2010 Lions Season is One to Give Fans Hope

As the days grow shorter and the weather grows colder, we do not weep. We do not mourn the loss of our Summer. We are not saddened by the coming of Winter. No, we do not shed a tear, but we are joyous. We are filled with anxiety and hope. For the shortening of days, the colder weather, the trees shedding their leaves are reason to be excited. Oh yes my brethren fans, to us this is a great time. It is the beginning of the NFL Football season.

And to those of you who have shed tears of silver and bled Honolulu Blue, this is a very special time indeed. For finally, we do not face a season of shame and hopelessness. We do not enter the season already void of hope. No, we have reason to be excited. We have reason to believe. For finally we enter a season with a belief that our beloved Detroit Lions are headed in the right direction.

Unlike years in the past when the Lions changed coaches and we dug for hope that a new leader might bring respectability. Unlike those days when we have looked at the new rookies to show us talent. Unlike those times that our hopes were dashed against the turf over and over as the seasons dragged by, this season is filled with real hope.

We have a coach in Jim Schwartz who has shown he has an idea of what he is actually doing. A coach who knows how to build a team. A coach who the players want to play for and yet will not let players walk over him. A coach who has control of the team and not only demands respect, but earns it from his players.

We have a front office that actually has some idea of what real talent is. Not just speed or strength talent, but real football talent. A front office that drafts players who belong in the NFL. Belong on the field, rather than on the bench.

We have players like Matthew Stafford, Jahvid Best, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler on the offense who gives us hope of seeing something exciting on the field. We have defensive players like Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Vanden Busch, Corey Williams on the defensive line who can actually pressure opposing quarterbacks. The Lions have other players on defense like Louis Delmas, DeAnre Levy and Peterson who know how to play defense, cover and tackle.

We know the Lions are not ready to be a great team. We do not expect them to contend for the Superbowl. But we have hope. We are excited that they are headed in that direction.

We fans of the Detroit Lions are going into a season like we have not had before. A season where we can see a team play some good football, compete with good teams, win some and lose some. We go into this season excited because we know this is just one more step on our way to the ultimate dream.

After so many seasons of watching a sub par product handed to us and wishing we could have better, we have finally been handed better. And it is just the beginning.