91 years of Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day football!!

Posted on by farlane
Detroit's first Thanksgiving Day game 1934

Detroit’s First Thanksgiving Day Game 1934

I’m thankful for the Lions being a solid football team, for the Pistons leading the Eastern Conference, for friends & family & the turkey I am about to cook and for all of you readers!! Thank you for keeping this interesting and I hope that whatever your plans are, that you take some time to give thanks to those in your life who make it better.

The Detroit Lions will face divisional foe Green Bay Packers in today’s 1pm Thanksgiving Day football matchup. It’s the anniversary of the first-ever NFL Thanksgiving Day game that featured the Detroit Lions and the undefeated Chicago Bears who won the game 19-16. It was also the first year of Detroit Lions football!

The Detroit Historical Museum shares that in 1934 the Portsmouth Spartans made the wise decision to leave Portsmouth, Ohio and rebrand as the Detroit Lions. The Lions have played every Thanksgiving Day since 1934 (except for 1939 to 1944 during World War II) due to the influence of the team’s first owner George Richards who also owned the WJR radio station & whose marketing savvy was a big part of the early success of the National Football League.

In other Lions news, the team made an agreement with Eminem to produce halftime shows. For his first act, Em has lined up Detroit-born Hall of Fame & Grammy winning rocker Jack White along with fellow Detroiter & gospel musician CeCe Winans who will sing the national anthem. And yesterday, they announced the unretirement of All-pro center Frank Ragnow!

OK here’s a few photos from the Detroit Lions of Jameson Flippin’ Williams and a look at the Lions throwback 2025 Thanksgiving Day uniforms to take us out…

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Detroit Lions secure top playoff spot

Posted on by farlane
Spirit of Detroit Number One Playoff Seed Edition by Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions

Spirit of Detroit Number One Playoff Seed Edition by Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions

Last night the city of Detroit erupted in celebration after the 14-2 Detroit Lions destroyed the also 14-2 Minnesota Vikings last night for their 15th win & top seed in the NFC. It’s an absolutely incredible moment for the long suffering franchise & Lions fans everywhere!

Jahmyr Gibbs by Detroit Lions

Jahmyr Gibbs by Detroit Lions

The Lions running back lived up to his Sonic nickname with 139 yards on the ground, another 31 through the air, and FOUR touchdowns. Gibbs became the first Lions player to lead the NFL in scrimmage touchdowns (20) since Sanders in 1991 (17) while setting a single-season franchise record for TDs!!

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Get ready for the 2024 Detroit Lions!

Posted on by farlane
500 Drone Lion over Michigan Central Station by Stephen McGee Films

500 Drone Lion over Michigan Central Station by Stephen McGee Films

The Detroit Lions open the 2024 NFL Season at home Sunday night at 8:30pm vs Matthew Stafford & the Los Angeles Rams. In celebration, the Lions will hold a drone show over downtown Detroit like the one they held over Michigan Central Station back in January. The show will take place 400 feet above Ford Field facing downtown this Saturday (Sep 7) at 8:45pm.

There’s a huge amount of excitement around the Lions this year following their stellar 2023 season – let us know how you’re feeling in the comments!!

Stephen took this photo in January . Follow him @stephen_mcgree on Instagram. You can purchase this print & get information about his work including Resurgo, a documentary about the rebirth of Detroit on his website.

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Detrpit Lions Drone Show

Remembering the 0-16 Detroit Lions

Posted on by farlane

Unable to Watch by Sam

Unable to Watch by Sam

“This is not fun to go through, obviously. But there’s people going through a lot worse than this.”
-Lions head coach Rod Marinelli (2008)

Detroit Lions fans who haven’t successfully repressed the memories know that yesterday (December 28th) was the 13-year anniversary of the Lions finishing 0-16. With their 31-21 loss on Dec 28, 2008 to the Green Bay Packers they became the first team ever to go winless in a 16-game season. While they have been far from amazing in the first year of the Dan Campbell era, there are at least a few glimmers of hope to be found in their 2-12-1 season. At least that’s what I’m told. 😅

Sam took this photo at the Thanksgiving Day game when it was already pretty clear where the team was heading. See more in her Thanksgiving Day Football ’08 gallery on Flickr & for sure follow her blog Roar of the Tigers for entertaining content!

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Go Green, Go White & Go Blue: Rivalry Week is Here

Posted on by farlane

4th & Goal by Cory Smith

4th & Goal by Cory Smith 

The undefeated & #6 ranked University of Michigan Wolverines travel to Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday to face the also 7-0 Michigan State University Spartans. First & foremost, let us know in the comments who you got this weekend! 

mLive notes that the last time these two programs were top 10 with such a high profile meeting, the Beatles were touring America:

Saturday’s game between the Wolverines and the Spartans will be the first time in the 113-year history between these two state rivals that both teams are at least 7-0. It’s also the first game both teams have been ranked in the Top 10 since the same year The Beatles landed in the U.S.

The setting was East Lansing on October 10, 1964. Seventh-ranked Michigan took on 9th-ranked MSU in one of the biggest games in the decades-long rivalry, with Michigan winning 17-10 in front of 78,234 people. This was just the fourth game against each other where both teams were ranked in the Top 10.

…Michigan is favored by four over the No. 8 ranked Spartans. The Wolverines lead the all-time series 71-37-5.

