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Detroit Lions are the Motor City’s best hope for a championship

By J.D. Laker

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 1: The Detroit Lions offense huddles up around Matthew Stafford #9 in the second half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on October 1, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 1: The Detroit Lions offense huddles up around Matthew Stafford #9 in the second half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on October 1, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Lions are now closer to championship level contention than other professional sports franchise in Detroit and its not even close!

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 1: The Detroit Lions offense huddles up around Matthew Stafford #9 in the second half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on October 1, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 1: The Detroit Lions offense huddles up around Matthew Stafford #9 in the second half of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on October 1, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

Through the first quarter of the 2017 season, the Detroit Lions look like true contenders. Detroit boasts a 3-1 record (should be 4-0) and is poised to make a run in the NFC North.

The Lions have been the laughing stock of the Detroit sports scene for decades, but the Detroit faithful could endure their futility with the knowledge that better things were on the horizon.

The Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons have all been there to ease the pain that was Detroit Lions football, but oh the times they are a changin’.

While the city’s lovable losers are trending up the outlook on the rest of Detroit’s professional sports teams is unusually bleak. So now that the tables have turned and the Lions seem to be the city’s best hope let’s examine how we got here:

Tigers: The Detroit Tigers failure to secure a World Series title over the last decade may be one of the biggest disappointments in Detroit sports history. Over that time span they possessed one of the league’s highest payrolls, a pitching staff composed of multiple Cy Young Award winners, and a murderers row of a lineup anchored by arguably the best right-handed hitter of his generation in Miguel Cabrera.

The Tigers Achilles heel was their bullpen, which they could never seem to fix. Now the team has raised the white flag by unloading key players for prospects and the World Series window has officially slammed shut.

They are staring future 100 loss seasons in the face, they still have a dismal farm system, and there are questions if the owner, Chris Illitch, will devote as much time or money into the team as his late father did.

The Tigers have the first pick in the 2018 MLB draft to look forward to, but it looks like it could be awhile before the team is back in the hunt for October.

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