin Johnson and his ability to make great plays. For my birthdays all I wanted was Calvin Johnson shirts, jerseys and posters. When I was young I would run around with his jersey on, throwing a football up into the air and catching them, pretending be a superstar like him. Now as I've gotten older and Calvin Johnson has retired from the NFL, I've realized that I was very fortunate to be a Detroit fan during his time on the team. I will be able to tell my children stories about him just as my dad tells me stories of Barry Sanders.

I decided to write my blog on the Lions because I really enjoy watching them week in and week out, win or lose. No feeling in the world compares to the feeling when your favorite team is losing by a little bit and the end of a game, and is looking to score a game winning touchdown. Or the feeling when your team beats that rival team that you can't stand to see win. Those feelings of adrenaline is what keeps me addicted to the sport. When I was told to write a blog for school, I immediately knew this was the topic I had to do, and I'm excited to write these posts each week and share my love for the sport.