Detroit Lions Fans Get Playoff Tickets In The Mail One Day After Missing Playoffs

The majority of teams in the National Football League miss out on the playoffs each year, but few of them do so in ways as consistently demoralizing as the Detroit Lions. Despite injuries to every major opposing quarterback in the NFC North and a lead early in the season, the team somehow blew five of the past six games to eliminate themselves from contention, including losing the last game in overtime at home to the lowly Giants. No doubt the pill was hard to swallow for most in Detroit, and unfortunately, it was made a whole lot worse yesterday by the timing of some unfortunate packages.

About a month after accepting orders for playoff tickets, the Lions organization decided to send out the physical tickets prior to Sunday’s game against the Giants. They, of course, lost the game, and on the next day, the now completely irrelevant tickets arrived at the doorsteps of fans, many of whom were assumedly less then pleased by the unintentional slap in the face.

According to The Detroit Free Press, the Lions organization will use the money deposited by fans for playoff tickets and apply it to season ticket renewals for the following season. Consequently, no one involved will lose any money from this, but that doesn’t change the fact that everyone who received tickets in the mail likely lost about thirty minutes of their life battling very sober what-if thoughts concerning this season and where it should have gone.

The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991. More than likely, they will end up firing their coach this season and probably overhauling the fringes of their roster in order to find a combination that can actually maximize the high end talent in place. For the sake of those in Detroit, I hope next season the fans are able to enjoy real playoff tickets so they don’t have to pin their hopes on other things.