The Detroit Lions identity: Playing on Thanksgiving, the curse of Bobby Layne and losing all their games
The Detroit Lions franchise is one of the oldest in the NFL, dating back to 1930 when the then Portsmouth Spartans were born in the State of Ohio and four years later, in 1934, they moved to the "Motor City" to adopt the nickname of the "King of the Jungle".
NFL powerhouse in the 1950's
That year they volunteered to play on Thanksgiving, which generated their first distinction of identity; they are the team that has played the longest on this date and, therefore, the one that has played the most games on "Turkey Day".
The following year they won their first NFL championship, but it took 17 seasons before they were crowned again in 1952.
In the 50's they were, along with the Cleveland Browns, the NFL's powerhouses, reaching four NFL Championship Games and winning three led by the franchise's symbol, quarterback Bobby Layne.
The curse of Bobby Layne
This team will not win for another 50 years
But after the 1957 title, the Lions traded Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1958 season infuriating the quarterback who left Detroit citing the following curse.
"This team will not win for another 50 years," Layne said.
Imperfectly perfect seasons
Layne's curse was not limited to half a century, after those 50 seasons, in 2008 Detroit thought that Layne's bad vibes had disappeared, and contrary to what was thought, that campaign was historic for the Lions, but in a negative sense, they became the second team in the Super Bowl era to lose every game they played and the first to lose 16 games.
Already the Cleveland Browns, who along with the Lions dominated the 1950s, went 0-16 in a season, but in this 2021, those from the "Motor City" continue to extol the words of Bobby Layne.
After losing this Thaksgiving Thursday on the last play of the game to the Chicago Bears they put their record at 0-10-1 and despite having already tied a game, they are in serious danger of accumulating, for the first time in NFL history two full seasons without winning a single game.
Year-to-year games on Thanksgiving, the curse of Bobby Layne and not winning games in full seasons: The identity of the Detroit Lions.
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