Perhaps the most pleasant sports surprise this year has been the Detroit Lions, who will play in the second round of the playoffs this Sunday afternoon. Yet there have been a few bumps along the road in this otherwise satisfying journey.
Many rank the worst occurrence of 2023-24 the referees’ crucial blown call in the loss to Dallas, but my pet peeve has much more to do with the broadcasts of the game — or the lack thereof.
There have been two instances this season in which the Lions’ game was not available to the huddled masses over customary network television. Detroit’s games instead could be seen only on the NFL Network, which some of us do not have available in our living rooms.
Through the more than 65 years I have faithfully followed those loveable, laughable Lions, I have been aware their games were available for watching consistently every week on CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN and ABC. Not so this year.
To be sure, there were times the contest was blacked out in the local market when they weren’t sold out. But it was understood that the massive number of advertisements made it worthwhile for network and cable stations to carry ballgames on Sundays.
But this year, I haven’t understood why the NFL Network was the only place you could watch the game. I hear tell the powers that be on that network wanted to find a way to attract new viewers by having them sign up for it, in addition to the other carriers, at more expense to the unwashed masses.
I was appalled to learn about this, asking why the fat cat owners and media outlets need to make more money from this cash cow.
So, in the latest fiasco, my wife and I followed them via the radio and through graphics provided on nfl.com on the Internet. Here, we discovered the radio was deliberately 30 to 50 seconds behind what was being presented on TV.
That took me back to younger days when my college friends used to gather to tune in via network TV whilst listening to the play by play and commentary over the radio from the late great Van Patrick and Bob Reynolds. TV fat cats must have figured that out and began to make the radio broadcast option less attractive.
So though I’ve been less than happy about the mundane and stale oatmeal provided by ex-jocks and network sportscasters, I’ve come to accept it. Meanwhile, however, I discovered the passion and quality of Detroit Lions radio broadcaster Dan Miller, who brings passion to his “homer” coverage. Miller is unabashed in his bias toward the Lions, and through I’m not usually fond of the cheerleading rather than objectivity, I’ve come to appreciate Miller’s sincerity and passion for the local guys.
Miller and station WJBK in Detroit understand that the vast majority of his listeners love the Lions, so they cater to them. And why not?
I don’t care for the boring and “objective” coverage from national broadcasters and thus far this season have enjoyed Miller’s enthusiastic presentations. His take on the Lions’ playoff win over LA was splendid. You can watch and listen at the link provided at the bottom of this column.
For me, Dan Miller represents the rebirth of caring, biased broadcasters such as Van Patrick and Bob Ufer. And what he does is nothing short of a real hoot.
