Ultimate Standings 2009: No. 119
Detroit Lions
Last Year's Rank: 120
Title Track: 121
Ownership: 107
Coaching: 88
Players: 119
Fan Relations: 118
Affordability: 106
Stadium Experience: 94
Bang for the Buck: 118
Strange but true: Following the 2007 season, after Detroit collapsed down the stretch to cap an eight-season run of zero playoff appearances, the team hiked ticket prices, jacking up the overall cost of going to Lions games by more than 20%. Funny but true: The team hasn't won a game since. Odd but true: There are smidgens of hope in Motown. Fans are marginally warmer toward new coach (and former Titans defensive coordinator) Jim Schwartz than they were toward Rod Marinelli (up 17 places). Smart guys Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew have taken over as president and GM. But here's the bitter truth: Fans have turned on this team. By the end of last season, Ford Field was half-empty, for good reasons. In 2008, the Lions were still paying $15 million to players who weren't on their roster. (Matt Millen: The melody lingers on.) And owner William Clay Ford has started to feel the pain. After his team lost $3.1 million in 2007 and staged history's first 0–16 season in 2008, Ford responded by bringing nonfootball events, such as the NCAA Final Four and Wrestlemania, to town for extra cash. And despite a freeze on ticket prices for 2009, the Lions have the highest prices for hot dogs ($5.75) and soda ($5.50) in all of sports. Sometimes the truth is hard to swallow.
