.......So He Has To Get It Right Eventually, RIGHT?

Like it isn't hard being a Lions fan already. We, as fans, are tormented more then any other professional sports team in the world. For those so inclined, lets be reminded of just some of the things (because I could write a BOOK) that we as fans must deal with rooting for the most pitiful franchise in all of sports.

Now, I don't think I need to give you a history lesson to talk about how hard William Clay Ford's family worked to give him the means to run the Ford Company as well as our beloved Lions. However, I do feel a strong need to touch on a few points regarding how WCF came to be where he is at today.

In 1863 Henry Ford was born on a farm outside of Detroit. At 13 years of age his mother passed, and he was quoted as saying: "I never had any particular love for the farm; it was the mother on the farm I loved."

Three years later he left home to work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit. Three years after that, he moved back to the family farm and became adept at operating a steam engine. Always the more mechanical one, Henry later worked for the Westinghouse Company to service steam engines, the same company that produced the steam engine in which he learned to operate.

Fast forward nine years, Henry is an engineer and does experiments on gasoline powered engines on the side. 1896-1902 Henry helped form a company that once bore his name. He later left the company, and they renamed it to the Cadillac Automotive Company.

Now we all know the rest. Rise and fall, good times and bad. Fighting and clawing and generally a shining example of the nation?s gritty determination and ingenuity. Against all odds, and all that cliché talk.

Then comes: William??...Clay...Ford.

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Almost as a horrible fairy tale. In the Land of the Lions, Detroit Motor City—Henry Ford conquers the land. A knight in shining armor pushing our entire country to the next generation. The land that was once earned - is now just handed to his spawn.

I am not writing this to bash Ford—I wrote the above (and below) to prove a point. Perhaps more of a point about optimism then we may be worthy coming fresh off a "Owen" season. In fact, I will have another article about optimism before the start of the season...stay tuned.

Back to my point. WCF was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Being the grandson of the founding family of both Ford and Firestone, I wonder if there were a few people thinking the nation would turn into a monarchy (the same that would later converge for the Ford-Firestone tire failure episode in 2000).

I will spare you the details on how WCF came to power, but it is close to an episode of "Survivor" and he was simply the least qualified, but the last standing.

I am not saying he is an idiot, the guy did graduate with a degree in economics from Yale (hey economics...same a Schwartz...weird) although I did not research on how big of a wing of the college he had to build to get Yale to put his name on a degree.

So needless to say, the innovation that WCF's Grandfather built was given to him simply for being born. With that wealth, he purchased the Detroit Lions, and was lucky to be considered a mediocre team, save a season or two, since he owned it.

I have read article after article detailing how much WCF really does love the Lions and really wants him to succeed. Of course he loves his team. It is in his financial best interest to do so.

Being the prince of Detroit, I am sure there is an honest bit of his being that really does want this team to do well. However, unlike his abilities in the ownership of Ford, the same ownership details must not translate well over to owning a sports franchise.

As Lions fans, we have been through enough. Season after season we hope this is the year we draft right. We hope this is the year we have the right staff in place. We hope this is the year we play to our potential.

No matter how poor the decisions are that WCF, eventually he has to make the right one. Building a foundation, sticking to a plan, building from the inside-out. We have all heard this before and we have all believed it at one point or another.

So the million dollar answer. Did he finally get it right with Mayhew? Was the one good thing Millen did before he left was hiring his eventual, successful, General Manager?

And an even more important question, will WCF let him make his own decisions...for better or worse?