MOVE THE DETROIT LIONS TO BAKERSFIELD MANIFESTO

MOVE THE DETROIT LIONS TO BAKERSFIELD MANIFESTO

I have been a Detroit Lions fan since I became aware of football, which was December 31, 1983 when they lost what I know now is an extreme rarity: a playoff game, 24-23 to San Francisco. I grew up in Detroit for the most part and have lived in the Detroit area for roughly 60% of my life.  My first realization that the Detroit Lions arrangement might not work was in 1988, after four years of the Lions not being contenders or playing a meaningful December game. When they started off that season poorly I tuned out the NFL, especially  when every other sports team in Michigan was having some level of success. The Tigers were contenders year in and year out, the Pistons were climbing the road to the championship. Michigan and Michigan State were successful for the most part.

That was before the Barry Sanders revolution and the Lions winning the last five games of the 1989 season to finish 7-9 and give hope for the future... which was realized, sort of. They lost the NFC Championship Game in 1991 but defeated the Dallas Cowboys 38-6 in the plays, the undisputed peak of their existence in the post-1960 era. That's because it was their only playoff win in that timeframe. They made the playoffs three of the next four years, being deflated in 1995 when, after finishing the season 7-0 they lost the horrible 58-37 game in Philadelphia, a gave they were favored to win. Barry Sanders retired suddenly four years later, perhaps realizing then what I see now. The Lions missed the playoffs on the final day of the 2000 season, and to quite simply ain’t been right since.

The NFL grew more popular in the 2000s than it has ever been. Despite being a fan of a complete non-factor of a team, I’ve felt the impact also. When I spent a lot of time in airports for work I frequently saw people in Steelers and Cowboys jerseys coming from diverse cities, along with an annoying Cheesehead sighting here and there. For the first part of this decade, I spent a lot of time near Nashville and in San Diego, when the Titans and Chargers were contenders. Since I like good football I watched these teams often although you could never call me a Titans or Chargers fan. The Lions were in utter futility all these years but could be treated as out of sight, out of mind to be seen and mourned only on Thanksgiving.

Upon moving back to Detroit in 2007—or at least spending the majority of the weekends in Detroit—the Lions futility, after a freak 6-2 start in 2007 (followed by a 1-7 finish) was thrust in full view once again, their utter irrelevance made plain by my friendships with friends of mine who like the Redskins, Cowboys, Steelers, Giants, Jets, Patriots, Falcons, Raiders, Titans, Chargers etc. who  have a reason to look forward to football season at least half the time while my sportsfan experience flows straight from baseball (in a good year) to the NBA. The Lions’ futility actually bothered me for the first time in years in 2008 in the midst of the worst season by any NFL franchise ever, the 0-16 year. When they were about 0-4 I thought, perhaps aloud, “This Detroit Lions thing just doesn’t seem to be working out. I think it's time for a change” This is especially true for me now living in the area, with Lions games foist upon me at least 10 times per year, especially now (December 12) with the playoff races in full bloom and instead of a game with key implications we have Packers-Lions. I guess it means something to the Packers. Their fans commuting to Detroit is probably what’s causing this game to be a sellout anyway.

WHY BAKERSFIELD?

The thought came to my mind when native Detroiter Jerome Bettis and the Steelers went to Detroit for the Super Bowl in 2005. Teammate Joey Porter commented on the hype surrounding Bettis basically by being happy for Bettis and hoping if the Super Bowl ever came to his hometown of Bakersfield he’d have the same buzz surrounding him. Hence the first seeds in my mind of the Detroit-to-Bakersfield connection.

Additional benefits: The NFC can be properly realigned with St. Louis joining Chicago in the NFC North creating a proper St. Louis-Chicago rivalry which should exist in all sports. San Francisco 49ers fans could once-again enjoy an interstate rivalry every season, which they haven’t had since 1994. You also ensure representation from at least one team west of the Rocky Mountains in the NFC every year. If St. Louis is the only playoff team from the NFC West the NFC can have a very East-centered feel which most sports leagues don’t want.

A team in Bakersfield would also not disturb the NFL fan in Los Angeles. Bakersfield is 100 miles from Los Angeles, out of arms reach of the NFL blackout radius, so fans in Los Angeles wouldn’t be forced to watch the Bakersfield Lions, UNLESS they caught fire or became an entertaining enough team where L.A. fan wanted them on the air, in which case the populace would make that happen in much the same way they demand the Raiders be shown there and notsomuch the Chargers despite geographical proximity. Also with Bakersfield in the NFC, those Raider fans could still see their beloved silver-and-black while the new Lions fans could see their team as well.

TITLETOWN WEST?

I believe an NFL franchise could succeed in Bakersfield for the same reason the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers and other teams in small markets have succeeded—because they will have gotten there first. They would be the first major-league sports team in California’s Central Valley. Bakersfield is one of the few cities in California experiencing population growth in the 2000s, a 29% increase from 2000 to 2008. Its population is approximately 320,000, more than three times that of Green Bay. If the franchise succeeded we could have a Titletown West.

It would also represent a new beginning for the city of Detroit. The Lions in their current form have been lowering morale in the area for years. The immediate opportunity for more NFL fans to see games involving good teams every Sunday will be a boost to everyone’s spirits, especially on bleak December Sundays. Without the Lions to burden them, the average Metro Detroiter will have an extra pep in their step and glide in their stride. Plus, those last weekends of clement weather would be spent doing more enjoyable things than hoping this season isn’t another version of the same old Lions, which invariably it is.

I wouldn’t want Detroit’s insanely loyal fanbase to be without forever, my own selfishness aside. Attracting another NFL franchise is an option, perhaps the Jacksonville Jaguars. A CFL or UFL team could be an option. Detroit will support any sport team that has “Detroit” as it’s first name, especially if it’s a winner. If Detroit can get a year-in year-out contender in the UFL or CFL, Detroit will get behind it, and in big numbers. Look how the city of Baltimore supported their CFL team until the Ravens came to town.

NO TURNING BACK

I’ve referred to ‘Bakersfield Lions’ throughout this article not because Bakersfield would be forced to keep the Lions nickname but because I wouldn’t want a new Detroit NFL team to become the “new Detroit Lions”. This is not a Cleveland Browns/Washington Senators/Seattle Supersonics situation. We won’t want our old team back. We want to start over.