The Detroit Lions brought C.J. Gardner-Johnson in for two reasons. One, to solidify an alarmingly poor pass defense and two, to talk a bunch of crap and mix things up. He's delivering on both fronts as the secondary — as well as Kadarius Toney's stone hands — made Patrick Mahomes look human in a stunning Week 1 victory, allowing Gardner-Johnson to not look foolish after running around in a blue ski mask pregame.
Now he's very much trying to make the masks a thing, imploring fans coming to Ford Field this Sunday for the home opener to follow his fashion.
"You're gonna see on Sunday," he told reporters on Tuesday. "Blue ski masks everywhere."
And anecdotally, there might be a bit of a movement afoot.
That request appears to have set online orders ablaze, with some outlets reporting the ski mask being sold out on Amazon. They were available as of Wednesday afternoon.
We like where his heart and mind are at. He's intentionally trying to change the narrative and make the Lions the villains after nearly seven decades of being haplessly irrelevant. If he improves the defense he can talk all the trash he wants and lead any number of sartorial revolutions.
On the other hand, don't wear a blue ski mask to Ford Field. Lions fans have waited way too damn long to have a competent team and to be proud to show their smiling, wide-eyed faces at that building without shame. It is great that choice is now is between bare-faced and something fun and dangerous as opposed to dignity versus paper bag. But damn, if anyone has earned the right to beam with pride in the hope television cameras reveal they were lucky enough to score a hot ticket, it's Lions fans.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Detroit Lions Fans Don't Need to Hide Their Faces Anymore.
