ClydeStyle

Tag: Detroit

  • Detroit Lions restore their roar this year

    I have been following the Detroit Lions since 1980. I loved to watch football, and until the 80s, I had forgotten Detroit had a team.

    You see, I only really watched the playoffs, and I knew the top 4 teams in the league and the Lions were never that good. I finally saw the highlights of Billy Sims, and then I was hooked!

    Fast forward a decade, and we got Barry Sanders, and we started consistently making the playoffs. I never thought we were a Super Bowl contender, and no one ever said we were. They just had tons of respect for Sanders.

    A decade later, we went back into the dark ages and finally got a glimmer of hope with the addition of a young Matthew Stafford. Full potential was never reached. Detroit even had a winless season to its credit.

    Two years, we got Coach Dan Campbell, and they made promises and built a team. He saw things no one else saw, and it seems that overnight, we had a contender. For the first time during my lifetime, the media has commented that the Lions could actually win the Super Bowl. I have, of course, see every game this year, and right before my eyes, I saw them get better in every category, every game.

    The success is not a surprise, and the possibility of Detroit being the top team is real. I had not purchased a Lions jersey since Barry Sanders. We spent $300 on Lions gear last week. No matter what happens this weekend, the Lions have given this city hope. There is a new energy, a superior spirit, and a sense of pride. This is a blue-collar town, and our Lions have been putting in work all season. Now, the team is 4 quarters from the Super Bowl, and I am glad to be a Detroiter!

    No matter what happens in San Francisco this weekend, the Lions got their roar back!!!! Rrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

  • It’s February and you know what that means…

    February is Black History month and I guess I’m still stuck with asking the same question: Why?

    I mean, I guess it’s a good thing, but I would still love to see each month being dedicated to a different race. I get this idea from growing up in Detroit. In the summer time, the City of Detroit hosts a summer full of ethnic festivals each weekend and scores of people come down to the heart of the city to celebrate. There’s always music, food, people dressed in authentic clothing and lots of trinkets to buy!

    It’s always fun — no matter which festival it is — and it’s always educational. I’m sure that this social event draws most of the people because of the location and all the happenings. However, there is that side of me that wants to believe that in Detroit we are more cultured and care about and support our difference more than despising them.

    Just having Black History month seems like a quick solution to shut someone up. I mean, was this the solution to stall talks of reparations? Is this so that Blacks will have something of their own or unique to them?

    So who is celebrating Black history month exactly? It seems that many of the businesses that are supported by Blacks are doing some type of tribute whether that be in the form of a commercial or hosting some event. Now of course we’re not talking about a lot of companies here. Sales show that the number one fast food company for Blacks is McDonald’s. For whatever reason, McDonald’s has profited off Black dollars more than any other fast food chain. Johnson and Johnson sells more hair care products for Blacks than any other company. Look for these two companies to run commercials and sponsor events during this month.

    I don’t mean to put this in a negative light. I just like it better when purpose is clearly seen in what we are doing. I’m not opposed to educating the world on the contributions of Blacks in American history. I would just rather see it in the classrooms and accurately written in our history books instead of just dedicating a month to showcase a couple of folks.

    Frederick Douglass once said, “America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future.”  This is a powerfully true statement. All the problems we face as a country come because we have not been true to our past nor true to our present. We categorically deny all charges of wrongdoing in the past. When has the American government admitted any wrongdoing? The treatment of minorities in this country is the worst. There is not a country that has been more deceitful. This has led to many of the problems we face as we worship the almighty dollar!

    We cheat our future by lying in the present. Our government (I’m including the current and last presidents and congress over the last 12 years) has not been a good steward of our economy. There are too many lies and empty promises. The result of this is a dim future for our children.

    So I wonder what the history books will say about this era? Twenty years from now will Black history month be celebrated by talking about President Obama’s contribution to the national debt or will Black history be a thing of the past by then.

    Only time will tell.