The 42-17 pounding the Cardinals inflicted on the Lions wasn’t the only thing that upset Golden Tate Sunday afternoon.
It was also the fans.
As Detroit was getting their faces caved in by Arizona, fans let the Lions players know their displeasure by none other than booing. This began pretty quick as well since Matthew Stafford ended up getting picked off four plays into the game.
Here’s Tate voicing his displeasure on the fans via Brendan Savage of Mlive.com:
“You know, I’m the first one to say I love our fans and I think our fans are amazing and they’ve been patient for a long time,” Tate said. “But before the game got out of hand, you know before the game started, I looked up, there a lot of empty seats.
“Early on in the game, our team is getting booed. Later in the game, it sounded like the loudest they got was when Stafford was leaving the game and Dan (Orlovsky) was coming in and that’s not the support that we want.
“You know, when we win, we all win together – the city, as an organization, as a state. When we lose, we all lose together. Today, I felt like at times our fan base kind of turned their back on us.”
And when a reporter wanted to move on from the fans, Tate wasn’t ready to stop sounding off:
“But we have a lot of confidence in our fan base and we can’t do this without our fan base,” Tate continued. “And we expect them to be with us a little bit better next week. We got a chance to still be special. We got two more at home … and we’re expecting our fan base to be there for us and support us.
“I know we’re not playing the type of football that we want to play right now but we need our fans. We need them.”
But what about those fans who’ve living and dying with this pathetic organization for longer than two and a half seasons Tate?
“I consider us family, though, and I think there’s going to be time where family go through trials and tribulations,” Tate said. “There’s going to be times where we don’t agree with each other as far as family but at the end of the day we still gotta find a way to come together is how I see it.
“I don’t see our fan base as just the Lions fans. I consider us family and what I mean by that is it’s more than football to me. It’s being out in the community trying to bring this city together. You know, helping whoever I can who is down. And right now we’re just down.
“But we need the continuous support of our family at the end of the day.”
It’s pretty simple. Tate simply doesn’t understand the trials and tribulations of a Lions fan. Tate has been to and won playoff games. He’s been to and won a Super Bowl. He’s experienced the highs of a respectable football team.
Lions fans have never had that.
Lions fans have endured an 0-16 season, zero respect from the League, one playoff win since 1957 the Eisenhower administration and plenty of futility to go around.
https://twitter.com/ShowtimeTate/status/653383463047962628
Tate, you’re an excellent player and one of the only guys on the team with the gull to speak out about the injustices experienced by the team over the past week. However Lions fans don’t need a lecture, especially from a guy whose been here for less than a season and half. What you have experienced in your short time in Detroit fans have experienced for a lifetime.
Not to mention Lions fans who were booing don’t need a letter from those pretentious fans about what it means to be a good fan.
The Lions suck and it’s about time they know how everyone in the Motor City feels.
