Sports: Detroit Lions Tickets

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The Detroit Lions, a professional American football team is based in Detroit, Michigan. Currently members of the Northern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL) they were originally called the Portsmouth Spartans, the team began playing in 1930 as one of the NFL's small town teams in Portsmouth, Ohio. The Lions have won four NFL Championships. The franchise which is now known as the Lions was founded in 1930 as the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans.

Poor revenues and the Great Depression led to the team's move from Portsmouth to Detroit in 1934. Under quarterback Dutch Clark, Detroit won its first NFL championship in 1935. The Lions and the New York Giants played to a 0-0 tie at Detroit - the last time an NFL game has ended with a scoreless tie in 1943.Its greatest success is enjoyed in the 1950's. Notably, the Lions succeeded in one of the greatest comeback victories in NFL post-season history. Trailing the San Francisco 49ers 27-7 in the 3rd quarter of the 1957 Western Conference Playoff game, Lions quarterback Tobin Rote rallied the team back with 24 unanswered points to beat the 49ers 31-27 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The Lions served as the backdrop for the humorous sports literature of the late George Plimpton in the mid 1960s who spent time in the Lions training camp masquerading as a player.

The Lions were competitive in the early 80s, relying on an above average defense and the running of Sims and their fortunes seemed to start turning around in 1988. The Lions reached the NFC Championship Game in 1991 after having been shut out 45-0 by the Washington Redskins on opening night, eventually going 12-4. They were inspired late in the season by the loss of guard Mike Utley who sustained a career-ending paralysis injury against the Los Angeles Rams on November 17, 1991. The team has had considerable difficulty remaining competitive in recent years, going the entire 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons without a road victory, thus becoming the only team in NFL history not to win on the road for three consecutive entire seasons. The streak, encompassing 24 games (also an NFL record) came to an end on September 12, 2004, when the Lions defeated the Bears 20-16 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

In the 2005 season, the Lions won their first game against division rival Green Bay (17-3), but were humiliated by the Chicago Bears in the second game (38-6). In the 2006 Draft, the Lions used their first two selections to draft linebacker Ernie Sims out of Florida State University and safety Daniel Bullocks out of the University of Nebraska. The rest of their picks included Wisconsin RB Brian Calhoun, Texas OT Jonathan Scott, West Virginia CB Alton McCann, Southern California Guard Fred Matua, and Tulane LB Anthony Cannon.