Are you ready for some football?

Let's Talk Football

Recently I ran into a friend at the bar that gave me shit for going back to being a Seahawks football fan.  He suggested that I write a blog about why I am no longer a Detroit Lions fan and I thought it was a good idea. Plus it's much more interesting than my 5 favorite blogs which is what today's topic was supposed to be. 

Let's be VERY clear about something.  For my whole life, up until about 5 years ago, I was a Seahawks fan. I grew up in a house where football was a religion, almost as much as baseball, and the Seahawks were THE team.  My brother, always the rebel, was a Detroit Lions fan.  And although we gave him massive amounts of shit it was allowed. 

My first husband is a 49ers fan and tried to convert me the whole time we were married.  Hell, he still tries to convince me that I should switch.  I dated a guy who was a Raiders fan and still refused to be anything but a Seahawks fan.  I wasn't converting for anyone.  No way, no how. 

Then I got married a second time, to a Lions fan.  I don't know what it is about Lion's fans.  Maybe the devotion in the face of so many losses, their enthusiasm for a losing team is pretty amazing. Confronted with that enthusiasm from August through January, I chose to become a Lions fan.  

I had shirts, and hats, and sweatpants.  I bought things just because they were Honolulu blue. I watched as many games as I could and when I worked Sunday's I watched the play by play coverage online. I was a Lions fan. 

When this years football season started I swore I wasn't going to give  up my status as a Lions fan just because I wasn't married to a Lion fan anymore.  I was certain that even though there were no ties to Michigan anymore I was still going to be steadfast in my fandom.  

The problem was that every time I put on my sweats or my t-shirts or told someone I was a Lions fan I felt like I wasn't being true to me.  Suddenly, I felt like a traitor.  How dare I think that after 25 years of being a Seahawks fan I could continue to be a Lions fan after just 5.  

So I made the decision to go back to my roots.  It has nothing to do with statistics, who is winning or losing, the fact that I love the Seahawks neon green.  It has everything to do with being bound and determined to be true to myself and get back to who I am.  

It turns out; who I am is the 12th man.