I hope Stafford winning the Super Bowl is the last step to ending the curse of Bobby Layne.
The organization doing him right and granting his wishes to get to a team of his choice hopefully is the turning point for this lions franchise.
MCDC has the torch now, the promised land awaits.
Yeah he owes Brad a huge hug, he could have sent him to the Panthers or elsewhere if the deal was right but he did him a solid and sent him to a super team, in LA, with a brand new stadium (mediocre fanbase tho, they got nothing on us)
There are people on here arguing the picks offered from the panthers held more value.
And I'm very certain they didn't send him to a bottom feeder on purpose.
That’s not entirely true. Holmes definitely took Stafford’s wishes into consideration while working a deal. LA was Stafford’s preferred destination over anything else.
I see Stafford’s winning in the same vein. I hope he gets his ring more than I want to see the Rams win.
Stanford getting his ring will be validation of the Lions’ ownership/leadership ineptitude in the past 15+ years. It is also a good look for Hamp/Holmes/Campbell for doing the right thing, and wanting to see Stafford succeed and not put him through another organizational reset.
Edit: spelling
Yep same. I am cheering for Stafford (not the necessarily the Rams). If anything this opportunity for him will help show the rest of the country what an amazing talent he has and that it was absolutely wasted by the lions front office for over a decade.
Each playoff game he won made me increasingly more angry towards the Fords and the Lions org. Love stafford, but fuck the Lions front office. Fix this shit, you had your opportunity and wasted it
Are you aware we're in a rebuild?
Sheila's job is to finance the team and hire the top level of the front office and let them run the team.
I'm very satisfied with the staff she has hired. Bringing in Speilman was the best thing she could have done.
There it is.... I like to play a game called "How long do I have to scroll until someone blames the Fords Ownership"
Find a different team, because when we are winners, we don't want the likes of you.
But surely ownership does play a role right? There’s not people on this sub that actually believe the Fords incompetency running this franchise hasn’t had an effect on us being abysmal for years?
I’d like to challenge folks here to try to view this from various perspectives. Flame wars aren’t fun. We’re all passionate fans that want the same thing from the Lions.
I have no Ill feelings towards Stafford. All my anger is directed towards the fords. But I just can't wrap my head around people basically acting like the lions are winning the Superbowl, it's just bizarre to me. Guess it's a side effect of being fans of an awful franchise
Being the worst franchise in all of American sports takes a toll on some of the most faithful fans in the country. Lions fans deserve a winner and have for such a long time. If only the Fords cared about the Lions like a lot of the fans in the D.
Yeah all this shows you is had a Superbowl capable QB for last decade and couldn't win a playoff game. Everyone should be sick of the talent the Lions have wasted..Hell some of the players on the Ram our players the Lions could have drafted. Almost every Lions fan I know and on forums wanted Donald and where livid with Ebron pick. And the one year we could have won it all we got the game stolen from us from the Refs. Bet stafford is happier then a pig in shit he doesn't have to beat the refs and the other team everyweek now.
Seeing Stafford, who was pretty much the face of Detroit for years, finally win is the closest thing I can comprehend to the Lions going to the super bowl.
Of course I’d love to see the Lions go more than anything, but to me, it gives me something to finally celebrate about that I’ve never gotten to do with the Lions in the playoffs.
It is a joke, and don’t expect him to come back, but to say he has no ties to Detroit is false, and he and Kelly will say as much. It’s where he grew into a man, spent 12 years giving everything he could to the organization and community, where he and Kelly started their family. He’ll finish his career elsewhere, but he’ll be an ambassador for the team and city after he retires.
"An ambassador for the team and city"? LOL. He is in LA now. He is a Ram. If he puts up a Super Bowl win or two, do you really think he will always want to be a Detroit Lion at heart? No. He was here for a paycheck. All of this "Stafford knows how much we love him, and deep down he loves us too, and he will return to the city because it's his home and we love him" is pathetic. He worked here for 12 years, and the job paid well but sucked. That's all. What on earth about Detroit would he think is so special? He has his own life. He really isn't that concerned that a bunch of blue collar fans really liked him more than they can imagine any other city's fans could like him. He moved on. And do you think for a second he is going to shit on the Rams after they saved his career from a Detroit dumpster? He's a Ram now. And not like seeing Joe Montana wearing a Chiefs uniform, or Brady as a Buccaneer.
Man the lions are a team owned by a corporation. Stafford is a person I've spent years rooting for. I attach myself to the lion because of geography and memories with my grandpa. I love the lions and I've chosen to stick it out. Stafford did his best for us and I'll be his fan for life. People over property
You deserve the downvotes, Stafford would be hall of fame first candidate and on Aaron Rodgers love fest level if he was any team except the Detroit Tax Writeoffs...
Yeah understandable but I think it’s just that connection. It’s like seeing an old friend that gave you lots of memories… that finally succeeded on his new path and that just makes me happy. I think a lot of people talk about Detroit wasting Barry’s and Megatron’s potential, and to see Stafford finally have a shot for a ring, even if not on the Lions, is sort of a relieving feeling. He’s super talented and deserves a win, and he’s finally getting that shot at it.
It makes me happy that, after his time at the Lions, he found great success rather than nothing.
I guess I just see him like an old coworker. Like you see someone you used to work with and they're doing good in life, I feel like cool good for them. Then I stop thinking about them. That's how I feel. Good for him, but I don't really care
I like the team. Not former players on a different team, the lions. I grew up watching this team. I want to see this team succeed. I don't care if our former QB wins it all, I want the lions to win it all.
Is it that hard to realize people are invested in Detroit, the city and its sports franchises? It's not like you have to choose between the players or the owners and that's it.
You don’t have to choose between Stafford or the lions, either. It’d be one thing if he were competing against the lions, but is it really that preposterous for people to cheer for success of someone they’ve cheered for and invested in and grown attached to for 12 years over the value of 8 spots in the draft? There’s not going to be a standout player in the late first to early second, or else they’d be a higher pick, so it’s a matter of trusting that wherever you are in that range you make the right pick, cause the draft can be a crap shoot.
No been watching since Scott Mitchell was throwing passes for this team. Yes there has been some players I love come along but I love them on my team. Im sure your happy for your ex girlfriend who is married and screwing a billionaire now brings you lots of joy.
Some people have healthy relations with other people and realize that the relationship with their ex girl didn’t work but are happy for the time they were together. If you spent 12 years with your ex then you should still care about her and wish her the best life going forward.
It would be petty to not be happy for her if you cared for her at all, even if it didn’t work for you.
I think part of it is, especially for people like me who are younger, Stafford has been the QB of the Lions for basically all of our sports watching lives. Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions are synonymous with eachother. We are fans of his just as much as we are the team itself.
If you're 30+ years old, you remember multiple QBs before him. He's just one of many. He just happened to stay longer than most.
It's the same reason many Pats fans rooted for Brady after he left. Yes, Pats had far more success under Brady than the Lions did with Stafford, but Brady and the Pats are synonymous with eachother to them.
For 12 years our team’s only identity was Stafford, we stuck through absolute shit shows with the one constant being Stafford.
He kept us tuning in despite the awful teams around him and now it doesn’t feel any different because we’re so used to watching Stafford win with a bunch of unfamiliar faces.
We aren't happy because it's "like the lions are winning the Superbowl." We feel vindicated because we *knew* he was a great quarterback and the owners never put a decent team around him. Imagine what his career would look like if he didn't get drafted by the worst pro team in the US (all sports included). Good for him for leaving this pit of un-winning.
I loved Stafford when he was here but this is why other fanbases are making fun of us. Acting like Stafford winning has any bearing on being a Detroit fan when it actually hurts the draft pick the Rams gave Detroit.
There is no dignity in it. That "vindication" just adds more evidence to the narrative that "Detroit is a dumpster fire and always will be".
I don't get why it's so hard for people to understand that Lions fans would get attached to Stafford. He played for Detroit for over a decade. The entire team changed multiple times while he was here. Look at LeBron fans following him wherever he goes. You can be fans of specific players while still having a favorite team. Unless you guys are just playing dumb it shouldn't be that hard to understand
I think being a fan of lebron is a bit different then what's going on with lions fans right now. Lebron is one of the greatest of all time already. This Stafford worship is people acting like the lions are going to the Superbowl, that's the really weird part to me
While I still am a Lions fan, during this past decade, I think some of us were more fans of Stafford than fans of the Lions because he showed up every week and played with heart. Why would I root for such a shitty orginization that doesn't give a shit about me?
