Lions Remove Playoff Banners At Ford Field [PHOTOS]
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
If it's true that 31 NFL teams fail every season, the Lions will no longer pay tribute to failure.
In a move that was probably long overdue, the organization has taken down the playoff banners that used to hang from the Ford Field rafters.
As every Lions fan knows, each one of those playoff trips ended in disappointment, most of them in the first round. The organization has just three division titles and one postseason win in the Super Bowl era.
The Lions are one of only four teams in the NFL to have never played in the Super Bowl.
They will no longer honor this inglorious past.
The decision to abandon the banners came about by coincidence. Ford Field underwent $100 million in renovations this offseason, during which the banners had to be taken down. When it came time to put them back up, president Rod Wood said he "didn't see any point" in doing so.
General manager Bob Quinn and head coach Jim Caldwell, both of whom own Super Bowl rings, agreed with Wood's decision.
Some banners will remain -- those that honor the Lions' division titles and, of course, those that honor their NFL championships.
The Lions won the Western Division in 1935, the National Conference in 1952, the Western Conference in 1953, 1954 and 1957, and the NFC Central in 1983, 1991 and 1993. They won the NFL championship, prior to the NFL-AFL merger, in 1935, 1952, 1953 and 1957.
The bulk of the money the Lions invested in Ford Field went to new video boards that total more than 270 feet in length in each end zone.
The Lions' first home preseason game is on Aug. 13 versus the Jets. They will open the regular season at home versus the Cardinals on Sept. 10.
