Beat Writer Has Bold Opinion of Lions Owner Sheila Hamp

Are the days of demanding the Ford family sell the team over?

The tweets, blog posts and columns about the Ford family selling the Detroit Lions have diminished over the past 24 months. 

While Twitter is broken, and it is quite possible I have missed critical social media posts because rate limits have greatly diminished my desire to scroll online, it does appear the Lions and their ownership have hit an all-time high in terms of approval rating. 

Lions principal owner Sheila Hamp has put together a front office that has worked to revamp the culture and added young talent to a team that was in need of an overhaul following the failed last regime. 

New Lions beat writer Mike Payton opined that the days of calling for the team to be sold should be put to bed. 

As Payton explains, "Today my opinions of the Ford family are so much different. It turns out that the biggest thing the family had done wrong for so long was that they had the wrong family member running the team. Sheila Hamp has been very good at this since taking over ownership 2020."

Payton gives credit to ownership for the Lions going from a dark period during the "Quinntricia" era to a franchise that could win the NFC North and win multiple playoff games in less than four years. 

It is still worth noting, as head coach Dan Campbell and the players have often expressed, the franchise still has not accomplished anything of significance yet. 

Success in the NFL should be based on playoff wins and Lombardi trophies. 

Ultimately, Detroit's new principal owner is more likable, approachable and has a strong understanding of the pulse of NFL fans. 

The concept of mindfulness indicates sports fans should heavily focus on the present and try to not reflect on past issues and failures. 

For Lions fans, and fans of all Detroit teams, that just might be the best course of action. 

But, the days of Lions fans calling for the owners to sell the team are only temporarily on hold during hype season. 

Should the Lions falter again and not make the playoffs in 2023, those paying for Twitter and optimistic writers will see more posts asking for the Lions to be sold. 

Repressed anger is a powerful force, and one that simply does not go away based on hype and rhetoric.