It blared across my many sports and social media news feeds yesterday and Monday. Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver of the Detroit Lions, retires after nine years in the league. If anyone has witnessed what the man has put his body through the last couple of years, it was clear to see that Johnson was barely “Megatron”. Yes still elite, still double, even triple covered; but something seemed off. Something wasn’t quite right. At 30 years old and making wise investments and knowing the team you’ve come to love was nothing but a joke, retirement seems the best option.
Which again brings me to you the moron fan. In what way do you think that Calvin drew out the Lions? He made it clear to friends and some teammates 2015 was his last year…in August! Gathered up the football after what was to be his last touchdown at this level, had an emotional moment with his quarterback who has helped provide him with a record breaking season and contributed greatly to a 5000 yard passing season for him, allowed news to leak that retirement was a likelihood. Not maybe, not possibly likely to occur. Then when it leaked yet again he was retiring The Lions for the umpteenth time asked him to reconsider and CJ81 never refuted the claim.
What did I see? “I think the last couple months of him dragging it out soured me” “Coward, like Barry Sanders!” of course the obligatory “Fuck You Megatron”
Tell me what you owe the Detroit Lions? A franchise that misused its best players for 60 years, that valued the loyalty and servitude of Russ Thomas, Wayne Fontes, Matt Millen, Martin Mayhew over the performance of Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Doug English, Bubba Baker, Ndamukong Suh, Alex Karras, Wayne Walker lo these six decades? It’s never the Lions fault! It’s always the “ungrateful player”. The player that, while I’m loath to say slavery, I would certainly call indentured service. Contracts unguaranteed, can be cut at a seconds notice, a hard salary cap yet even a franchise as poorly run as the Detroit Lions is worth over one billion dollars…yet for this billion dollars, you the fan have (if you’re over 25) one playoff win…no super bowl trips and Carolina has made two, even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers luck into a Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons got in accidentally one year…not our Lions…yet it’s never their fault.
Would Johnson have retired if the Lions were a Super Bowl caliber contender every year? Maybe. All we know now is the Lions are not Super Bowl contenders and Megatron like Sanders and Suh before him are gone.
