It's now Friday, and folks are still talking about Calvin's non-catch. It's not the typical, "Screw them!" banter. Rather, it's general disbelief. Both talk show hosts and callers echo the same thought "Yeah, it's been five days, and I still can't wrap my head around it." There's no anger; just confusion. And the disgusting call continues to haunt the Lions organization.
It wasn't simply a missed opportunity for a team desperate for a win (2 wins in the last 33 games). The ruinous call by the referees (and later backed by the arrogant NFL brass) demolished the brittle Lions' good cheer. The disheartening way that game played out - compounded by the loss of Matthew Stafford - sent fans' expectations plummeting. The cry you heard late Sunday afternoon was "Same old Lions."
The result? The team can't even sell out their first home game. This is a fan base that sold out 50 straight games during the Matt Millen regime! These fans love their Lions, almost to a fault. Yet, they're beaten down. By Millen. By Marinelli. By Barry Sanders. By Favre. And by the friggin' NFL and their referees. And this isn't anything new. The referees have been punishing the Lions for years. As a bad team, they never get the benefit of the 50/50 call. This isn't the first time the NFL overruled a Calvin catch. That 0-16 season would not have happened if not for referee intervention. Case in point, the fifth loss of that season - at Minnesota - the referees first took away a great Calvin catch. That's not entirely true. The referees actually determined he made the catch and then fumbled, giving the Vikings the ball late in the 4th quarter and down 10-9. The Lions challenged the ruling on the field. After numerous replays showed Calvin caught the ball and then hit the turf and THEN the ground caused the fumble, the head referee decided there was not ample evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. Thanks. But it gets worse. On the Vikings ensuing game winning drive, another ref awarded the Vikings a 42 (!!!!) yard pass interference penalty where the Lions player (Leigh Bodden) never actually touched the receiver. Think my take on this exhibits a Lions' bias? Perhaps you should see what the Vikings fans said at the time. Or perhaps the national media.
The league has been hating on the Lions for years. And now, the Fords are finally feeling the pinch. And if the Fords are feeling the pinch, the NFL will too. Ford is one of the NFL's biggest sponsors. But the NFL is still the all-powerful deity. If Ford gives them fewer advertising dollars, there's plenty of other automotive companies ready to fill the void (Hello, Kia!) and target that elusive adult male demo.
So, chalk another one up for the establishment.
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