The Detroit Lions have been a constant source of embarrassment to the city of Detroit, and even though they finally made the playoffs and appear to be on the up-and-up, somehow idiotic moments and lapses in judgement seem to surround this team no matter what.
According to Paul Rioux of the Times-Picayune via NOLA.com, a Michigan man is wanted by the FBI on suspicion of threatening to blow up the Mercedes-Benz Superdome during the Lions' playoff loss to the Saints.
The report states that Shawn Payton of Jackson, Michigan, was apparently so upset about the fact that the Saints were pulling away with the game that he threatened to blow up the building—citing his "Lions pride" as the reason he got caught up in the moment:
Reached by phone Friday afternoon, Payton, a lifelong Lions fan, admitted making the threatening calls and apologized to Saints fans.
"I'm not a bad person. I was just so proud of the Lions finally making the playoffs for the first time in God knows how long," he said. "I got caught up in the heat of the moment, and I seriously, highly regret making those calls."
What in the name of all that is good and right in the world is this man thinking?
Was he really that desperate to see his beloved Lions win that committing a federal crime and perhaps hurting a bunch of people seemed like a logical way to go about things?
He's got issues, and that's putting it lightly. When does the phrase "it's just a game" come into play with a guy like this?
Peyton went as far as threatening Saints' coach Sean Payton, sending him a personalized message to stop winning, according to the report:
"Hi, I want you to relay a message to the sideline. If your stupid Southern team keeps winning, there will be reper...severe consequences. OK?" a man said after a failed Lions onside kick set the Saints up for a short touchdown drive that would ice the game.
Now believe me, I know and understand that this is just a case of the extreme minority acting out on a very misguided and, most likely, mentally sick impulse, but is this really what the Detroit Lions need right now?
More importantly, is this what the city of Detroit and the Lions' fan base needs right now?
It's no secret that Detroit has a bad reputation, and some of it is very much so deserved—believe me I live right on the outskirts of it.
Like it or not, though, fans of a team are perceived in the same way as their city. It's not fair, but you'd be naive to think otherwise—it happens everywhere.
That being said, for every bad quality Detroit boasts there is an equal if not better good quality, and there are plenty of great people that care enough to do the hard work that takes to build the city back up again.
Many of those people are Lions fans.
The problem with an incident like this is that the minority is usually used to categorize and represent the majority in public opinion.
This Lions fan who threatened to take violent action in the name of his team is obviously crazy, but many are going to look at this and lump the rest of Detroit into it as well.
"Of course Lions fans would be desperate and crazy enough to do something like that" will be a common phrase, or my personal favorite:
"Only in Detroit."
Truth is, this guy is the less than one percent of the population that is messed up enough to even think about what he was doing as a viable option in life.
That's not going to matter, though. This is of a case one rotten apple spoiling the bunch, and it's quite unfortunate.
The Lions are a team that's trying to rebuild both in relevancy and image, and the same goes for the city they represent.
This is yet another black eye that the city of Detroit cannot afford, even if it's not fair.
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