Brandon Pettigrew Interview, Courtesy of Legends Sports & Games

Congrats, @ttopherstevenn!

Last night, Brandon Pettigrew came to Legends Sports & Games, and a few faithful followers joined me going to see him. Courtesy of Legends, I was able to give @ttopherstevenn a Lions mini-helmet, and Pettigrew’s John Hancock upon it:

Brandon was cool throughout the event, having a good time with just about everyone who came through the long autograph line. He seemed engaged and relaxed, very comfortable with his fans. I asked him why, unlike a lot of his teammates, he wasn’t active on social mediums like Facebook and Twitter.

“I used to be on Facebook a little bit. Never been on Twitter," he said. "My deal with that is just . . . it’s having to deal with what everybody has to say all the time, having to respond to it and put up with it.”

Case in point: @ndamukong_suh going almost completely silent from the Thanksgiving Day game to Suh’s reinstatement yesterday.  Those of you who remember the abuse Suh took on Twitter during his few-days-long holdout can up that by a couple orders of magnitude; it’s no wonder Pettigrew doesn’t want to deal with a distraction like that.

I’ll spare you folks the lecture this time, but it’s unfortunate that a cool player like Pettigrew doesn’t feel like the benefit of interacting with the cool fans is worth giving the boo birds a direct pipeline to his smartphone. Honestly, I can’t blame him.

Pettigrew and Matthew Stafford were drafted together; the “third season” is supposed to be the make-or-break for both quarterbacks and receivers. Pettigrew’s taken a big step forward in the role of the offense, especially on third downs and in pressure situations. He’s second on the team with 62 catches, and third with four touchdowns. I asked him if this was because he and Stafford were developing unique chemistry as they developed together.

“I think we've all got good chemistry, as we develop as a team and an offense,” he said. Sure, but is the offense designed to get him the ball when it counts? Or is Stafford favoring him, specifically? Pettigrew said it’s neither; just that Stafford is “going through his progressions, matchup-wise. Calvin's getting doubled, and [Stafford]'s got to find the guy who's getting open.”

With three games left to play, the Lions face two road games in notoriously tough environments. I asked Pettigrew how the Lions planned to handle the adversity. “We've been hurting ourselves with penalties. If we do away with that, I think we'll be fine. We just need to play mistake-free football, and play the way we're capable of playing.”

Once more, thanks go to Legends Sports & Games for putting this event together, and providing a TLiW reader with an awesome little piece of awesome.

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Brandon Pettigrew Giveaway Update

For those of you who missed it, I’ll be in Grand Rapids tonight at Legends Sports & Games in the Westland Mall from 6:00 – 7:30 for a Brandon Pettigrew autograph signing. Those of you who entered  the contest for the DirecTV remote, I’m going to contact you later in the week; as of the Fireside Chat I didn’t feel like I had enough entries to make a “drawing” truly random.

As for the Mini-helmet, I have two confirmed online entrants: @jasontwilliams and @ttopherstevenn. Anyone else in GR is welcome to drop by; I will hold the drawing at 7:00. You do gotta be there.

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Brandon Pettigrew Detroit Lions Mini-Helmet Giveaway: Legends Sports & Games/The Lions in Winter

 

On Tuesday, December 13th, Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew is coming to Legends Sports & Games at the Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids. He’ll be there from 6:00 to 7:30 pm signing autographs, and I’ll be there, too—though I won’t be signing autographs. Well, I mean, I will sign if anyone asks . . .

Now this is the cool part: Legends is hooking me up with a Detroit Lions mini-helmet to give away. I still have a custom Lions DirecTV remote to give away, too, so, this’ll be a two-part deal.

GRAND PRIZE

One (1) Detroit Lions mini-helmet (similar to above), immediately autographable by Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew. Winner must be present at Legends Sports & Games, Woodland Mall, Grand Rapids on Tuesday December 13 between 6:00 pm & 7:30 pm.

FIRST PRIZE

One (1) custom Detroit Lions DirecTV remote (as shown above). Winner can be anywhere the USPS is willing to ship.

HOW TO ENTER

Just comment on this post with why you’re proud to be a Lions fan! Make sure you include your email or Twitter handle (or sign in to Disqus with same) so I can contact you, and whether you’ll be available to come to the signing or not (so I can enter you for the helmet or remote).

I’ll pick the winner at random LIVE on this week’s Fireside Chat, which broadcasts around 10:00 pm Sunday Night.

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Detroit Lions Thanksgiving T-Shirt & DirecTV Remote Giveaway Announcement

As Lions fans, we need to be thankful for what we have. After all the years of failure and ennui, we finally have a winning team—a team worthy of celebrating, a team worthy of our fierce pride and endless support. We have a team we can watch every Sunday, because their performance demands premier viewing slots, and because we fill the stadium every game.

This is a privilege in the NFL: one not earned easily, and one that can be taken away faster than we think possible. I hope Colts and Eagles fans were thankful for their long stretch in the sun, because their time may be up. To that end, I’ve created a new design in my Detroit Lions T-shirt store: “I am THANKFUL.” With quick shipping, you can show everyone your appreciation for this team in person at the game!

