Why the Detroit Lions Winning the Super Bowl Would Save the Economy

For the first time in what feels like an eternity, the Detroit Lions are in the playoffs. Ndamukong Suh said it himself that Detroit is now a "football town," and although the gathering at Joe Louis Arena may disagree, Detroit finally has some hope.

This is almost common knowledge now, because ESPN has beaten this story to death with a trident. Everyone loves a story about redemption.

The economy of Detroit is crucial to the rest of the country, the metropolitan area has over 2 million people in the workforce, and over 200,000 businesses.

When the recession hit, the Motor City was struck real hard. The unemployment rate skyrocketed and the amount of lives changed was staggering.

The "Great Recession" began in December of 2007, but took its hardest turn for the worst around September, 2008, which was the exact time that the Lions were making history, and not good history.

0 - 16. Zero and 16. Every time I hear it I die a little inside. I was playing junior hockey at the time in Dearborn Heights and we got Sundays off. Every Sunday, I would kick back and watch my boys take the field and give it everything they had.

The problem was everything they had couldn't win a single game, yet nearly every Lions fan I knew was doing the same routine as myself: watching them play. There's something beautiful about that. They were horrible, we knew it, yet we still watched every game.

Television ratings barely changed from Week 1 to Week 17, which proved the loyalty of the Lions community.

The only thing Detroit had left was hope. Hope for a brighter tomorrow. Hope for that job interview. And hope that the Lions would win a game. Just one game.

Look at us now. The unemployment rate is recovering, the city is once again growing and the Lions are in the playoffs.

If the Lions were to win the Super Bowl, it would prove once and for all to the sporting world that lives can be turned around. It would prove that passion can strive through adversity. It would prove that even if you are the worst of the worst, you can get back up to the top.

Hopefully, it would inspire those in Detroit who have been trying for years to get back into the workforce, but failed, to try again. Hopefully, this would help rebuild the automobile industry that was a catalyst to American success for decades. Hopefully, this would inspire other struggling communities around America to get out there and be a part of turning it around.

Hope. Sometimes, the only thing we can have is hope, and when it finally comes through, nothing has ever felt so damn good.

I'm no economist, but I have seen first-hand the passion of the people of Detroit. From the Palace, to Ford Field, to Joe Louis Arena to Comerica Park—the passion in the eyes of Detroit fans is riveting.

If this passion could be spread across the country, the economy would surely rise.

But let's be honest, the Saints are probably going to destroy the Lions.