Detroit Doesn’t Deserve an NFL Team? The Surprising Argument From League History

It would be nearly inconceivable to consider the NFL without the Detroit Lions. Sure, prior to the Dan Campbell Era, the 'Same Ol' Lions' jokes were prevalent, and the team was more often than not the league's doormat.

But would someone go so far as to consider one of America's great metro areas unworthy of a team?

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The question came up on a subreddit of Reddit devoted to the NFL as asking if any current league cities were not worthy of having a team.

A similar topic was raised about cities without an NFL team that should have one and Michigan was excluded from that discussion with no one seeing a reason for the state to have a second franchise.

But not even one? The argument goes back to the early history of the league as to why Detroit doesn't deserve an NFL franchise:

They ripped the team away from the poor people in Portsmouth Ohio! Send them back

And that's true. The Detroit Lions franchise began life as the Portsmouth Spartans, a team playing in a very small city on Ohio's southern border with Kentucky along the Ohio River.

The Portsmouth Spartans: A Dominant Pre-Detroit Era

The Spartans held a formidable record for their 4 seasons in Ohio as a member of the NFL and two years competing as an independent. From 1928 to 1933 the team went 28-16-7 in NFL play and 49-19-12 overall before they relocated to Detroit.

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They earned a single playoff game during those years and lost to the Chicago Bears 9-0 in 1932. The game was the de facto NFL championship as both teams came in with a 6-1 win/loss record. (Portsmouth had 4 ties compared to 6 for the Bears).

The Bears win gave them the 1932 league championship.

Consider the team had a 72.06% win/loss ratio and a championship game berth before the move to Detroit while the Lions current sit with a lifetime 46.2% win percentage and, well, you know the stat when it comes to Super Bowl wins and appearances - a fat zero.

Perhaps there is a curse on the franchise deeper than the one Bobby Layne is credited with.

The Curse Continues? Echoes of Past NFL Controversies

A curse that goes back to the earliest days of the NFL is not unheard of but most modern fans are likely unaware of the Curse of the Pottsville Maroons. The team from the small Pennsylvania city was denied the 1925 NFL Championship in a controversial decision that gave the pennant to the Chicago Cardinals. The league lore has it that because the Cardinals' win was less than definitive, the franchise has been cursed since, and indeed has never been successful at winning a title in Chicago or after moves to St Louis and Arizona.

Detroit's Unique Sports Franchise Tapestry

Back to Detroit, it's also interesting to consider that only the Tigers and Red Wings have always played in Michigan. The Lions came from Portsmouth while the Pistons played in Fort Wayne, Indiana for 20 seasons before a move to Detroit.

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It's interesting to consider that two of America's four major sports leagues, MLB and the NHL, set early franchises and charter members in Detroit while two, the NFL and NBA, imported them from much smaller cities.