I spent nine years of my life living in Denver, Colorado. For those of you who didn’t know this, you can’t possibly live in that town for more than six months without catching a case of Broncos Fever. The longer you stay, the worse it gets. That city is used to watching winning football. When you talk about the Broncos, you’re talking about a team that won back-to-back Super Bowls, and came up short in three others. You’re talking about an organization that sees 8-8 as a down year. The last time this team was really in the hunt for a high draft pick, I was starting Kindergarten.
I have lived in some part of Michigan for 16 years. I, first and foremost, am a Lions fan. I, like so many of you reading this, have lived through the 2-14 and the 3-13’s. I have lived through the draft busts and the coaching carousels. I have seen my share of quarterback controversies. To be a Lions fan through all of that, you must really love the game and the team. I do. But when you talk about the Lions, you talk about a team that has one playoff win in just under half a century. You’re talking about an organization that sees 7-9 as a step in the right direction. Seemingly every year, at around week 14, fans start looking ahead to the draft.
My brother was in town for Thanksgiving this year, and he sat down with my dad and I the Sunday before the Lions’ annual Thursday game to watch with us as Detroit took on Dallas. As we all sat there watching, my brother could not believe what was transpiring. He spent most of the game laughing, occasionally mixing in a few shakes of his head. It was during that game that I realized that if the Lions and Broncos changed cities for a season, the football fans in Denver would either riot or hang themselves by week eight. Even when the Broncos looked bad this season (or the last several, for that matter), you could still see a quality, competitive football team lingering. With the Lions, save the last two weeks, you were hard-pressed to find even a moment of good football this year (or five). More than once this year, as my wife and I would watch other teams play on Sunday afternoons, we’d see a QB hit his man in perfect stride, or we’d look on as on O-Line opened up a gaping whole for their back, and we’d ask aloud “why can’t Detroit do that??”
So what really is the difference between this team and others, specifically one with regular success, like the Broncos? While I do agree that Broncos’ owner Pat Bolen is a better decision-maker than Lions’ owner William Clay Ford, I don’t think ownership is really this team’s biggest problem. Like him or not, Ford has spent money on this team over the years, especially in the last five or so. Some of the game’s biggest free agent names have been choosing Detroit over the course of the last several free agent signing periods, including Dre’ Bly and Damien Woody, to name just two. If you recall, Steve Mariucci was highly sought after, as well. It looks like a bad move now, but how many of us got that rush of excitement when his hiring was announced?
Don’t worry, I’m not giving Ford a free pass. While I don’t think he’s the world’s worst owner, the truth is that his call to hire Matt “I’ve never done this job before and I plan to prove it” Millen was a major error that likely set this team back five years. But while Ford was the idiot that hired Millen, Millen is still this team’s biggest idiot. Yes, Millen has brought in talent, but not the talent at the positions that needed it the most. Sure, he brought in a big name to coach, but only after bumbling the firing of his original choice for the job. And that big name, if you recall, was supposed to be an offensive mastermind that would light things up and bring out the best in young Joey Harrington … using the west coast offense.
As the Lions now search for yet another new coach to be the savior of football in the Motor City, the Broncos are sitting home enjoying a first-round bye as reward for the second-best record in the AFC and a Division championship. While the Broncos are preparing for another run at the Super Bowl, the Lions are cleaning out their lockers and planning their vacations. And until Mr. Ford decides to attempt to rectify his previous mistake and show Mr. Millen the door, this scene will be repeating itself for years to come.
Consider yourselves lucky, Bronco fans. This could be you.
Kevin Antcliff is a freelance sportswriter and former Editor in Chief of Motor City Sports Magazine. You can read more from him at kevinantcliff.com