Jamie Samuelsen's blog: Lions have best fans in NFL and, thus, a long leash

Some people rip Lions fans for being blindly loyal. Some rip them for ginning up false hope every fall, only to have their hearts ripped out by October. Some people actually criticize them for enabling the Lions to be bad all these years by buying tickets and supporting a team that hasn’t earned support.

But I think Lions fans are the best. No other fan base has been punished the way they have been, yet they still come back every fall with hope. Sometimes the hope is justified. Sometimes it's based on a house of cards (in 2008, some predicted the Lions would make the playoffs; they finished 0-16). Only time will tell whether this year’s hope is legit.

This week's news that the Lions sold out their Monday night game in 45 minutes was further validation of two things: 1.) The fans really, really support this team. 2.) The fans really, really believe that this is the year.

The onus now is on the Lions to justify the faith and optimism. Team president Tom Lewand admitted as much this week. Each fan will have an idea about what defines a successful 2011. One caller on the radio said Thursday that the Lions will go 12-4. A tad more realistic might be 8-8 or 9-7. I think, as long as the team is contending for a playoff berth on Thanksgiving, this season will deliver on what’s expected.

But what if it doesn’t? If injuries rattle the offense or the secondary gets exposed (which is my biggest fear), and the Lions struggle to get to .500, will they somehow face the brunt of a disenfranchised fan base? The Lions have created unreal hype going into this season. What if they don’t live up to it?

The answer: nothing.

The reason: same as we said before. Lions fans are the best in the NFL.

Sure, there will be plenty of people claiming, “I swore that they wouldn’t do it to me again. But they sucked me in. Never again. NEVER again.” There will be fans who utter the infamous “same old Lions” phrase. And yes, there will be those brave (lying) souls who claim they’re divorcing themselves from the team for good. But you’ll be back. You’ll all be back. You always do. It’s the nature of being a Lions fan.

So, yes, there is pressure on these Lions to perform. They have created expectations, which is a credit to how they finished last season and their off-season moves. If the Lions take a step back this year, it would be a blow to a franchise we assumed was moving forward. But to imply that it’s any sort of do-or-die season is just wrong. There is still a very strong, very young nucleus to this team, and there are stars at key positions. Other than a significant injury to Matthew Stafford, there’s really nothing to change that belief. A disappointing season won’t change the career arcs of Ndamukong Suh, Calvin Johnson nor Louis Delmas.

And it won’t change the fans. I suppose some might read this as a critique of Lions fans, like they’re sheep who keep come back for the slaughter. But it’s meant to be praise. No fan base deserves a winner more than the Lions'.