We've been existing on the fringes of society for a few months now, only giving voice to our true beliefs in hushed tones around the cul-de-sac when we know the other party will not narc us out the powers-that-be that want to keep us institutionalized for the nation's safety. But we've been there just the same, saying out loud and with a straight face that the Detroit Lions could win the Super Bowl this year and bring about sure Armeggedon. And now, after another convincing road victory over a fellow division leader, a few members of the non-criminally insane contingent have joined our ranks and are willing to concede that Dan Campbell's team, with a few key victories over the next few weeks, will be in the driver's seat for the NFC's top seed and any road to the Big Game could potentially go through Motown.
So we welcome Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio aboard the bandwagon after he spoke the unspeakable into a microphone this morning. May he find good people and drink deeply from a red Solo cup full of Honolulu-blue Kool-Aid.
That's right. For the first time since the elder Bush was in the White House, the Detroit Lions have been placed into the Super Bowl CONVERSATION. Start printing the T-shirts and producing the coffee mugs for this historic occurrence.
It's one thing for a low-level blogger like myself to say it but Schein has a national show. And he used it to fire off some bullet points explaining why the impossible could happen (though probably won't happen).
Here's the thing. Even if you don't believe in the Jared Goff and these Lions, just being in a position to have the strength of schedule picked apart and receive allegations of being frauds is unprecedented. I cannot stress enough how much the typical sports-media content churn will not turn this ray of sunshine into a dark cloud. No one deserves it more than this sick fanbase who has crawled through a tunnel of crap like Andy Dufrense to get to a place where there's at least a slightly better smell. Sure, the true promised land is a long way off but comparatively, this is paradise.
To put in perspective, the last time the Lions were discussed in these terms was back in 1992 on my eighth birthday. And it was certainly quite an afternoon. The Washington Redskins demolished Wayne Fontes & Co. in the NFC Championship, there was a homemade birthday cake with Batman, most recently portrayed by Michael Keaton, on it. My neighbor's dog got hit by a car and died. Several members of my extended family contracted a viral infection and the last thing I remember was taking a bunch of Benadryl and passing out in front of Clarissa Explains It All on Nickelodeon.
Every day since in Lions land has felt a lot like that. But no longer. The last remaining holdouts who, having been burned by reality too many times to admit this team is objectively good, had their skepticism erased the moment Jameson Williams spun about and hauled in that game-sealing touchdown.
We're talking Super Bowl out in public in front of God and strangers. Miracles are real. Even half-completed ones.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as We Lived Long Enough to See the Detroit Lions Officially Enter the Super Bowl Conversation.