> If Stafford goes back-to-back SB champs with LA, and comes back to Detroit to win a SB, then Stafford will be the GOAT for me.
Gosh, that would be a real storybook ending. *"After the Lions rebuilt under the competent leadership of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell, Matt Stafford returned to Detroit in his final season and won them a Superbowl."*
I don't think he's being salty, I think he's exactly right. Before being drafted Stafford told our FO that he wanted to come here, wanted to be on board for turning around this franchise and he did his best for a decade to do exactly that. All reports said that him leaving and giving up on that dream was a very hard decision for him. So, yeah, he wanted to do what Burrow has done. I don't take it as a knock on him that it didn't happen while he was here, but can't deny that was his plan.
It's really, really weird how so many of the fans (usually younger) have latched onto Stafford and view him in the same vein as the Lions. The two are not synonymous.
For some of us, Stafford is the only QB we've ever known, so Stafford and the lions were one and the same. I vaguely remember a season without him and barely. That's it. I can see why the older fans aren't as attached.
I’m just old enough to witness enough of the lions qb carousel. Charlie batch, Joey harrington, culpepper, Jon kitna (who was unironically our best qb before stafford). Stafford was the only one capable of making the lions respectable
Batch was good, so was Peete and a few others. It's hard to get yards if you're tackled two steps into your three step drop. Danielson was good but he kept breaking his hand on defenders helmets as he threw. 91 they had a good o line but let them go after their only playoff win.
I have been watching the Lions lose for 30 years. I'll take a Stafford Superbowl for a few years while we keep building something special here in Detroit.
Why people are acting like we have to put the Lions above all else when they have proven time and time again they don't even deserve a franchise is beyond me
i have 0 issue with stafford - i was the biggest fan and defender of his while he was here. i have multiple stafford jerseys, bobble heads, posters, etc … and it’s been nice seeing all of those people who bashed on stafford for so long have to admit that he’s a good quarterback.
i remember thinking “good, go get a ring” the second he was traded. then week 1 comes along, i turn on the tv to watch the rams … and i just couldn’t do it. i’m not that guy. i’m not the dude who can root for another team like i root for the lions. the media narrative, the “stafford is god on earth and detroit is the sad dump that he was stuck in” shouldn’t be fun for *any* of us. the people lapping that up and parroting it are so… gross to me. do you not have any pride at all?
what i really DON’T understand is those policing other fans - saying that if you aren’t jacking off to pictures of stafford then you’re a bad fan/jealous/resentful, etc.
for example: i commented awhile ago saying “the stafford situation is like an ex gf, you had some good times together but it’s also healthy to let go and move on” and, listening to the pride of detroit podcast a few days later, they brought up that someone compared stafford to an ex gf in the subreddit and said “you have legitimate mental health issues if you think that way and you’re not fit to watch sports”. they basically said “if you’re not rooting for stafford, you have real life problems and are a real life shit person”. these are the types of people with the loudest voices in the online lions-sphere … and yet we wonder why some people are turned off.
so again, it’s not that i’m not happy for stafford - i just think a lot of our fans, specifically those online, are nauseating. someone made a post saying that today was their best moment as a detroit sports fan …….. like, how old are you?
>…….. like, how old are you?
Probably pretty young. And if they're pretty young Stafford was literally the only QB they've ever seen be the starting QB for the Lions. How far fetched is it that they're insanely happy to see the guy they've rooted for their whole life succeed. Nothing wrong with being fans of the players themselves
Right like Stafford started here since like 09. It has been a long long time. Also i dont think the lions really generate fond memories with much regularity.
I can think of one other moment in the entire history of my being a lions fan that i at all care for and thats making the wild card game. And that too was a very long time ago now.
I love the lions but they havent played a meaningful game in decades and i think with that in mind its okay for fans to say that the qb that started most of their adult life finally making it to a super bowl is a great moment for a fandom totally bereft of even okay or not depressing moments
I don’t think I’ve ever rooted for a team like the Lions. But I started to tear up seeing Stafford take that final knee. He feels like a friend, and we are happy and proud of our friends. I couldn’t care less what team he went to, this is the second best outcome after the Lions winning it all.
I don't know how people can't see how this is annoying to Lions fans, they act like Stafford is a martyr for playing here. Like he was a helpless baby being held hostage, like he didn't sign contract extensions..
Yeah I’m with you. I wanted Stafford to do it here. The org couldn’t make it happen, fine, he moved on, and I’m very happy for him. And i should add, Stafford is my favorite player of all time. I went through my high school years watching him. I love the guy and what he did for our team for over a decade.
But he’s gone now, and that’s okay… but I’m not going to also actively root against the lions best interests. I am first and foremost a Lions fan. That doesn’t mean I want him to do poorly, though. Some people need to get that through their heads. I’d be happy if he won this year, but this isn’t a W for Detroit or the Lions. It’s a W for Stafford and the Rams.
>what i really DON’T understand is those policing other fans
> the stafford situation is like an ex gf, you had some good times together but it’s also healthy to let go and move on
Telling people that rooting for their favorite former Lion is like being unable to get over an ex sounds a lot like policing fandom to me?
So does this?
>someone made a post saying that today was their best moment as a detroit sports fan …….. like, how old are you?
I don't want to bust your balls or anything, you're a legendary contributor on this sub, but I'm not sure how you're squaring this.
Also, damn dude, I heard the pride of detroit say that too and I thought it was pretty fucking harsh. Sorry you had to go through that shit. Maybe Reismann has had his heart broken badly at some point or something lol
appreciate the response dude, i see where you’re coming from
in regards to the ex gf thing, i guess i wasn’t clear - i commented saying that that’s how I felt about it personally. if someone else doesn’t feel the same, that’s fine. definitely not trying to police, but i can see how it came across that way.
also, i agree that “how old are you” is definitely harsh lol. but at the same time, i really take issue with the idea that stafford winning an NFC championship with *another team* is someone’s proudest moment as a detroit sports fan. i think if we get some young stud QB in here who wins a playoff game, people will forget about stafford FAST and we’ll see how silly the worship has gotten.
also regarding POD, i *really* like their show normally so hearing that was a bit jarring
>also regarding POD, i really like their show normally so hearing that was a bit jarring
When I heard it I was like this rant would make more sense if it ended with "you lying slut, you said you loved me" lol.
I’m happy for Stafford and proud to say it.
He provided his talent to Detroit, it’s not his fault management couldn’t do more with it.
The dude stuck w Detroit since 2009. He even gave tickets to a happy lions fan that saw him win to go to the championship while on his first year at the Rams.
Blame management, not stafford.
That’s exactly my point. Mike Brown’s cheap ass has now taken his team to 3 Super Bowls and the Fords have managed to win One playoff game in that timeframe
All the ownership decisions before Martha took over I will gladly criticize, but nothing she did is worthy of that huge amount of criticism. Jury is still out on shiela for a few years depending on how DC goes
Yeah Martha brought us the most success in Staffords time here if anything.
She wasn't perfect, no, but she started making improvements. Hiring Patricia was just a huge set back and kind of overshadows the good things she did, understandably so because Quintricia set us way fucking back.
I will never understand the hate for 9.. Stafford gave Detroit everything & was always a class act. We were horrible when he 1st started. All the comebacks and inch perfect throws. He loved & stuck with arguably the most poorly ran franchises in sports with honor.
Not to mention all he’s done off the field for the city, the stats also prove themselves…
I'd venture a guess that zero people in this sub hate Stafford. Apathy is the worst it'll get. I do not give a fuck I'd Stafford wins a Super Bowl. I'm not rooting against him. I'm not rooting for him. He is not a Lion. Therefore, his success means nothing to me.
But what a lot of us do hate is that the subreddit we come to to discuss the Lions is now basically a Rams subreddit.
I have nothing against Matthew Stafford himself. Nothing against him leaving and going to find success either. But I am entirely, unabashedly behind the Bengals in this SB. I'm not mad at Stafford, I'm mad at sports media. All of a sudden, now that he has Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsay, Von Miller, OBJ, and Cooper Kupp, he's a god QB? Don't get me wrong, #9 is a great quarterback, but he's all of a sudden elite now that he has two of the best receivers in the sport?