Cory took this photo of the Spartans getting ready to punch it in back in October of 2009. MSU eventually won the game in overtime. See more in Cory’s HDR Photography gallery on Flickr & view and purchase prints on his website!

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Big Ten Takes the Field

Posted on by farlane

Band...Take the Field! by Paul McKenney

Band…Take the Field! by Paul McKenney

Big Ten college football returns to the Great Lakes State this weekend as the Michigan State Spartans kick off their 2020 college football season on Saturday at noon against Rutgers in Spartan Stadium. The University of Michigan Wolverines will Minneapolis for a 6:44 PM date with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. 

Paul shared this photo with me, writing “Since long before my freshman year at Michigan Law, the P.A. announcer began after the traditional Band….Take The Field!” This fall for the first time since the Band initially performed at football games in 1898, the Band did not take the field in Ann Arbor in September. They’re back & here’s hoping that season is without incident!

You can see more of Paul’s work at McKenney’s Light.

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Go inside the Lion’s Den with the 2020 Detroit Lions

Posted on by farlane

Season Finale by Mark Swanson

Season Finale by Mark Swanson

Pride of Detroit writes that one of the best video series the Detroit Lions have been producing over the past few years is their “Inside the Den” documentary (video below):

In year’s past, the video series has done their best to mimic popular HBO series “Hard Knocks” to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at training camp and the personal lives of certain Lions players. Despite all of the disruptions this offseason from COVID-19, the series is continuing this year, and on Thursday night, Episode 1 of the series dropped.

This year, the series may be more interesting than in previous seasons, seeing as media coverage of the team is severely limited right now. Episode 1 focuses heavily on the team’s preparations for the COVID-19 virus, the players arriving at the team facility for the first time this offseason, media day, head coach Matt Patricia making his appearance on “Good Morning Football,” and, of course, the Lions finally taking the field for conditioning drills and practice.

It’s really a pretty enlightening episode. From watching all of the preparation the team is doing to keep the facility safe—including spraying down pads between reps for players—to seeing signs just about everywhere in the facility indicating which personnel are allowed where.

Mark took this photo at Ford Field at the final game of the 2019 season. See more in his awesome Detroit photo album.

Here’s the video:

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What the heck is Honolulu Blue?

Posted on by farlane

Detroit Lions by Healthier Michigan

Detroit Lions by A Healthier Michigan

Yesterday as it often does, my curiosity got the better of me and I had to find the answer as to why the Detroit Lions official blue is called “Honolulu Blue”. Fortunately,  The Evolution of the Detroit Lions’ Uniform by Bill Dow has the answer:

When WJR owner G.A. Richards purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans in 1934 and moved the team to Detroit, the newly renamed Lions unveiled a striking uniform consisting of a blue jersey, silver pants, blue socks, and a silver helmet.

According to a 1950 Lion media guide, “the blue, a distinctive shade was especially developed for G.A. Richards.” According to team lore, their first owner came up with the color after admiring the hue of the Pacific Ocean on a trip to Hawaii and the shade was named “Honolulu blue.”

In 1999, Glenn Presnell, the then lone surviving member of the first Lion’s team and the league’ oldest alumnus, described his role in selecting the first uniform in an interview with me.

“When we met with Mr. Richards, my wife and I also helped select the Lions’ colors, “ Presnell said. “He had asked us to look at the different jerseys in the next room. There were all different colors, orange and black, red and white, you name it. We saw that Honolulu blue and silver and said we liked it best. So Richards chose that.”

You can read on for more including the Lions brief & doomed flirtation with Hoosier colors.

See more in A Healthier Michigan’s Lions Thanksgiving Day 2014 album!

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Time to Roar: Detroit Lions return to the playoffs

Posted on by farlane

Sorry. This was supposed to post this morning but somehow didn’t. Can we count this as the Lions’ big disappointment and win tonight??

matthew-stafford

Matthew Stafford, photo by Brook Ward

The Detroit Lions take the field at 8:15 PM tonight vs the Seattle Seahawks, who are 8 point favorites. This is the Lions’ first playoff appearance since January of 2015 when they were totally jobbed by the officiating crew. While I’m tempted to invite speculation on just how they will “Lions” this one, I am enough of a fan to leave it at “Go Lions!”

View Brook’s photo background big, see more in his Sports From My Perspective slideshow, and view & purchase photos on his website.

The Curse of Bobby Layne

Posted on by farlane

Bobby Layne Detroit Lions

Well, football season is almost here and Detroit Lions’ fans are probably feeling optimistic, so it’s probably time to explain The Curse of Bobby Layne:

In 1958, after leading the Lions to 3 NFL Championships and providing Detroit nearly decade of Hall of Fame play, the Lions traded Bobby Layne. Bobby was injured during the last championship season and the Lions thought he was through and wanted to get what they could for him. According to Legend, as he was leaving for Pittsburgh Bobby said that Detroit “would not win for 50 years”. In the pages that follow we present evidence that supports and confirms the existence of this curse which has been plaguing this team for nearly half a century.

Read on for more. You can also watch an ESPN feature on the origin of the Curse of Bobby Layne and check out Bobby Layne in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

View the photo background bigtacular.

More Detroit Lions on Michigan in Pictures.