The View From Here: Of Lions & Polemicists

By Ken DeLaat

​Couple of things.

One thing:

Ok, maybe the Lions got jobbed with that bizarro alternate-world situation at the end and maybe they should have come away with a win and just maybe it’s a call that shouldn’t be decided by a guy who isn’t on the field anyway.

Quick sidebar: How must it feel to have been on camera thrusting your arms up enthusiastically  with the TD sign in the closing seconds of a great game for the home team then have a dude or two somewhere else overrule you. You know how they replay videos of that kind of thing over and over for all of the  American football aficionados to digest again and again right? Now you’re the schmuck whose dramatic call became impotent when reviewed inch by inch. Not a great day, man.

But, holy socks , this is a good football team. They took the defending conference champs to the wire. The Falcons grabbed a 17-3 lead at one point and yet there wasn’t a shred of panic to be detected in the  Lion players. Down 2 TDs against a seriously good team with a boatload of offensive weaponry and barely a sign of concern from the Honolulu Blue.

Amazing.

They go about business and seem to know good things will happen. They pick off tipped passes because they continually swarm around the ball. They make acrobatic catches because their QB believes in them and is unafraid to deliver. Twice in the final drive tight end Ebron dropped critical gains but Stafford went to him again and will continue to all season because he knows he will make many big plays down the road they are on.

I love the Lions and got hooked as a wee one in the mid ‘50’s as my Dad and Much Older Brothers rooted them on in front of our black and white round TV screen. Being way younger and, thus, quite impressionable I joined in their excitement during that magical ‘57 season.
​ After that I continued to watch but pretty much divested myself of any deep seated optimism because, well, because they’ve never been much good and my youthful dedication and ongoing blind loyalty  to the Tigers made me a bit jaded about becoming too emotionally involved with more mediocrity.

But I hope the bandwagon that will see many folks  jumping on provides a good ride and that all who want to join in hop aboard whether they be long suffering Lion fans or folks who get caught up in the fervor of a front runner.
I might very well be wrong, because it’s still way early in the season and the history of Detroit sports teams has proven that if there is a chance to  disappoint they likely will, but I kind of think this squad might be different.

For years when one crazy thing or another like the whacked out ending Sunday would occur folks would say., “Yup. Same old Lions.”
And maybe in some quarters they are saying it now but if you were paying attention after the game and saw the Lion players  it was different.Sure there was disappointment but something was different.

They knew they won that game.

They had taken the best offensive punches the Falcons had in their substantial arsenal and yet found a way to put it back on them and win the game.
Yes, they knew they won it.
And so did the Falcons.

This game was a dandy. Perhaps the best game of the young season what with all the drama attached to it.
My hope is the two of them get another crack at each other.

Like in the playoffs perhaps?

Other thing:

To all those sharing your passionate views on social media about the epidemic of free speech expression in the NFL this past week that came as a reaction to words spoken by the Prez?

Go after it. Turn it loose. Reach back into your deepest sense of outrage and indignation and let those who disagree have it. Regress into name calling and get personal with insults. Make those blanket statements or share the insightful piece you’ve found floating aloft on the internet or maybe even one of those “With just a few words he/she destroyed (fill in the blank)” shares as if there is something that can be expressed or reposted that puts an exclamation point on what is a difficult and complex situation.

Then while you’re thusly engaged, step aside please because there is such a huge conversation that needs to be undertaken .

Unfortunately this vital discourse-in-waiting is consistently blocked and avoided by folks taking the simpler way. Cowering within the comfort of those who share their opinion and basking in some facetious sense of superiority by attempting to ridicule as cleverly as possible (always falling short I might add) those who might disagree.

Sheesh, aren’t we  weary of it all yet? Does there exist anything out there that doesn’t create a firestorm to feed the divisiveness infecting our land?

Here’s a suggestion.  Whenever there is a post that blames, scolds, insults, belittles,or disparages in lieu of striving for dialogue it would be great if people would respond only  by typing “This doesn’t help” It will likely bring the usual crapshoot of nasty replies most times and yet says everything that can be possibly said and thus needs no defense.

This doesn’t help.

Maybe it could even become a cool little acronym like omg and lol.

tdh. I like the looks of it.

I picture lengthy rants by the usual suspects appearing only to be met by seeing the singular response tdh making the scene over and over again.

​I asked an acquaintance about this. An otherwise fairly congenial person who prowls social media hunting for debates that generally degenerate into the usual finger-pointing, taunting and grammatically challenged competition of futility.

The reply?

“So what if you say ‘This Doesn’t Help’? Maybe it’s not intended to help. Maybe I say it because I don’t want to help people who (fill in the blank) and are ( fill in the blank).”

Exactly.

Then please don’t pretend you’re part of the conversation because…..

tdh.

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