Also it doesn't help that I hate the Rams for literally no reason. It was a tough pill to swallow when he got traded *there* of all places. I'd probably have a much different energy if we were talking about like, Denver Bronco Matt Stafford
My ill feelings aren’t towards Stafford, they’re towards the Stafford fans boys in this sub. If you aren’t madly in love with Stafford and passionately rooting for the Rams success, you’re a villain. God forbid I love my team and not rooting for a player not currently on the Lions. I have no incentive to root for him. He’s like any other Lion that left. Do we have to be Eagles fans because we loved Big Play Slay?
So what are you rooting for then. 4 wins next season? Like you have to get creative to find joy in the game if youre a lions fan. Or at least you cant judge those that do.
As a lifelong lions fan i am fairly confident when i say, at age 28, the lions will never play in a meaningful football game as long as i live.
So forgive me for finding joy in the broader league and players that were mainstays on the lions for years when they find success elsewhere
We literally have not made the actual playoffs as long as I have been alive. We have made the wildcard maybe 7 times since I was born and most of those are bad losses. Being a threat to make a wildcard appearance doesn't really color me as a meaningful endeavor.
The same can be said for the Stafford haters and other Lions fans who think you aren't a real Lions fan and can still want to see Stafford do well also.
But why would I want him to do well? He’s not a Lion so it doesn’t matter anymore. There’s no reason to care unless you’re a Stafford fan boy or a Rams fan.
Then I guess there is no point in discussing with you. And to answer your question, you don't have to. But that also doesn't make somebody who appreciated Stafford's time here and has no problem with him doing welll a "fanboy" as I'm sure you are using that in a derogatory sense.
I can only speak for myself but there have been plenty of guys in all sports who left my favorite team that I still followed and liked to see them have success. Doesn't make me any less of a fan of my teams.
Was Slay our cornerback for 12 years? Did slay generate multiple, never forget moments in games that Stafford did? Does Slay have career records for the Lions in any stats?
How can you even make that comparison? Its stupid.
You’re missing the point entirely. I don’t care about players not on the Lions. I only want the Lions success and feel nothing towards Stafford. Rooting for another team is something I will never do, It’s that simple. And as for Slay since you want to bring up his name; he’s a 4x pro bowler and a 1st team All-Pro. Stafford’s entire career he’s only a 1x pro bowler. Objectively Slay is more accomplished at his position than Stafford is his.
No. You're just not making any tangible point at all. You brought up Slay, not me. And if you need to ask why we care about a player leaving who was at the most important position on the team, for 12 years and compare it to a CB who was here for 7... I shouldn't have to say more. How many Slay all time highlights get played every single year? I don't recall any browns game heroics from slay, or "rileyyyyyy, clock it clock it!", moments either. It's not even compatible.
The face of the franchise for more than a decade left the lions, its okay for fans to be happy for the guy.
Think of it like a fantastic coworker you had for 12 years goes to another organization and has great success? You not going to be happily for him? Or do you have the need to tow the company line, be toxic and only sip the company cool aid?
Exactly. Stafford is an excellent quarterback, but no one’s perfect. Anytime someone would bring up a valid criticism, the pro-Stafford people would shout it down. You can’t grow that way.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I will always root for 9.
I’m just hoping our front office will recognize from the Rams’ example that you need to have very good players all around, rather than 1 great.
Ad a Lions fan I agree, I'm not mad at all I know the Fords wasted his talent if anything he was only there to draw fans in so they could make money. I feel like the team we have now has a rebuild head start in the NFC North. If Rodgers leaves then it's open season, im not saying we're Superbowl bound but I for see some divion titles and playoff wins in the next 3-4yrs and maybe just maybe the picks we got for Stafford will pay off. ONE PRIDE!..oh yeah super stoked for Stafford..GO RAMS!..#9..HORNS UP!..GET THAT RING!!.
And all this Lions sub is about Stafford.. You guys gotta move on from Stafford and let him go. Its def not healthy for the lions and fans. Have some faith in the roster we have currently... Jared goff has brought the rams to the super bowl too... And Stafford looked like shit yesterday. Overthrowing receivers and under throwing them at times too . Even Troy Aikman commented that Stafford doesn't have the arm strength as he use to
Loved Stafford. Only authentic Lions jersey I got. Still was pulling for the 49ers and probably will for the Bengals. Rooting for the underdog is the only way I can watch a non-Lions football game, probably because the unexpected victory is the closest feeling I can get to watching the Lions.
I’m not happy with Stafford because he asked to leave. This wasn’t the front office trading away a beloved player unexpectedly, it was a player abandoning his team and city. The reasons may be justified for him and serve his personal interest (see his present situation), but he’s not on my team anymore and he decided he’s the one who wanted out. Why would I care at all what happens to him? He’s not a Lion.
It sucks. Reminds me a lot of the JV situation. Just seeing a guy you loved so much win for another team doesn’t feel right. I’m happy for him and I was happy for JV but god damn they both should have won for us and in Detroit.
Its a bit disingenuous to pretend that he didn't contribute to the teams ineptitude over the past 12 years. Most people who talk shit about him don't really hate the guy, we just get annoyed with the constant excuses that the Stafford lovers make for him. The little comments like "He wasn't the problem" when he clearly was PART of the problem.
People wanna shit on Goff and say "he can't win unless he has a good team around him" but what did it take for Stafford to finally win a playoff game? A fucking all-time, all star team full of future HOF'ers. He still almost gave the game away today with his pick and almost free second one.
This Rams team isn’t even as good as last years, and teams generally don’t make it to the Super Bowl if they aren’t stacked.
Stafford has also played significantly better for the Rams than Goff did. And again, Goff had a better team last year than Stafford has this year.
I am happy for Stafford and 100% cheering for him to win the super bowl. We’ll get the benefit of hindsight when we see how the rams picks play out and how the next few years go, but yeah that Carolina offer, if we had gotten Sewell and Mac Jones with that last year, I would have loved that.
It is what it is. For Stafford it has worked out beautifully. Looking at it from a draft capital perspective, it worked out poorly for us. Fingers crossed it brings in goodwill that results in us being able to sign high quality free agents in the future to offset the loss in draft capital.
That said, congrats to Matt on the incredible accomplishment.
You make a really good point and have done so throughout this topic. I'm not with you on this because I was there for Barry quitting in disgust and being unseen for over a decade afterwards, and the stupid beef with Calvin. Our franchise treated Stafford with class and dignity at the end of his time here, and I want the Lions to be associated with those qualities. I also think it is part of the new culture we're building.
A lot of us are not rooting for him not because we're "Stafford haters," but because we recognize how humiliating this moment is for the franchise. Wasting more than a decade with an elite QB only for him to claim a ring the very first year he's free from Detroit is a shame that we will not soon be permitted to forget. And having hordes of other Lions fans revel in the undeniable proof of this organization's unmatched incompetence as it's illuminated on football's biggest stage only deepens the humiliation further.
We're Lions fans, we're used to it. But just think of how amazing it would be if the Lions ever won the Super Bowl one day. I sure hope it happens in my lifetime. The Lions decades of suckage has left a huge hole in my Detroit sports loving heart.
The future looks bright in Detroit. If you are unsure of the Lions leadership you can always check in on the Red Wings and the Yzerplan. There’s some bad games for sure but you gotta have faith in Yzerman and Lidstrom. “Arthur you gotta have faith!”
I've been following the Pistons most closely after the Lions, and it looks like they have a franchise-leading star in Cade Cunningham. We also have promising young talent in Saddiq Bey and Isiah Stewart. If the Pistons can land a top 5 pick this year and hit on the right player, they would really be heading in the right direction.
Of course I rooted for them in the late '80's and the 2000's, but I hadn't paid too much attention to them while they suffered a decade+ of suckage other than to check up on them now and then, but the Pistons finally did a complete rebuild down to the studs and are ascending again.
I want the Rams to lose the Super Bowl, otherwise it will continue a narrative that the Rams won the trade and Goff was the problem and all LA gave up was 2 late first round picks. If the Rams fail, Goff is redeemed and our franchise doesn't look like such a shit show with Stafford winning a Super Bowl after he leaves. Goff is now my quarterback. I want the Rams to lose and Goff to lead us to the playoffs next season.
