The wait is almost over. Well, technically it is over. The Dallas Cowboys topped the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants last night, cutting the proverbial ribbon of the 2012-2013 NFL regular season. The longest off-season for any professional sport is finally behind us. But before the Detroit Lions play host to the St. Louis Rams this Sunday to kickoff their season, let us take a look back at some of the Lions most memorable---and in some cases, most painful---Week 1 regular season contests.
PHOENIX CARDINALS at DETROIT LIONS, SEPTEMBER 10TH, 1989
Ah, a simpler time. 1989. Instead of flipping on the Lions game with a cold, adult beverage in hand, I was more than likely staring blankly into the distance with Gerber's strained peas dribbling down my chin. But I digress. This ancient match-up made the cut for one reason and one reason only. It was the debut of one Barry David Sanders. Quarterbacked by the one and only Gary Hogeboom, the then-Phoenix Cardinals trumped the Lions on this faithful Sunday, 16-13. But this day belonged to Barry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVUvraB0L_s
ARIZONA CARDINALS at DETROIT LIONS, SEPTEMBER 7th, 2003
Fast forward fourteen years later. There’s still a Bush in office and the Lions are still a perennial NFL bottom-feeder. But don’t worry, there’s hope! Joey Harrington and Charles Rogers hold the future in their young hands. In fact, Rogers’ NFL career began on this day and boy did it start off with a bang! He caught half of his career touchdowns in this game! Unfortunately, my best investigative journalism was not enough, (as usual) as I was unable to dig up any video footage of either of Charlie’s TD grabs. I couldn’t even find any highlights of Rogers’ rookie counterpart on that day, Anquan Boldin, who went for 212 yards and two scores of his own in this wild season opener. A season opener that ended in a Lions victory, might I add. BUT, I did stumble upon this:
Lions fans, grab your tissue boxes. Everyone else, stop laughing, please:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKBX9Zt7b_M
DETROIT LIONS at ATLANTA FALCONS, SEPTEMBER 7th, 2008
Now don’t you dare put those tissue boxes away. The year is 2008 and a young quarterback out of Boston College by the name of Matt Ryan is making his pro debut. Just like Rogers’ first career catch was for a score, Ryan’s first career pass attempt went for six. And if you really wanted to be a jerk about it, you could say that this was the first round knockout blow of the entire Lions season. They of course went 0-16 that year. And it allllllll started with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OBmsvevjhI
DETROIT LIONS at CHICAGO BEARS, SEPTEMBER 12th, 2010
Right when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, I take you to Soldier Field for the Lions 2010 season opener. The then-sophomore quarterback Matthew Stafford exited the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, however understudy Shaun Hill kept them in the game. In fact, he orchestrated a come-from-behind drive to give the Lions the lead when he connected with Calvin Johnson on this 4th quarter touch---wait, WHAT?! NO TOUCHDOWN?! DIDN’T COMPLETE WHAT PROCESS?!!? Ugh. Roll the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ol2fuo5p5c
DETROIT LIONS at TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, SEPTEMBER 11th, 2011
Now before you all burn me at the stake, allow me to end this little charade on a high note. I’ll take you on one last trip in the time machine. This one is a short one. Last season. Tampa Bay. The Lions had a buzz about them that whole off-season and they didn’t waste any time getting into the win column. Stafford and Johnson hooked up for two of their eventual 16 season touchdown connections on this day, leading the Lions to a 27-20 victory in Week 1. Check out one of them in this final clip and take a glance into the not-so-distant future in the process, when these two get back to doing what they do so very well; terrorize defenses:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWNedwv9N88
This Sunday.. it begins again.
Back to the Detroit Lions Newsfeed