Will Detroit Lions supporters jeer Matthew Stafford as he returns to the city for the first time since the 2021 trade?
Since it seemed like the Detroit Lions may host the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card stage of the playoffs many weeks ago, we have largely avoided discussing the Matthew Stafford narrative this week. The stories had already been fabricated once that became a reality, and I could see Lions supporters were becoming tired of it.
But let’s tackle this head-on now that the big moment is just a few hours away. It cannot be avoided. This team’s 12-year starting quarterback is returning, and he will stop at nothing to keep the Lions from making it to the divisional stage of the playoffs for the first time since 1991.
Despite my best efforts to ignore it, this really makes me feel conflicted. For almost a decade, this man devoted everything he could to the city of Detroit. After he eventually won a Super Bowl with Los Angeles, I purchased the man’s jersey because he was my favorite player since Barry Sanders. To be very honest, I hate that he has the ability to eliminate my club from the postseason. I detest it just as much as I detest the fact that Jared Goff vs. Sean McVay and Stafford’s return to Detroit seem to be the only storylines in this game.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. My devotion lays with the Lions 100%. On Sunday night, I hope Stafford fails in every manner imaginable. I’m now ravenous because this franchise has made me understand what it’s like to be successful on the other side. I NEED to win the playoffs; I don’t just want to. Nothing else matters on this Sunday morning.
Some people’s zeal is only fueled by the thought of defeating Stafford. It would be a highly symbolic way to move past another failed chapter of Lions football history. Stafford may not have been entirely to blame for the team’s lack of success during his tenure in Detroit, but it’s still true that the quarterback is the team’s symbol, and many Lions supporters would surely find solace in burying that symbol.
I find very little meaning in that. This team can destroy the past without a ceremonial victory or the casting out of demons. They’ve completed it already. They’ve already tied the franchise’s all-time victory total. They’re routinely shattering team records that haven’t been touched since the 1950s. They’ve pushed divisional opponents out of the postseason chase, and raised their first banner in three decades. The Lions’ defeat to Stafford on Sunday won’t be the result of their history catching up with them; rather, it will represent the inevitable development of a team, and losses like this one will hurt more because they have real significance.
I’ve strayed from the topic of the day because, it’s obvious, I had a lot of unspoken feelings about this game that needed to be let out. To put it briefly, it stinks that things have to be this way, but let’s destroy Stafford and the Rams, not because winning will lift a permanent enigma from our past. Since that is, in any case, completely absurd. Even if they do win on Sunday, you can be sure that the SOLers will emerge at the first hint of difficulty after this game.
Rather, let’s prevail in this game because, as a talented football squad, we should win it and there are larger things in store.
But today’s Question of the Day is:
Should Lions fans boo Matthew Stafford?
My response: I’m not here to dictate to you how you should support the Lions. Being a Lions supporter has no “correct” way to do it. You can wear your Lions Matthew Stafford jersey, or you could burn it. I don’t give a damn and I wouldn’t criticize you in any case—well, maybe a little bit since you burned it rather than donated it. If you uploaded a video of yourself burning your jersey to social media in order to gain attention, I would judge you much more.
Though I wouldn’t personally boo, I don’t boo very often. Given that Stafford is the opposing quarterback, I don’t believe he should be given any preferential treatment. However, I think Stafford will be jeered when his name is said for the first time, which is okay, I suppose. Go ahead and do it if it helps you move on.
Still, I believe the majority of Lions supporters honor Stafford greatly for all that he accomplished for the team and the community. It makes perfect sense to set that aside and boo the heck out of the man because he’s the enemy this week. If you’d prefer sit quietly and just pray he doesn’t beat the Lions, I get it.
Let’s at least make the dude feel uneasy by being extremely boisterous during the huddle.
