Fire Millen

With a comfortable home at the NFL’s basement, the Detroit Lions organization continually finds new ways to perpetuate disappointment. Spanning the course of 40 some years, the Lions have won but one playoff appearance, establishing themselves as arguably the league’s most consistently bad franchise. The problem, unfortunately, lies not in the players acquired to alter the losing tradition, but with an ownership that regularly fails to fix mistakes, listen to the fan base, and cultivate a culture of winning. The Fords, who’ve owned the Detroit Lions for the majority of the clubs depressing existence, provide constant reminders of corporate detachment. More concerned with endorsements, television deals, and the highlights of owning an historical NFL franchise, the Ford’s find absolutely no incentive to change anything. Come to think of it, why should they. The Detroit Lions somehow cling to a fan base that fills immense stadiums weekly, scores high ratings weekly, and slumps into depression weekly. However, with major changes being wrought in recent weeks, the supporting populous has made its goals increasingly audible. With the firing of miserable coach Steve Mariucci, the Lions appear to have made steps in the right direction. The brunt of the issue, though, clings to the front office and above, better known as Matt Millen and the Fords. It’s finally time for deaf ears to learn to hear.

Recently developing into a fervent display of outrage, the brutal treatment of Lions upper-management on behalf of the widespread fan-base is nothing short of downright honesty. Ron French, sports beat writer for the Detroit News, compares the fans’ vocality to revolution. "Fans of losing teams often express their disillusionment. But the ferocity of this revolution, complete with organized rallies and elaborate Web sites, illustrates the extraordinary discontent of Detroit's football faithful and provides a template for the changing relationship between professional sports teams and their increasingly vocal fans. " Unprecedented throughout the history of sports, the shocking support of the recently dubbed “Fire Millen” craze has reached new heights. Adding to the dimensions of the effort, “Thousands are planning rallies, printing signs and T-shirts and haranguing the team's management on freshly minted Web sites. The object of fan derision is President Matt Millen, under whose leadership the Lions have gone 20-57” (French, detnews.com).

The insurgence against the Lions President, surprises some, but comes justified to others. Using consecutive first-round draft picks on quarterback Joey Harrington and wide receivers Charles Rogers, Roy Williams, and Mike Williams, (all of whom plagued by injuries, laziness, and outrageous drug-related suspensions) many in Detroit feel slighted of opportunities to form a solid team unit. Chris Puzzuoli, a lifetime Lions fan from Ypsilanti, feels that “the lions should not be in the position they are in with the weapons they have offensively.” Continuing to further his disgust with draft choices that were expected to bring positive changes to a fumbling organization, Puzzuoli claims that “they [the lions] don’t know how to play as a team and their [the lions] lack of trust is very evident week in and week out” (Interview). Drawing particular criticism, the aforementioned draft choices have consistently failed to meld, leaving many to question their source of arrival – once again, Matt Millen. The criticism, though harsh when spoken from the collective lips of marching fans, seems most biting when written in the daily columns. Michael Rosenberg, sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press and one of the more humorous in the business, delivered this searing statement regarding the current state of the Lions debauchery: “Good people have to watch a horrible football team, year after year, because the owner doesn't have the brains to fire the president, and the president doesn't have the guts to fire himself.”

Perhaps the saddest predicament of this increasingly pathetic ordeal is the blindness of Lions ownership, as touched on by Rosenberg. The Fords have consistently failed to acknowledge the plight of the fans, yet the constant support in terms of attendance and television ratings leaves no demand for change. More extreme followers of the “Fire Millen” clan claim that the only way to curb the deep-seeded culture of losing is to stop attending, to stop watching. William Anthony of Dearborn shares the sentiment. “Because the organization is doing so well financially, the Ford’s have no motive whatsoever to make changes, let alone sell the team.” Continuing more passionately, “Maybe the only way to get through to them [the Fords] is to stop going to Ford Field and/or watching the games on Sunday. If money is the name of this game, why not force them to sell? How much worse could it get” (Interview)? As far as selling the team goes, unless the effects of the “Fire Millen” movement are outstandingly drastic, the Fords will remain as institutionalized as the Lions’ losing habits, and very possibly the cause. As Drew Sharp, also of the Detroit Free Press, acknowledges, “The Lions are the NFL's Tylenol. Take two and you'll feel better in the morning.”

One of the more peculiar elements to the “Fire Millen” movement is the lack of opposition. It’s a credible fantasy to imagine a landslide defeat if Millen were running for any form of public office, and it’s an outright shame Lions President doesn’t qualify. Nevertheless, the only form of opposition seems to come from those who oppose the Ford ownership (or occupation, as some refer to it) more than the recent downfall under Millen. Seeing as it’s rather difficult to fire the owners, firing Millen therefore takes on a life of its own.

As Detroit prepares to host Super Bowl XL, Detroit Lions fans have grown ever-impatient with the current state of football affairs. Creating the fiercely intense “Fire Millen” movement, fans across the Metro-Detroit area seem eager to create sports history. Echoing the political marches of days past, the “Fire Millen” craze has swept Detroit contingencies across the nation, appearing at hockey games, basketball games, and so on. Yet, never has a sports fans’ movement been so justified. The treatment of the Detroit Lions heritage (while depressing yes, it still has a heritage) is an egregious abuse of Lions fans’ trust and support and should certainly not be tolerated. While firing Millen may solve immediate problems, the long term solution revolves around the commitment of fans to this newfound effort, and the ability of Lions ownership to realize their mistakes. It is possible to turn the trends, to make something out of so many nothings? Hockey fans in Atlanta seem to think so.

THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!