Now, not every fan gets to see the Lions live, or even every Sunday. John Tracy from Des Moines is a finalist in DirecTV’s Ultimate Displaced Fan Contest, and he needs as many votes as we can give him. He’ll win the Lions fan experience of a lifetime, and judging by his video it’s well deserved. Click on that link, watch John’s video, and vote him up!

Now, the fun part: in celebration of Lions fans everywhere, I am giving away a customized Lions DirecTV remote. Check this baby out:

All you have to do is A) follow me on Twitter @lionsinwinter, and 2) Tweet the following:

I am thankful to be a Detroit Lions fan! http://t.co/3BIB5hsg #littleblueflame @lionsinwinter

If you want to enter, but you’re stuck with Comcast or Time Warner or something, don’t worry. The winner will get their choice: either the remote, or their favorite T-shirt from my shop. Entries close Saturday night at Midnight ET. I’ll draw a winner at random, LIVE, on my weekly Fireside Chat Detroit Lions podcast, about 10:00 pm ET Sunday night.

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Tinderbox: Displaced Fan Contest, Ford Field Review

One of the amazing things about this blog is meeting Lions fans from all over the world. Fans who can’t attend games, watch local TV, or listen to local radio can use the same Internet that everyone in southern Michigan can! Displaced Lions fans can follow all the news and analysis like they never left—and new fans from around the world can get up to speed like a local.

DirecTV is holding an Ultimate Displaced Fan contest. Entries can be an essay, photo, or (ideally) a video explaining why they are the ultimate displaced fan. There are some ridiculous prizes: a trip to the super bowl, a media tour with one of your favorite Lions, and a chance to play in the nationally-televised celebrity Beach Bowl.

I know this blog’s readership contains some ridiculously creative people. The last time I held a contest, I asked people to write about their greatest moment of Lions pride. Here’s the intro paragraph of the contest winner:

There I was, in the body of a Lions fan at 18,000 feet. Oil covered my windscreen -- my lifeless Merlin engine on fire. My canopy could not be budged - I was locked inside an aerial coffin. I watched, transfixed, as my altitude evaporated like rubbing alcohol in the noon-day sun. Paralyzed by fear and anxiety, suffocating under the weight of knowing I would be obliterated in a matter of moments when my stricken Spitfire met the hard, dusty surface of the Libyan desert below. The trim, sand-colored little Messerschmitt, my destroyer, spiraled away to celebrate his kill. A life snuffed out in a flash. A momentary blip on a radar screen only the gods will ever see. Oh, the humanity!

He eventually got around to the Lions thing.

Last year’s winner made a little tutorial video on how to win this thing, and I’d LOVE one of you to go out and win it. So, if you’re a huge Lions fan and you need at least a hotel and probably airfare to see a game in person, enter the Ultimate Displaced Fan contest—and win it for all of us.

What’s the opposite of a raving, team-color-bleeding homer who can’t ever go to the stadium? One guy who goes to all of the stadiums. Paul Swaney of StadiumJourney.com goes to—and reviews—basically every stadium in every sport. He recently attended the Chiefs game and reviewed Ford Field.

The review was fair and accurate, giving top marks for the food, and above-average ratings for everything else. The “fans” rating was especially intriguing:

It is certainly human nature for a fan base that has endured what Lions fans have endured to be down on their team. There is no doubt though, that a new aura of hope is almost tangible as you walk through Ford Field, and sit in the stands amongst the loyal supporters.

Fans don Lions jerseys more often than not, and they can get very, very loud when they want to. Still, this is a group that seems to responsive to the noise meter on the scoreboard than any instinctual reaction to the play on the field. The Lions still have trouble selling out many games. Again, this is understandable given the lack of success year after year.

It will be interesting to see if the Lions can begin to produce consistent winners with the young core of talent they have assembled. You can certainly feel the optimism in the air, but for now, this fan base seems so-so compared to many others.

Now if he'd come on Monday Night . . .

Honestly though, I think Paul was spot-on with the feeling and atmosphere. In my very first post, I called Ford Field a “hollow jewel” because of the lifeless, shrink-wrapped, sterile feel of the stadium. I don’t think that’s the case now—but remember that at the Chiefs game (when Paul attended), many still weren’t sure how “for real” this year’s Lions team was, so the quick Chiefs start sucked some of the life out of the building—and the sudden blowout flipped the switch to the other extreme: having a blast without necessarily paying rapt attention to the game. Still, Paul could sense what’s building within the fanbase:

Time will tell if the Lions can become contenders, and if they do, then this could easily become a raucous stadium to watch the NFL. Do yourself a favor and visit Ford Field in the near future. Better yet, sped your Thanksgiving at Ford Field, an NFL tradition going back to 1934 when the Lions moved from Portsmouth, Ohio to the Motor City.

So do yourself a favor and read the official Stadium Journey review of Ford Field. Many thanks to Paul for coming to Detroit and checking our team.

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