Who Wins A Title First? The Lions or the Tigers?
I think we can all admit that Detroit is back! They are no longer the laughing stock of any of the four major sports. If you have followed my articles here you know that I am all for Detroit sports being back and not really being a real die hard fan of any team. But success breeds expectations. So I pose the question…will the Lions or Tigers break through first with a title?
The Lions have come from the gutter of the NFC North to becoming a powerhouse in the entire NFL. They have made the playoffs in back to back seasons one resulting in an NFC Championship Game appearance. Under the amazing coaching and no nonsense attitude of Dan Campbell, this team has embodied exactly the attitude of Detroit. The blue collar, no frills, put your head down and get to work mentality. But things have changed since the end of last season. They have lost their offensive and defensive coordinators as well as just today their All Pro center announced his retirement. All three are big blows to a team looking to win their division for three straight seasons. What will the offense look like? What will the defense look like? Add to that the NFC North teams have all retooled and are looking to upset the champs. The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl last year have also made strides to get even better than last year. But I will say that these are normal things that happen from season to season in the NFL. But even with these uncertainties, are the Lions prone to make another Super Bowl run?
I think all Tigers fans are pleasantly surprised at what the team has accomplished to this point in the season. They have the best record in all of baseball, let alone the best record in the AL Central and American League as a whole. Their pitching staff, anchored by triple crown winner Tarik Skubal have come back better and stronger than last season. The offense, anchored by a resurgent Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene have bolstered the bats. But like the Lions, the division they are in is also very strong. Even with the best record in baseball, they only have a 5 game lead on the Guardians, with the Royals and Twins not too far behind. It is almost as if this division has stunk for the most part until the Tigers decide to become good again. But will this momentum and excellent play last throughout the summer?
Both teams are extremely talented and both doing so without extremely over priced players. Both teams are facing harder competition in their divisions. But there are teams for both the Tigers and Lions that stand in their way of achieving their ultimate goals. For the Lions, they have a much improved NFC North, the Eagles, and a handful of teams from the AFC that they would have to beat in the Super Bowl. The Tigers on the other hand, have a very competitive division to contend with but outside of that I really don’t see another team outside of the Yankees challenging them in the American League. But the mighty Dodgers will most likely stand in their way in the World Series. So if I had to chose today, I would have to give the nod to the Tigers. Just because they have the easier path to the championship game and could actually stand toe to toe with the Dodgers. That being said, Lions…go prove me wrong and with the Super Bowl! LOL!!