Fire Millen

I'm all for the Fire Matt Millen movement that Lions fans are taking up. We'll see how it plays out this Sunday during the Bengals game; I'd be disappointed if either it turns out to be a dud or if things get out of hand. But I can't see how they could -- as long as Shawn Rogers doesn't go rushing into the stands, things should stay peaceful.

This movement, however real it is, points up the exceptional nature of the Detroit sports landscape. I never thought about it because I've been a Lions fan since cognizance, but Michiganders stick with the Lions through years of misery. Aside from the team's playoff win in 1991 -- goddamn right I was there -- the Lions have been mediocre or awful since before I can remember. But for as much as people, including me, talk about giving up on the Honolulu blue and silver, we just can't stay away. It's a combination of living in a fertile sports landscape -- what else do you do when there's six inches of snow outside? -- and tantalizing possibility -- there was always Barry, then there was the sick intrigue of the post-Barry seasons, now there's the bizarre Joey circus and the three-headed WR monster. The team is rarely good, but always worthy of interest.

So I say the Fire Millen movement shows up a healthy engagement by the fans. After all, they're stakeholders in this team as much as the Fords or anyone else. They pay the ticket price, they buy the merch, they suffer through the losses. In the increasingly corporatized world of sports (complete with corporate welfare), the customer isn't always right but always deserves to be heard.