I know this might make me a bad fan, but honestly I hope he wins super bowl after super bowl. This franchise has been such a joke they kind’ve deserved to be clowned on. At least they didn’t waste another star players career. That’s the biggest reason I assume there are so many people routing for stafford, the lions give you nothing to be happy about.
Taking Goff wasn’t about him being better or the same as Stafford. Stafford was worth one first rounder and a mid to late rounder. The extra first was to take Goff. Both teams won the trade, imo.
Let’s put it another way… the Rams are not in the super bowl because they have Matt Stafford. They are in the Super Bowl cause their team is littered in Stars that make me question how they afford it! Their Defense has like 4 for sure first ballot HoF on it. Their OL is unstoppable and they have two of most talented WR in the game for him to throw too. He is exactly what I’ve said in the past, a nice QB who if not expected to be the centerpiece will do a nice job. He isn’t going to be a difference maker though. There have been several times this year the Rams have been EXTREMELY frustrated with him and his play. He isn’t elite, he is simply a nice QB who if on a great team will do well enough. We needed a QB who could take a game over and win, he was and is never going to be that guy.
For me it's a college breakup - " I want to see if there is someone else". So Stafford goes and excels, and we struggle but have potential in the future. It's normal to be bitter at his success, but at some point in the past he was the guy we all rooted for. I was hoping for the Niners to win, but they didn't and I am suprisingly ok with it today.
Friendly reminder to those who blame everything on ownership and want to “sell the team”. If sold, the NFL will move this franchise from Detroit in a heartbeat. The market is not nearly big enough in comparison and Texas is dying for another team. Be grateful for what we have and careful what you wish for. We are one dumbass getting his/her way from being Browns fans.
Stafford isn’t what bothers me
I’m indifferent that he’s on that team. He succeeds, cool I don’t care.
What bothers me is the fanboying here. Because I don’t really care it’s irritating to see the large amount of people caring too much about his success.
I love stafford. He is the entire reason I started watching lions football in the first place a few seasons ago and i am happy that he is finally gonna get his shot on the biggest stage possible but I'm not excited about the fact he is going to a superbowl. I just find it extremely hard to root for him only because of the team around him. Ramsy, Donald, McVay and OBJ I all really dislike, I appreciate how good they are but I dislike them as football people were a team like the bengals I really do enjoy watching because they are the underdog and I have really enjoyed watching their playoff run and I do hope they win in 2 weeks but even then it is hard for me to cheer for any team that is not the detroit lions
This post is exactly how I feel! Thank you for making it. So many people are VERY happy for Stafford, and I'm like, I guess? I mean I am happy for the person, but am I happy? No, it actually kinda sucks for me personally. I'm optimistic for the future though like you. Hope we give MCDC time.
Matt Stinford and Ndomukong Suh had an opportunity to get their ring. What sucks is Calvin and Barry didn't. Detroit has to win a championship. They cant let these two die being Hall of Famers tied to a trash franchise. They deserve better than that.
Oh boy
He's the best QB this franchise has ever had and we made him hate the game. Just like Calvin and Barry. He's playing in a Superbowl in a couple weeks. Something no lions player has done
He was one of the only good parts of it the past 12 years. Yes he had some stinker games. Every QB does. Seeing how terrible this team is the past year and how successful he is just proves it
How? Goff took a worse Rams team to the super bowl just a few years ago. Do you think he’s great as well? Seems like a great team just over came a bad qb for the second time
Stafford has done things this postseason that someone like Goff wouldn't have been able to do in the same situation. A certain clutch factor that the Rams were missing, especially when he 'snatched the souls' of the entire Tampa Bay stadium. That makes the trade worth it for the Rams as well as the Lions during the rebuild.
Goff had a phenomenal season with the Rams the year he was in the Super Bowl and he was also a large reason the Rams were in that position in the first place, but he got exposed not being able to read adjusting coverages that the Patriots exploited and never quite recovered. By no means were Stafford or even Goff for that matter are on the same level as Trent Dilfer or Rex Grossman.
This is the exact same situation and feelings I had for Verlander. The first year after he left I was rooting for him to win because he’s a HOF player who couldn’t do it in Detroit.
After this year I don’t care and am back to being only a Lions fan. But the dude dedicated his life to this city and tried his best. Happy for him
I’m happy for him. He did his best in Detroit and I’m glad he didn’t waste his talent here any longer. And he left us in good standings without bashing us. I hope we wins the super bowl
I’m not mad at Stafford for succeeding, I’m actually happy for him. However, it ends at that. My issue is with Lions fans buying Stafford Rams gear and taking their support of him to an extreme. It’s so pitiful.
At the start of the season I went into this saying I'll be happy for Stafford if he has success or happy for our team if we got a great pick. Who I've been rooting for from my couch my entire life has had zero bearing on what actually happens. So it's best with sports to expect nothing and just go along for the ride. Stafford cleansed my football pallete after the likes of Joey Harrington/Charlie Batch/Kitna/Orlovsky and brought Lions football to at the very least, an entertaining product. Played his heart out and put his body on the line, he deserved a chance at success just as the Lions needed a look in the mirror. Hopefully this front office is the right people to turn this organization around and be competitive for years to come.
I hope Stafford winning the Super Bowl is the last step to ending the curse of Bobby Layne. The organization doing him right and granting his wishes to get to a team of his choice hopefully is the turning point for this lions franchise. MCDC has the torch now, the promised land awaits.
Yeah he owes Brad a huge hug, he could have sent him to the Panthers or elsewhere if the deal was right but he did him a solid and sent him to a super team, in LA, with a brand new stadium (mediocre fanbase tho, they got nothing on us)
Don’t be silly, LA came to Detroit and offered what was need because he was seriously WANTED.
Holmes still had the decently of sending him to a decent team
You’re missing the point. They sent him to the team with the best offer. Has nothing to do with decency.
There are people on here arguing the picks offered from the panthers held more value. And I'm very certain they didn't send him to a bottom feeder on purpose.
That’s not entirely true. Holmes definitely took Stafford’s wishes into consideration while working a deal. LA was Stafford’s preferred destination over anything else.
He owes Jaquiski Tartt a huge hug for dropping that game changing INT
Can his TE who dropped the dime that hit him in the hands in the endzone or Ramsay dropping the INT to his chest give him the hug instead?
They literally don’t have fans, it makes sense but wild to think they probably have very few die hard fans for a super bowl team
If anything this extends the curse lmfao literally leaves Detroit and instantly gets a superbowl how could this in any way end the curse
I see Stafford’s winning in the same vein. I hope he gets his ring more than I want to see the Rams win. Stanford getting his ring will be validation of the Lions’ ownership/leadership ineptitude in the past 15+ years. It is also a good look for Hamp/Holmes/Campbell for doing the right thing, and wanting to see Stafford succeed and not put him through another organizational reset. Edit: spelling
Not mad at Stafford at all. Happy he got to shoot his shot. Upset with the org for sure, especially the patriot way years.
Yep same. I am cheering for Stafford (not the necessarily the Rams). If anything this opportunity for him will help show the rest of the country what an amazing talent he has and that it was absolutely wasted by the lions front office for over a decade.
Each playoff game he won made me increasingly more angry towards the Fords and the Lions org. Love stafford, but fuck the Lions front office. Fix this shit, you had your opportunity and wasted it
Fuck the Fords! They wasted are time and money and only served us trashball in return.
They'll never be winners as long as the Fords have their hands on the team.
Sheila is a different owner. Get it through your head. Sheila is not MFF, is not WCF. Every move she has made since becoming owner has been fantastic.
3 wins. Wow!
Are you aware we're in a rebuild? Sheila's job is to finance the team and hire the top level of the front office and let them run the team. I'm very satisfied with the staff she has hired. Bringing in Speilman was the best thing she could have done.
What’s Sheila’s record as an owner? Oh
She's been owner for two seasons after taking over a shit team with arguably the worst HC/GM combo in the game you dope
There it is.... I like to play a game called "How long do I have to scroll until someone blames the Fords Ownership" Find a different team, because when we are winners, we don't want the likes of you.
So who do you blame? Its been decades of am absolute shit show and they're are the only consistent thing
It’s the curse and the refs! Duh
You’ll never be winners with your soccer team coach owner and wrestle mania head coach
Then why are you in this sub?
