end of an era in motor city with passing from this mortal coil of man who took ownership of lions in '63 and presided over more than a half century of futility mixed with occasional highlights and near misses...
seriously, lions fans suffered mightily especially in recent years but im not sure the pain of failure didn't run just as deeply inside wm clay ford who I believe genuinely loved his team, wanted it to win, and in his heart tried to do everything he thought he could to help make that happen...
this was a man with limitless resources, infinite patience, and fierce loyalty...
he was loyal to a fault to those he hired to run his team, and IMO that was his biggest problem: if he believed in someone it was very difficult for him to cut the cord...if the people he hired to run the team told him it was getting better, he bought it...he didn't interfere; he let them do their jobs, and if they were horsebleep it took him too long to admit the mistake and make necessary changes...
near misses: I can still see eddie murray missing a 43-yd FG vs 49ers that would have won the NFC divisional playoff...monte clark on the sidelines whispering a prayer that wasn't answered...that was an historic turning point...catapulted the 49ers towards great heights while the lions plummeted towards the abyss...
so there were close calls under ford, highlights from billy sims to barry sanders, and there were outright disasters of the matt millen ilk...
ford never stopped caring, but it's a cut-throat business and I don't think that part of it was something he could embrace...
end of an era in motor city with passing from this mortal coil of man who took ownership of lions in '63 and presided over more than a half century of futility mixed with occasional highlights and near misses...
seriously, lions fans suffered mightily especially in recent years but im not sure the pain of failure didn't run just as deeply inside wm clay ford who I believe genuinely loved his team, wanted it to win, and in his heart tried to do everything he thought he could to help make that happen...
this was a man with limitless resources, infinite patience, and fierce loyalty...
he was loyal to a fault to those he hired to run his team, and IMO that was his biggest problem: if he believed in someone it was very difficult for him to cut the cord...if the people he hired to run the team told him it was getting better, he bought it...he didn't interfere; he let them do their jobs, and if they were horsebleep it took him too long to admit the mistake and make necessary changes...
near misses: I can still see eddie murray missing a 43-yd FG vs 49ers that would have won the NFC divisional playoff...monte clark on the sidelines whispering a prayer that wasn't answered...that was an historic turning point...catapulted the 49ers towards great heights while the lions plummeted towards the abyss...
so there were close calls under ford, highlights from billy sims to barry sanders, and there were outright disasters of the matt millen ilk...
ford never stopped caring, but it's a cut-throat business and I don't think that part of it was something he could embrace...
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