Strange, But Good

The last time the Lions thoroughly eviscerated a team was in 2007 when they slaughtered the Broncos 44-6 and Shaun Rogers famously waddled down the field, probably envisioning an end zone filled with strippers and hot wings. That was three years ago, and to be honest, it feels like it was even longer ago than that, like something out of another lifetime.

Happiness. It is such a foreign emotion to Lions fan. I think I'm happy, but I don't really know. I seem to have all the symptoms, all those things that I observe in regular people. I've smiled, my eyes crinkle around the corners with what I assume is joy, and people are saying nice things to me about my team. I recognize all this, much in the way that a zookeeper recognizes the mating habbits of a horny orangutan. I've seen it before but now that it's happening to me it's a little disorienting and I'll admit, a little frightening. There's less poop involved than I thought so that's good. More senseless jacking off though.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to say. This is new for me here. The Lions have only won twice in the entire time that I've been writing about them here at Armchair Linebacker. One of those times was against the Redskins and it was the first win following 0-16. It involved an overwhelming sense of relief and I was thankful that we were able to finally shovel the first bit of dirt on the obscene past. The other win was against the Browns, and it came on a heart attack inducing final mad scramble that saw Matthew Stafford's shoulder get eaten by wolves and the birth of a hero when he staggered back onto the field to throw the final touchdown pass. That game was about the future, about the promise of tomorrow. Neither win was about today. One was about cleansing ourselves of the horrible past and the other was about looking ahead to a future full of Matthew Stafford touchdown passes.

But this win against the Rams didn't feel like it was about the past or the future. It was about today. It was about going out and beating the hell out of another team not because it presaged some grand renaissance within the next couple of years and not because it was necessary to clear the awful taste of the past out of our mouths, but because there was a game that was there to win and that's what real, live teams do: they win games just to win them. There is no deeper meaning to it, no weight of history, no yearning for the future, just winning for winning's sake, because it feels good to beat the piss out of another team and it feels good right now.

I'm not thinking about what this game means for tomorrow or how it helps to distance ourselves from yesterday. I'm just smiling and thinking about Ndamukong Suh rumbling down the field after picking off a pass or about Alphonso Smith doing The Carlton in the endzone after his pick six. I'm thinking about Shaun Hill spreading the ball around and kicking ass and Calvin Johnson wreaking havoc, catching touchdowns and drawing pass interference calls. I'm thinking about how good things happen when you throw Calvin the ball and about the defense playing with swagger and about Nate Burleson punting the ball after a touchdown and about Jim Schwartz smiling and laughing about it afterward because none of it matters tomorrow and fuck yesterday. Today is all about beating another man's ass because you can.

There is a wild sense of freedom in that kind of carefree joy. Everything starts to feel vaguely surreal and fun and stupid and good and beautiful. Ndamukong Suh waddling down the field and then cradling the ball afterwards like it was his baby made me laugh. So did Alphonso Smith doing The Carlton. Everything is easy and relaxed and the past is just a shitty memory and it doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to. The Rams were beaten and dejected but we were all laughing because Cliff Avril looked like an idiot because he couldn't walk thanks to cramps, and all his teammates and the trainers gave him shit when he had to be carted off and it was all fun and games because, fuck it, 44-6 changes a lot of emotions.

After the game, Kid Rock showed up in the locker room and was given a game ball. Again, why not? Who cares? Give one to Kwame Kilpatrick too. I don't give a shit. There was no raucous celebration, no almost embarrassing Pomp and Circumstance over a simple win. There was just a relaxed sort of care free joy, like hey, this was a lot of fun and we should do it more often.

The Rams are not a good team, but so what? You're supposed to beat teams like that and that's what the Lions did. And that, more than anything is the point here. Today, the Lions were a football team. They weren't a national joke, they weren't a sob story, they weren't a redemptive fantasy. They were just a football team.

Like I said, the last time the Lions won a game like this was 2007. They won it 44-6 and Shaun Rogers waddled down the field to glory. Today, the Lions beat the Rams 44-6 and Ndamukong Suh waddled down the field to glory. Everything in between is just so much dumb noise. Fate can be funny and quirky sometimes and maybe there is something to the odd symmetry of those two games but probably not. The truth is, is that it was just a game and games can be fun.

I'm not even sure what I'm babbling about anymore. My senses have been overloaded and there are about a million different things I want to say. I guess that's happiness and really, for the first time since I started writing about the Lions for Armchair Linebacker - and remember, I've been doing this for three seasons now - I can say that I'm happy as a fan because of what happened today. Not about what it means because of yesterday or about what it says about tomorrow, but simply because of today. I enjoyed myself as a fan and it's about damn time.

My head is in a strange place - strange but good - and Ford Field was a strange place today, filled with players dancing and acting the fool, with Kid Rock wandering around for no discernible reason, with pride and joy and the sense that nothing else matters but what's happening in the moment and what was happening was good. Strange, but good.