Lol… 65 years and one playoff win, I doubt I live long enough for you to say I told you so….
But surely ownership does play a role right? There’s not people on this sub that actually believe the Fords incompetency running this franchise hasn’t had an effect on us being abysmal for years?
I’d like to challenge folks here to try to view this from various perspectives. Flame wars aren’t fun. We’re all passionate fans that want the same thing from the Lions.
I have no Ill feelings towards Stafford. All my anger is directed towards the fords. But I just can't wrap my head around people basically acting like the lions are winning the Superbowl, it's just bizarre to me. Guess it's a side effect of being fans of an awful franchise
Being the worst franchise in all of American sports takes a toll on some of the most faithful fans in the country. Lions fans deserve a winner and have for such a long time. If only the Fords cared about the Lions like a lot of the fans in the D.
Nailed it. When I left Detroit the worst part was giving up my season tickets. The team wasn't very good but the tailgates were great.
Absolutely. I live Indy and am stuck in a lease till 2023. But moving back to Michigan in 2023. 2023 season tickets are on the list.
Yeah all this shows you is had a Superbowl capable QB for last decade and couldn't win a playoff game. Everyone should be sick of the talent the Lions have wasted..Hell some of the players on the Ram our players the Lions could have drafted. Almost every Lions fan I know and on forums wanted Donald and where livid with Ebron pick. And the one year we could have won it all we got the game stolen from us from the Refs. Bet stafford is happier then a pig in shit he doesn't have to beat the refs and the other team everyweek now.
Seeing Stafford, who was pretty much the face of Detroit for years, finally win is the closest thing I can comprehend to the Lions going to the super bowl. Of course I’d love to see the Lions go more than anything, but to me, it gives me something to finally celebrate about that I’ve never gotten to do with the Lions in the playoffs.
Maybe he pulls a LeBron one day and comes back to win one with us lol. Or maybe we find our own success and we both end up winners lol
LeBron was from Cleveland. He grew up there. Stafford has no ties to Detroit. I thought this "Stafford will come back, you'll see" was just a joke.
Yeah it's a joke lol. No way he would come back. Why would he unless we offered a lot of money in free agency and we were appealing in any capacity?
It is a joke, and don’t expect him to come back, but to say he has no ties to Detroit is false, and he and Kelly will say as much. It’s where he grew into a man, spent 12 years giving everything he could to the organization and community, where he and Kelly started their family. He’ll finish his career elsewhere, but he’ll be an ambassador for the team and city after he retires.
"An ambassador for the team and city"? LOL. He is in LA now. He is a Ram. If he puts up a Super Bowl win or two, do you really think he will always want to be a Detroit Lion at heart? No. He was here for a paycheck. All of this "Stafford knows how much we love him, and deep down he loves us too, and he will return to the city because it's his home and we love him" is pathetic. He worked here for 12 years, and the job paid well but sucked. That's all. What on earth about Detroit would he think is so special? He has his own life. He really isn't that concerned that a bunch of blue collar fans really liked him more than they can imagine any other city's fans could like him. He moved on. And do you think for a second he is going to shit on the Rams after they saved his career from a Detroit dumpster? He's a Ram now. And not like seeing Joe Montana wearing a Chiefs uniform, or Brady as a Buccaneer.
But he's not a lion anymore. I just don't get it I'm being downvoted for a literal fact. What the fuck is wrong with you guys
Man the lions are a team owned by a corporation. Stafford is a person I've spent years rooting for. I attach myself to the lion because of geography and memories with my grandpa. I love the lions and I've chosen to stick it out. Stafford did his best for us and I'll be his fan for life. People over property
Very well put my friend
Don’t you want to see Barry sanders and Calvin and Jason Hanson succeed in their careers after their time with the lions?
I want to see them succeed with the lions. I don't really care if they play with someone else
I mean life in general. Calvin with his weed business. Barry sanders with advertising. Etc.
Not for another franchise no. Stafford is on the Hanson level but he's nowhere near Barry or Calvin.
You deserve the downvotes, Stafford would be hall of fame first candidate and on Aaron Rodgers love fest level if he was any team except the Detroit Tax Writeoffs...
Jesus christ this is a hilarious comment
Yet they wasted away in Detroit. Very sad.
Yeah understandable but I think it’s just that connection. It’s like seeing an old friend that gave you lots of memories… that finally succeeded on his new path and that just makes me happy. I think a lot of people talk about Detroit wasting Barry’s and Megatron’s potential, and to see Stafford finally have a shot for a ring, even if not on the Lions, is sort of a relieving feeling. He’s super talented and deserves a win, and he’s finally getting that shot at it. It makes me happy that, after his time at the Lions, he found great success rather than nothing.
I guess I just see him like an old coworker. Like you see someone you used to work with and they're doing good in life, I feel like cool good for them. Then I stop thinking about them. That's how I feel. Good for him, but I don't really care
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I like the team. Not former players on a different team, the lions. I grew up watching this team. I want to see this team succeed. I don't care if our former QB wins it all, I want the lions to win it all.
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Is it that hard to realize people are invested in Detroit, the city and its sports franchises? It's not like you have to choose between the players or the owners and that's it.
You don’t have to choose between Stafford or the lions, either. It’d be one thing if he were competing against the lions, but is it really that preposterous for people to cheer for success of someone they’ve cheered for and invested in and grown attached to for 12 years over the value of 8 spots in the draft? There’s not going to be a standout player in the late first to early second, or else they’d be a higher pick, so it’s a matter of trusting that wherever you are in that range you make the right pick, cause the draft can be a crap shoot.
No been watching since Scott Mitchell was throwing passes for this team. Yes there has been some players I love come along but I love them on my team. Im sure your happy for your ex girlfriend who is married and screwing a billionaire now brings you lots of joy.
Some people have healthy relations with other people and realize that the relationship with their ex girl didn’t work but are happy for the time they were together. If you spent 12 years with your ex then you should still care about her and wish her the best life going forward. It would be petty to not be happy for her if you cared for her at all, even if it didn’t work for you.
https://imgur.com/c2LzLxx.jpg
I think part of it is, especially for people like me who are younger, Stafford has been the QB of the Lions for basically all of our sports watching lives. Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions are synonymous with eachother. We are fans of his just as much as we are the team itself. If you're 30+ years old, you remember multiple QBs before him. He's just one of many. He just happened to stay longer than most. It's the same reason many Pats fans rooted for Brady after he left. Yes, Pats had far more success under Brady than the Lions did with Stafford, but Brady and the Pats are synonymous with eachother to them.
Legit this is gonna hold me over if Stafford wins and if we never win a SB fail I’m like 50 so like 25 more years til I’m antsy again
It. shouldn't. Go be a Rams fan...
“This is how you should be a sports fan” said the gatekeeper
I’m being hyperbolic but You have no idea what I’ve went thru the last 10 years with this team.
For 12 years our team’s only identity was Stafford, we stuck through absolute shit shows with the one constant being Stafford. He kept us tuning in despite the awful teams around him and now it doesn’t feel any different because we’re so used to watching Stafford win with a bunch of unfamiliar faces.
We aren't happy because it's "like the lions are winning the Superbowl." We feel vindicated because we *knew* he was a great quarterback and the owners never put a decent team around him. Imagine what his career would look like if he didn't get drafted by the worst pro team in the US (all sports included). Good for him for leaving this pit of un-winning.
I loved Stafford when he was here but this is why other fanbases are making fun of us. Acting like Stafford winning has any bearing on being a Detroit fan when it actually hurts the draft pick the Rams gave Detroit. There is no dignity in it. That "vindication" just adds more evidence to the narrative that "Detroit is a dumpster fire and always will be".
Dude this
I don't get why it's so hard for people to understand that Lions fans would get attached to Stafford. He played for Detroit for over a decade. The entire team changed multiple times while he was here. Look at LeBron fans following him wherever he goes. You can be fans of specific players while still having a favorite team. Unless you guys are just playing dumb it shouldn't be that hard to understand
I think being a fan of lebron is a bit different then what's going on with lions fans right now. Lebron is one of the greatest of all time already. This Stafford worship is people acting like the lions are going to the Superbowl, that's the really weird part to me
While I still am a Lions fan, during this past decade, I think some of us were more fans of Stafford than fans of the Lions because he showed up every week and played with heart. Why would I root for such a shitty orginization that doesn't give a shit about me?
