Look, the Detroit Lions are going to the playoffs, so it's not all bad, but in the final moments of last night's game against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit was reminded what it's like sharing a division with Aaron Rodgers. With a win yesterday in primetime, the Lions could have won the NFC North and secured a home playoff game for the first time since 1993.* But that didn't happen. Instead, Aaron Rodgers came in, threw for exactly 300 yards, and added four touchdowns. It was a swift and decisive reality check that left many lions fans stunned.Like, say, this guy:Or this guy:
There is nothing on this earth funnier, and more human, than sports fans wearing ridiculous costumes while also in the throes of utter despair and loss. What is usually a mundane, yet still devastating experience becomes a scene destined for the Theater of the Absurd. Look at this man in a fuzzy lion hat and tell me he is not questioning every single decision or impulse in his life that brought him to this moment:
And so, with the game mostly wrapped up at this point, Cris Collinsworth began talking about that familiar feeling Detroit fans must be experiencing as they watch Aaron Rodgers beat them for something like the millionth time. It wasn't quite a game-winning Hail Mary with no time left—a real thing he did to the Lions on their home turf last year—but if you could stretch that one play's dominance and brilliance over the course of a game, you'd have something approximating what the Rodgers vs. Guy-in-a-Lion-Costume dynamic is like. And with the production truck providing the perfect background, Collinsworth captured that feeling pretty succinctly.Now the Lions get to travel to Seattle and play the Seahawks on Saturday night.[NBC]*They lost to the Packers 28-24.
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