The Detroit Lions had their fair share of time to make Matthew Stafford look like the Matthew Stafford we are all currently witnessing. Years and years went by and the whole world continued to wonder why they can’t surround their franchise QB with talent. Yes, they did have Calvin Johnson…until he also realized that Detroit would never break out of their franchise slump. He just so happened to realize this before Stafford but didn’t exactly make a trip to Cabo to chat it up with an opposing coach to eventually be traded.
Regardless of that, Detroit never found a way to build a winning culture around Stafford. He, however, continued to shine over his tenure with the Lions and made a case as to why he’s arguably one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks of all time. Don’t agree? Well take a look at just how appreciated he is in Detroit after showing them what they missed out on:
Detroit Rams shirts oh man pic.twitter.com/df4mrsr77u
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) February 11, 2022
The Detroit…Rams?
Ladies and gentlemen say hello to the Detroit Rams. Yes, the term “bandwagon” now officially has a new meaning. Could you imagine if Mitch Trubisky left the Bears and dominated for the Bills in the hypothetical scenario that Josh Allen was hurt? There would be ZERO stores in downtown Chicago with shirts and memorabilia for the Chicago Bills. It would definitely turn out to be shirts being sold that bash the ex-front office for wasting talent.
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With that being said, this is an entirely different scenario. Matthew Stafford was there when they had nobody else and has always been THE man in Detroit. It makes sense why the city would be showing love, but combining two completely different NFL teams, specifically the one whose head coach was able to sweet talk a trade scenario…that’s where it becomes fuzzy. Detroit does owe a bunch to Stafford and should be hyped that he’s finally made it to the biggest stage. But man, that’s a tough pill to swallow when the best thing you have to root for is your ex-quarterback making it to the Super Bowl in the first year with his new team. Yikes.
Chicago Fans Won’t Have To Worry About This
Best selling NFL jersey by player and team at @lids this year pic.twitter.com/pq3EkXZ7rG
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 7, 2022
Does anything stand out to you Chicago fanatics? Anything at all? If not, just take a quick glance at the map displaying top-selling player jerseys. Notice how Illinois and Wisconsin have the same player: Justin Fields. This statistic may seem little, but let’s just think about it for a second. It makes sense why his jersey would be the #1 sold player for Illinois. That’s obvious. But then you look at Wisconsin. For a state whose team was the #1 seed in the playoffs and had an MVP quarterback, you would think that a Packers player would be the top-selling jersey. Nope, even those cheese heads up north know that their time is coming to a close and a new king will take reign soon enough.
Ryan Poles: “We’re going to take the North and never give it back.” pic.twitter.com/lS6iZK9vk9
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 31, 2022
Khalil Herbert on Justin Fields:
“He is that guy”
(via @paytonsun)
— Bears Nation (@BearsNationCHI) February 12, 2022
So, although the past four years have been a roller coaster of a ride for us Bears fans, the tide is turning. Ryan Poles is about to come in here like a mad man and maneuver his way into the playoffs in no time. We have a team that’s full of potential, young talent, and a quarterback that seems to finally have that “it” factor. His teammates love him, his city loves him, and heck, even Wisconsin loves him. There is no doubt the Bears will be back. In the meantime, just be thankful we aren’t Lions fans…or Rams fans?