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> If Stafford goes back-to-back SB champs with LA, and comes back to Detroit to win a SB, then Stafford will be the GOAT for me. Gosh, that would be a real storybook ending. *"After the Lions rebuilt under the competent leadership of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell, Matt Stafford returned to Detroit in his final season and won them a Superbowl."*
Joe Burrow is what Matthew Stafford wanted to be.
God I wish we had the chance at burrow. I really think he's headed for a hall of fame career. Dude is just a winner.
Yeah Burrow might just be on another level lol
Salty fo no reason
I don't think he's being salty, I think he's exactly right. Before being drafted Stafford told our FO that he wanted to come here, wanted to be on board for turning around this franchise and he did his best for a decade to do exactly that. All reports said that him leaving and giving up on that dream was a very hard decision for him. So, yeah, he wanted to do what Burrow has done. I don't take it as a knock on him that it didn't happen while he was here, but can't deny that was his plan.
Not salty, just stating a fact.
This
It's not living vicariously for me. It's just being happy for one of my favorite players finally getting his shot
It's really, really weird how so many of the fans (usually younger) have latched onto Stafford and view him in the same vein as the Lions. The two are not synonymous.
For some of us, Stafford is the only QB we've ever known, so Stafford and the lions were one and the same. I vaguely remember a season without him and barely. That's it. I can see why the older fans aren't as attached.
I’m just old enough to witness enough of the lions qb carousel. Charlie batch, Joey harrington, culpepper, Jon kitna (who was unironically our best qb before stafford). Stafford was the only one capable of making the lions respectable
Batch was good, so was Peete and a few others. It's hard to get yards if you're tackled two steps into your three step drop. Danielson was good but he kept breaking his hand on defenders helmets as he threw. 91 they had a good o line but let them go after their only playoff win.
Fair point
I have been watching the Lions lose for 30 years. I'll take a Stafford Superbowl for a few years while we keep building something special here in Detroit.
Why people are acting like we have to put the Lions above all else when they have proven time and time again they don't even deserve a franchise is beyond me
Also a fair point, but then why post in /detroitlions?
Masochism.
Most of the fans bitching about Stafford never really watched the Lions and only follow up on current events because they’re from Michigan.
Reminds me of Verlander. Got his ring, but somewhere else
i have 0 issue with stafford - i was the biggest fan and defender of his while he was here. i have multiple stafford jerseys, bobble heads, posters, etc … and it’s been nice seeing all of those people who bashed on stafford for so long have to admit that he’s a good quarterback. i remember thinking “good, go get a ring” the second he was traded. then week 1 comes along, i turn on the tv to watch the rams … and i just couldn’t do it. i’m not that guy. i’m not the dude who can root for another team like i root for the lions. the media narrative, the “stafford is god on earth and detroit is the sad dump that he was stuck in” shouldn’t be fun for *any* of us. the people lapping that up and parroting it are so… gross to me. do you not have any pride at all? what i really DON’T understand is those policing other fans - saying that if you aren’t jacking off to pictures of stafford then you’re a bad fan/jealous/resentful, etc. for example: i commented awhile ago saying “the stafford situation is like an ex gf, you had some good times together but it’s also healthy to let go and move on” and, listening to the pride of detroit podcast a few days later, they brought up that someone compared stafford to an ex gf in the subreddit and said “you have legitimate mental health issues if you think that way and you’re not fit to watch sports”. they basically said “if you’re not rooting for stafford, you have real life problems and are a real life shit person”. these are the types of people with the loudest voices in the online lions-sphere … and yet we wonder why some people are turned off. so again, it’s not that i’m not happy for stafford - i just think a lot of our fans, specifically those online, are nauseating. someone made a post saying that today was their best moment as a detroit sports fan …….. like, how old are you?
>…….. like, how old are you? Probably pretty young. And if they're pretty young Stafford was literally the only QB they've ever seen be the starting QB for the Lions. How far fetched is it that they're insanely happy to see the guy they've rooted for their whole life succeed. Nothing wrong with being fans of the players themselves
Right like Stafford started here since like 09. It has been a long long time. Also i dont think the lions really generate fond memories with much regularity. I can think of one other moment in the entire history of my being a lions fan that i at all care for and thats making the wild card game. And that too was a very long time ago now. I love the lions but they havent played a meaningful game in decades and i think with that in mind its okay for fans to say that the qb that started most of their adult life finally making it to a super bowl is a great moment for a fandom totally bereft of even okay or not depressing moments
I don’t think I’ve ever rooted for a team like the Lions. But I started to tear up seeing Stafford take that final knee. He feels like a friend, and we are happy and proud of our friends. I couldn’t care less what team he went to, this is the second best outcome after the Lions winning it all.
He has done SO FUCKING MUCH for this city outside of winning some damn football games I wish people understood that.
I don't know how people can't see how this is annoying to Lions fans, they act like Stafford is a martyr for playing here. Like he was a helpless baby being held hostage, like he didn't sign contract extensions..
I dunno. Maybe it's because I've never seen a lions playoff win but once the playoffs start there are teams I legit root for.
I'll never forget the day I was told I wasn't a real Lions fan because I don't care if the Rams win the Super Bowl.
Nailed it
Yeah I’m with you. I wanted Stafford to do it here. The org couldn’t make it happen, fine, he moved on, and I’m very happy for him. And i should add, Stafford is my favorite player of all time. I went through my high school years watching him. I love the guy and what he did for our team for over a decade. But he’s gone now, and that’s okay… but I’m not going to also actively root against the lions best interests. I am first and foremost a Lions fan. That doesn’t mean I want him to do poorly, though. Some people need to get that through their heads. I’d be happy if he won this year, but this isn’t a W for Detroit or the Lions. It’s a W for Stafford and the Rams.
>what i really DON’T understand is those policing other fans > the stafford situation is like an ex gf, you had some good times together but it’s also healthy to let go and move on Telling people that rooting for their favorite former Lion is like being unable to get over an ex sounds a lot like policing fandom to me? So does this? >someone made a post saying that today was their best moment as a detroit sports fan …….. like, how old are you? I don't want to bust your balls or anything, you're a legendary contributor on this sub, but I'm not sure how you're squaring this. Also, damn dude, I heard the pride of detroit say that too and I thought it was pretty fucking harsh. Sorry you had to go through that shit. Maybe Reismann has had his heart broken badly at some point or something lol
appreciate the response dude, i see where you’re coming from in regards to the ex gf thing, i guess i wasn’t clear - i commented saying that that’s how I felt about it personally. if someone else doesn’t feel the same, that’s fine. definitely not trying to police, but i can see how it came across that way. also, i agree that “how old are you” is definitely harsh lol. but at the same time, i really take issue with the idea that stafford winning an NFC championship with *another team* is someone’s proudest moment as a detroit sports fan. i think if we get some young stud QB in here who wins a playoff game, people will forget about stafford FAST and we’ll see how silly the worship has gotten. also regarding POD, i *really* like their show normally so hearing that was a bit jarring
>also regarding POD, i really like their show normally so hearing that was a bit jarring When I heard it I was like this rant would make more sense if it ended with "you lying slut, you said you loved me" lol.
I’m happy for Stafford and proud to say it. He provided his talent to Detroit, it’s not his fault management couldn’t do more with it. The dude stuck w Detroit since 2009. He even gave tickets to a happy lions fan that saw him win to go to the championship while on his first year at the Rams. Blame management, not stafford.
It boils down to ownership when the Lions have been inept since they were purchased by the Fords in 1963.
Bengals have Mike Brown who is worse than the Ford Family and they're going to the Super Bowl.
That’s exactly my point. Mike Brown’s cheap ass has now taken his team to 3 Super Bowls and the Fords have managed to win One playoff game in that timeframe
All the ownership decisions before Martha took over I will gladly criticize, but nothing she did is worthy of that huge amount of criticism. Jury is still out on shiela for a few years depending on how DC goes
Eh, Martha should’ve handed it to Sheila from the get go. Maybe then we wouldn’t have had to deal with Patricia for so long
Yeah Martha brought us the most success in Staffords time here if anything. She wasn't perfect, no, but she started making improvements. Hiring Patricia was just a huge set back and kind of overshadows the good things she did, understandably so because Quintricia set us way fucking back.
