For those of you who don't follow or care about sports, Matt Millen is the former president of the Detroit Lions football team. He was fired this year after holding the position for the past eight, during which time he took a team that missed the playoffs by a game the year before his hiring and shepherded them to a 31-97 record. For obvious reasons, people in Detroit are still not overly happy with Millen. After his firing this past season (During which the Lions became the first team ever to go 0-16), NBC, showing the type of foresight typically associated with intoxicated teenagers in movies who stop the car to pick up someone holding a bloody knife, hired Millen to comment on football for them. This decision is even more mystifying than the Lions employing him for eight years. But that is not the point. During the Super Bowl, NBC featured Millen in its pregame show. Throughout most of the country, this was broadcast normally. However, in Detroit any appearance of Millen's head on-screen was accompanied by the following disclaimer:
Matt Millen was president of the Lions for the worst eight-year run in the history of the NFL. Knowing his history with the team, is there a credibility issue as he now serves as an analyst for NBC Sports?
As Detroit often finds itself the butt of national jokes, it seems fair to give them credit when it's deserved. So: Well played, Detroit. Well played.
(Quote from the Detroit Free Press)
