Monday, June 15, 2009

Are the Pirates worse than the Detroit Lions

On the eve of Superbowl XL, Detroit sportswriter Mitch Albom explained why Ford's field was going to seem like a home game for the Pittsburgh Steelers:


Did we mention ownership? The Steelers have the kind of ownership Detroit fans dream about. One family. One name. One old man passing it down to his kids.

That's the way we do it. Only when Pittsburgh does it, the name is Rooney, and it produces four Super Bowl championships. When Detroit does it, the name is Ford, and it produces squat.

We like Pittsburgh's ownership.

We want Pittsburgh's ownership
.



One imagines that Detroit fans are now even more envious of the Steelers and the Rooney family. In the same year that Pittsburgh added to their collection of Lombardi trophies the Lions broke the record for single season futility with their 0 and 16 record.

Detroit will never live that down.

I'm surprised that the Pirates get a pass when it comes to their record-breaking performance. They are on track to smash the professional sports record for consecutive losing seasons. For some reason, that garners less attention and far less media derision than the Lions received for their single abysmal season.

Bad management played a role in Detroit's woeful year. But, bad luck and injuries loom large in a single NFL season. Sixteen bad years in a row is something else entirely.

The old record for losing was held by the Phillies of the 30s and 40s. They, at least, had the excuse of the Great Depression and World War II. The Pirates did it by themselves.

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