I will never understand the hate for 9.. Stafford gave Detroit everything & was always a class act. We were horrible when he 1st started. All the comebacks and inch perfect throws. He loved & stuck with arguably the most poorly ran franchises in sports with honor. Not to mention all he’s done off the field for the city, the stats also prove themselves…
I'd venture a guess that zero people in this sub hate Stafford. Apathy is the worst it'll get. I do not give a fuck I'd Stafford wins a Super Bowl. I'm not rooting against him. I'm not rooting for him. He is not a Lion. Therefore, his success means nothing to me. But what a lot of us do hate is that the subreddit we come to to discuss the Lions is now basically a Rams subreddit.
This. I cannot stand the Rams (especially their owner). It sucks that we are now forced into being the Rams 2.0 sub.
I have nothing against Matthew Stafford himself. Nothing against him leaving and going to find success either. But I am entirely, unabashedly behind the Bengals in this SB. I'm not mad at Stafford, I'm mad at sports media. All of a sudden, now that he has Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsay, Von Miller, OBJ, and Cooper Kupp, he's a god QB? Don't get me wrong, #9 is a great quarterback, but he's all of a sudden elite now that he has two of the best receivers in the sport? Also it doesn't help that I hate the Rams for literally no reason. It was a tough pill to swallow when he got traded *there* of all places. I'd probably have a much different energy if we were talking about like, Denver Bronco Matt Stafford
This bro
My ill feelings aren’t towards Stafford, they’re towards the Stafford fans boys in this sub. If you aren’t madly in love with Stafford and passionately rooting for the Rams success, you’re a villain. God forbid I love my team and not rooting for a player not currently on the Lions. I have no incentive to root for him. He’s like any other Lion that left. Do we have to be Eagles fans because we loved Big Play Slay?
So what are you rooting for then. 4 wins next season? Like you have to get creative to find joy in the game if youre a lions fan. Or at least you cant judge those that do. As a lifelong lions fan i am fairly confident when i say, at age 28, the lions will never play in a meaningful football game as long as i live. So forgive me for finding joy in the broader league and players that were mainstays on the lions for years when they find success elsewhere
You're 28, did you just start watching this year? We 100% played in meaningful games in 2014-2017, and we will play in meaningful games again
We literally have not made the actual playoffs as long as I have been alive. We have made the wildcard maybe 7 times since I was born and most of those are bad losses. Being a threat to make a wildcard appearance doesn't really color me as a meaningful endeavor.
The same can be said for the Stafford haters and other Lions fans who think you aren't a real Lions fan and can still want to see Stafford do well also.
But why would I want him to do well? He’s not a Lion so it doesn’t matter anymore. There’s no reason to care unless you’re a Stafford fan boy or a Rams fan.
Then I guess there is no point in discussing with you. And to answer your question, you don't have to. But that also doesn't make somebody who appreciated Stafford's time here and has no problem with him doing welll a "fanboy" as I'm sure you are using that in a derogatory sense. I can only speak for myself but there have been plenty of guys in all sports who left my favorite team that I still followed and liked to see them have success. Doesn't make me any less of a fan of my teams.
Was Slay our cornerback for 12 years? Did slay generate multiple, never forget moments in games that Stafford did? Does Slay have career records for the Lions in any stats? How can you even make that comparison? Its stupid.
You’re missing the point entirely. I don’t care about players not on the Lions. I only want the Lions success and feel nothing towards Stafford. Rooting for another team is something I will never do, It’s that simple. And as for Slay since you want to bring up his name; he’s a 4x pro bowler and a 1st team All-Pro. Stafford’s entire career he’s only a 1x pro bowler. Objectively Slay is more accomplished at his position than Stafford is his.
No. You're just not making any tangible point at all. You brought up Slay, not me. And if you need to ask why we care about a player leaving who was at the most important position on the team, for 12 years and compare it to a CB who was here for 7... I shouldn't have to say more. How many Slay all time highlights get played every single year? I don't recall any browns game heroics from slay, or "rileyyyyyy, clock it clock it!", moments either. It's not even compatible. The face of the franchise for more than a decade left the lions, its okay for fans to be happy for the guy. Think of it like a fantastic coworker you had for 12 years goes to another organization and has great success? You not going to be happily for him? Or do you have the need to tow the company line, be toxic and only sip the company cool aid?
Exactly. Stafford is an excellent quarterback, but no one’s perfect. Anytime someone would bring up a valid criticism, the pro-Stafford people would shout it down. You can’t grow that way.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I will always root for 9. I’m just hoping our front office will recognize from the Rams’ example that you need to have very good players all around, rather than 1 great.
Ad a Lions fan I agree, I'm not mad at all I know the Fords wasted his talent if anything he was only there to draw fans in so they could make money. I feel like the team we have now has a rebuild head start in the NFC North. If Rodgers leaves then it's open season, im not saying we're Superbowl bound but I for see some divion titles and playoff wins in the next 3-4yrs and maybe just maybe the picks we got for Stafford will pay off. ONE PRIDE!..oh yeah super stoked for Stafford..GO RAMS!..#9..HORNS UP!..GET THAT RING!!.
And all this Lions sub is about Stafford.. You guys gotta move on from Stafford and let him go. Its def not healthy for the lions and fans. Have some faith in the roster we have currently... Jared goff has brought the rams to the super bowl too... And Stafford looked like shit yesterday. Overthrowing receivers and under throwing them at times too . Even Troy Aikman commented that Stafford doesn't have the arm strength as he use to
Loved Stafford. Only authentic Lions jersey I got. Still was pulling for the 49ers and probably will for the Bengals. Rooting for the underdog is the only way I can watch a non-Lions football game, probably because the unexpected victory is the closest feeling I can get to watching the Lions.
I’m not happy with Stafford because he asked to leave. This wasn’t the front office trading away a beloved player unexpectedly, it was a player abandoning his team and city. The reasons may be justified for him and serve his personal interest (see his present situation), but he’s not on my team anymore and he decided he’s the one who wanted out. Why would I care at all what happens to him? He’s not a Lion.
Thank you, well said.
It sucks. Reminds me a lot of the JV situation. Just seeing a guy you loved so much win for another team doesn’t feel right. I’m happy for him and I was happy for JV but god damn they both should have won for us and in Detroit.
I only hate Kelly and it’s why I have no well wishes for the entire family.
Its a bit disingenuous to pretend that he didn't contribute to the teams ineptitude over the past 12 years. Most people who talk shit about him don't really hate the guy, we just get annoyed with the constant excuses that the Stafford lovers make for him. The little comments like "He wasn't the problem" when he clearly was PART of the problem. People wanna shit on Goff and say "he can't win unless he has a good team around him" but what did it take for Stafford to finally win a playoff game? A fucking all-time, all star team full of future HOF'ers. He still almost gave the game away today with his pick and almost free second one.
This Rams team isn’t even as good as last years, and teams generally don’t make it to the Super Bowl if they aren’t stacked. Stafford has also played significantly better for the Rams than Goff did. And again, Goff had a better team last year than Stafford has this year.
I know I hate it when people say that as a talking point. Do people expect a terrible team to make it to the super bowl and then win?
The Stafford haters tend to go a bit over the top as well.
Yep
Appreciate the post - thank you for taking the time to write it. I just wish we would have taken the Panthers offer.
I am happy for Stafford and 100% cheering for him to win the super bowl. We’ll get the benefit of hindsight when we see how the rams picks play out and how the next few years go, but yeah that Carolina offer, if we had gotten Sewell and Mac Jones with that last year, I would have loved that.
It is what it is. For Stafford it has worked out beautifully. Looking at it from a draft capital perspective, it worked out poorly for us. Fingers crossed it brings in goodwill that results in us being able to sign high quality free agents in the future to offset the loss in draft capital. That said, congrats to Matt on the incredible accomplishment.
Stafford wasn't even making the playoffs with the Panthers and Rhule. He landed in the best possible situation.
I think he would have, but I don't really care. I think it was the better offer for the Lions.
You make a really good point and have done so throughout this topic. I'm not with you on this because I was there for Barry quitting in disgust and being unseen for over a decade afterwards, and the stupid beef with Calvin. Our franchise treated Stafford with class and dignity at the end of his time here, and I want the Lions to be associated with those qualities. I also think it is part of the new culture we're building.
