Tundra Vision: The Lions, Rivalries and Respect
Today's game has the NFC North title on the line, and a far easier path on the playoffs for the victor. But the Lions never measure up as a "rivalry game" for the Packers like the Vikings and Bears do. Why is that? It all has to do with respect.
By tundravision
What makes a good rivalry ... really? We can sift back through time and look at many of the Green Bay Packers' rivals and look for different elements that make those rivalries fierce. Some, like the Bears, date back decades and decades, with the hatred handed down from generation to generation. Others, like the Cowboys in the 1990s, were simply a result of one team being the perpetual road block of the glory of the other.
So many elements factor into rivalries. For the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, much comes down to geographic location with friends and families gradually wearing more purple the closer you get to the Mississippi River. Brett Favre heading over there didn't exactly hurt the fan passion, either.
Thinking about the Seattle Seahawks, so much of it comes down to both Matt Hasselback's "Famous Last Words" in 2004, paired with the Fail Mary just a few years ago. Those kinds of plays make you want to get revenge in the next matchup, circling the game on the calendar. We couldn't wait to tee it up again.
And there's Colin Kaepernick, the guy who sliced and diced our defense to shreds in a playoff game back in 2013. They beat us again in the regular season the following September, and we actually dreaded facing them again in last year's playoffs, but there wasn't an eye taken off the television as we played them close, narrowly lost and spent the entire past few months relishing in the implosion of the San Francisco 49ers.
And, of course, Da Bears. Doesn't matter if both teams are 2-13; that final game of the season would still sell out and be one of the most passionate of the season. After all, those little old ladies knew what they were talking about when the approached new coach Mike Holmgren in the grocery store and not having too much faith in the actual team success, told him "just beat those Bears."
But for all those factors that add up to a great rivalry—geography, history, familiarity, backstabbing, controversy—almost all of them have one thing in common. The two teams have the potential to end the other's dreams, the talent to spit on the passion of the other team's fans, the ability to make the outcome far from certain.
No matter how you cut it, there has to be a level of respect. Maybe not respect for individual players (I'm looking at you, Jay Cutler and Chris Hovan), and you certainly don't have to like the team. But you have to respect their ability to win, their ability to create that level of passion.
Even hate is a form of respect. It's a whole lot better than not caring. I'm looking at you, Jacksonville Jaguars.
Which brings me to today's game against the Detroit Lions. In so many ways, this should be a rivalry game for the Packers. After all, it has so many of the critical elements of the rivalry puzzle. We're close to each other (I have several friends from the U.P. that still hold alliegance to the Lions), we play each other twice a year, and there's been a couple of controversial games. So much has been made about the Lions not winning in Green Bay since 1991, but they have won three out of the last five in Detroit, including the last two. That should count for something, shouldn't it?
And yet, the Lions just can't seem to generate the same kind of passion that the Bears and even the Vikings generate. I have been to many Lions games at Lambeau over the years, because for some reason, those tickets always seem to be available and cheap. When I sit with Lions fans in the stands, they watch the game with a sense of hope, but the knowledge of the impending loss to come.
The game today is a high-stakes game: the division title is on the line, along with a first-round bye (and if a lot of things fall the right way, potentially the No. 1 seed). A loss sends the other team on the road next week. But you don't have that same feeling we did last year when the Bears came to town for a play-in game in the season finale. You knew you were going to get a fight from the Bears, and it came down to a last-second miracle to pull it out. Heck, even the Vikings draw more vitriol in the first game of the playoffs at the end of the 2012 season, having defeated the Packers in the season finale that season.
What it comes down to, and what it is always going to come down to for the Detroit Lions is the fact they are a hard team to respect.
I was perusing my TimeHop earlier this week and came across a tweet I made years ago, one that could just as easily stand today.
Why? According to Raiola, it was an accident. The Bears didn't buy it. Fans and non-fans across the nation didn't buy it. And the NFL didn't buy it, suspending Raiola for today's game and denying his appeal.
Why? Why do the Lions continually lower themselves to these kinds of acts? On more than one occasion, I've watching the Lions playing well enough to win a game, even in Green Bay, and eventually allow their own emotions and frustrations get the better of them. It's like Jay Cutler, but it's an entire team of Jay Cutlers. And Jay Cutler as coach too.
That's the difference, and the line that not only Detroit Lions constantly cross, but that management constantly allows and passively encourages.
Comments (4)
Doug_In_Sandpoint
December 28, 2014 at 09:49 am
"It's like Jay Cutler, but it's an entire team of Jay Cutlers. And Jay Cutler as coach too."
Perhaps one of the best quotes of the season.
4thand1
December 28, 2014 at 10:23 am
No one respects a dirty team. Suh seems to have cleaned up his act, but I'm sure its because he wants a long term contract. Fords don't get it as owners.
DrealynWilliams
December 28, 2014 at 07:19 pm
Respect my A**! Eff Suh! Eff the Lions!
Allison Hendricks
December 28, 2014 at 07:23 pm
Right on cue, Suh does another dirty play with most of the nation watching and it becomes all I can think of.