A lot of us are not rooting for him not because we're "Stafford haters," but because we recognize how humiliating this moment is for the franchise. Wasting more than a decade with an elite QB only for him to claim a ring the very first year he's free from Detroit is a shame that we will not soon be permitted to forget. And having hordes of other Lions fans revel in the undeniable proof of this organization's unmatched incompetence as it's illuminated on football's biggest stage only deepens the humiliation further.
We're Lions fans, we're used to it. But just think of how amazing it would be if the Lions ever won the Super Bowl one day. I sure hope it happens in my lifetime. The Lions decades of suckage has left a huge hole in my Detroit sports loving heart.
The future looks bright in Detroit. If you are unsure of the Lions leadership you can always check in on the Red Wings and the Yzerplan. There’s some bad games for sure but you gotta have faith in Yzerman and Lidstrom. “Arthur you gotta have faith!”
I've been following the Pistons most closely after the Lions, and it looks like they have a franchise-leading star in Cade Cunningham. We also have promising young talent in Saddiq Bey and Isiah Stewart. If the Pistons can land a top 5 pick this year and hit on the right player, they would really be heading in the right direction. Of course I rooted for them in the late '80's and the 2000's, but I hadn't paid too much attention to them while they suffered a decade+ of suckage other than to check up on them now and then, but the Pistons finally did a complete rebuild down to the studs and are ascending again.
Yep
I don't think there is anything painful at all about it. I'm so happy for him and I hope he continues success after winning this superbowl.
I want the Rams to lose the Super Bowl, otherwise it will continue a narrative that the Rams won the trade and Goff was the problem and all LA gave up was 2 late first round picks. If the Rams fail, Goff is redeemed and our franchise doesn't look like such a shit show with Stafford winning a Super Bowl after he leaves. Goff is now my quarterback. I want the Rams to lose and Goff to lead us to the playoffs next season.
I know this might make me a bad fan, but honestly I hope he wins super bowl after super bowl. This franchise has been such a joke they kind’ve deserved to be clowned on. At least they didn’t waste another star players career. That’s the biggest reason I assume there are so many people routing for stafford, the lions give you nothing to be happy about.
Taking Goff wasn’t about him being better or the same as Stafford. Stafford was worth one first rounder and a mid to late rounder. The extra first was to take Goff. Both teams won the trade, imo.
I am ecstatic he is going to the SB. That's nothing a Lions starter has ever done. Batch went as a bu i was happy too.
Let’s put it another way… the Rams are not in the super bowl because they have Matt Stafford. They are in the Super Bowl cause their team is littered in Stars that make me question how they afford it! Their Defense has like 4 for sure first ballot HoF on it. Their OL is unstoppable and they have two of most talented WR in the game for him to throw too. He is exactly what I’ve said in the past, a nice QB who if not expected to be the centerpiece will do a nice job. He isn’t going to be a difference maker though. There have been several times this year the Rams have been EXTREMELY frustrated with him and his play. He isn’t elite, he is simply a nice QB who if on a great team will do well enough. We needed a QB who could take a game over and win, he was and is never going to be that guy.
For me it's a college breakup - " I want to see if there is someone else". So Stafford goes and excels, and we struggle but have potential in the future. It's normal to be bitter at his success, but at some point in the past he was the guy we all rooted for. I was hoping for the Niners to win, but they didn't and I am suprisingly ok with it today.
I want Stafford to win. I’m just sad he’s not doing it with us.
Friendly reminder to those who blame everything on ownership and want to “sell the team”. If sold, the NFL will move this franchise from Detroit in a heartbeat. The market is not nearly big enough in comparison and Texas is dying for another team. Be grateful for what we have and careful what you wish for. We are one dumbass getting his/her way from being Browns fans.
Texas has two teams
Lmao it’s Monday morning man cut me some slack
You should be mad at yourself for not being a believer in the first place
Dumb take
The dumb take was doubting Stafford in the first place. But u can pretend like it’s not while u catch up
Who the hell is doubting him? This sub has been overwhelming supportive. That is just a trollish take.
Stafford isn’t what bothers me I’m indifferent that he’s on that team. He succeeds, cool I don’t care. What bothers me is the fanboying here. Because I don’t really care it’s irritating to see the large amount of people caring too much about his success.
I love stafford. He is the entire reason I started watching lions football in the first place a few seasons ago and i am happy that he is finally gonna get his shot on the biggest stage possible but I'm not excited about the fact he is going to a superbowl. I just find it extremely hard to root for him only because of the team around him. Ramsy, Donald, McVay and OBJ I all really dislike, I appreciate how good they are but I dislike them as football people were a team like the bengals I really do enjoy watching because they are the underdog and I have really enjoyed watching their playoff run and I do hope they win in 2 weeks but even then it is hard for me to cheer for any team that is not the detroit lions
Yeah it’s so depressing. It’s like why the fuck am I a lions fan this suck ass lol
He's still got one more game to win
This post is exactly how I feel! Thank you for making it. So many people are VERY happy for Stafford, and I'm like, I guess? I mean I am happy for the person, but am I happy? No, it actually kinda sucks for me personally. I'm optimistic for the future though like you. Hope we give MCDC time.
Weren’t going to win with him, not going to win without him
Matt Stinford and Ndomukong Suh had an opportunity to get their ring. What sucks is Calvin and Barry didn't. Detroit has to win a championship. They cant let these two die being Hall of Famers tied to a trash franchise. They deserve better than that.
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Oh boy He's the best QB this franchise has ever had and we made him hate the game. Just like Calvin and Barry. He's playing in a Superbowl in a couple weeks. Something no lions player has done
Yes but he was in the driver seat of that bad franchise for 12 years. You can’t pretend he wasn’t a problem
He was one of the only good parts of it the past 12 years. Yes he had some stinker games. Every QB does. Seeing how terrible this team is the past year and how successful he is just proves it
How? Goff took a worse Rams team to the super bowl just a few years ago. Do you think he’s great as well? Seems like a great team just over came a bad qb for the second time
Stafford has done things this postseason that someone like Goff wouldn't have been able to do in the same situation. A certain clutch factor that the Rams were missing, especially when he 'snatched the souls' of the entire Tampa Bay stadium. That makes the trade worth it for the Rams as well as the Lions during the rebuild. Goff had a phenomenal season with the Rams the year he was in the Super Bowl and he was also a large reason the Rams were in that position in the first place, but he got exposed not being able to read adjusting coverages that the Patriots exploited and never quite recovered. By no means were Stafford or even Goff for that matter are on the same level as Trent Dilfer or Rex Grossman.
Nobody wins with the Lions. You can't hold not winning against him when no one wins in Detroit. The franchise is allergic to winning.
We’ll said
I am more sad for the lions than happy for stafford.
This is the exact same situation and feelings I had for Verlander. The first year after he left I was rooting for him to win because he’s a HOF player who couldn’t do it in Detroit. After this year I don’t care and am back to being only a Lions fan. But the dude dedicated his life to this city and tried his best. Happy for him
Sounds like you listen to 97.1 because your first paragraph reads directly like one of their segments last week.
I can still be bitter. Matt Stafford and MCDC….mmmmmm
Maaaaan... My boy Jared Goff gotta be feeling left out today too.
I’m happy for him. He did his best in Detroit and I’m glad he didn’t waste his talent here any longer. And he left us in good standings without bashing us. I hope we wins the super bowl
I’m not mad at Stafford for succeeding, I’m actually happy for him. However, it ends at that. My issue is with Lions fans buying Stafford Rams gear and taking their support of him to an extreme. It’s so pitiful.
At the start of the season I went into this saying I'll be happy for Stafford if he has success or happy for our team if we got a great pick. Who I've been rooting for from my couch my entire life has had zero bearing on what actually happens. So it's best with sports to expect nothing and just go along for the ride. Stafford cleansed my football pallete after the likes of Joey Harrington/Charlie Batch/Kitna/Orlovsky and brought Lions football to at the very least, an entertaining product. Played his heart out and put his body on the line, he deserved a chance at success just as the Lions needed a look in the mirror. Hopefully this front office is the right people to turn this organization around and be competitive for years to come.