It's time to retire the kneecap biting thing. Dan Campbell is so much more
On January 21st, 2021, the Detroit Lions introduced Dan Campbell as their new head coach. For most, this was an introduction to the world. Campbell was just that one tight end who had coached a few games for the Miami Dolphins. Not much was really known about his coaching style or the way that he […]
On January 21st, 2021, the Detroit Lions introduced Dan Campbell as their new head coach. For most, this was an introduction to the world. Campbell was just that one tight end who had coached a few games for the Miami Dolphins. Not much was really known about his coaching style or the way that he spoke.
Campbell stepped up to the podium and talked for an hour. He talked about a lot of things. Repairing the Lions relationship with his former teammate Calvin Johnson, his relationship with Sean Payton, his philosophies on offense and defense and his leadership style. Nobody paid attention to that. All national media heard was this.
It was funny the first time we saw it. But it was probably meant to be some sort of throwaway line. Everyone in that room and everyone watching the presser at home knew that this was an inconsequential moment. It was an offhand remark that meant nothing. Frankly, we were all blown away by how well the previous hour he talked before that had gone.
National sports media clipped that kneecap quote and ran with it to the point where that's all anyone talked about. At first it was joke to them. Not a funny joke, but a joke in the pejorative sense. The idea was that here's the Detroit Lions. This joke of a franchise could have hired anyone, but they hired the kneecap guy. They're going to fail yet again and we'll all laugh. Look at this.
It was insanity. You couldn't turn on TV sports without hearing a national analyst talk about the kneecap thing and how detrimental it was to the Lions. Then there was the racecar helmet thing. We don't really need to get into that, but you would have thought Campbell killed a guy after the responses.
Then things started to look up for the Lions. They won their first game under Campbell and they were suddenly this bad team that was really fun. Then the kneecap thing became a good thing out of nowhere. Now it's funny all of a sudden. But no longer in a pejorative sense.
No, it was like a hit song that you liked before it became a hit song. It was like Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. That song was awesome until everyone else found out about it. Now it's commercials for diabetes medicine.
Media pundits suddenly like the kneecap thing actually made things worse. Now it's like there's a quota to be filled at each outlet and every person that pontificates about the Lions must work in a knee cap reference. It's treated as if it's some sort of catchphrase in Detroit and everyone just walks around in t-shirts with the entire phrase plastered on them.
Maybe some people do. From what I've seen though, most people I talk to just want it to go away. Maybe if you asked Campbell today, he might feel the same. It's gone from something that was held against the Lions to something that positive for them. In reality, it cheapens the whole experience. It overshadows who Campbell really is.
What I've got to see up close and personal and over the TV and computer screens is just so much different than what the outside world sees. The knee cap thing was just a moment in time that doesn't even pop into my mind much anymore unless I'm watching SportsCenter and someone says it. Then I feel irked by it.
The things that do pop into my mind a lot are the moments you realized that the Lions were in the right hands. Like the moment that Campbell cried after the Lions frustrating loss to the Vikings. Then there's the time he cried after the Lions first win of the season. I see the moments that you can see players buy into the culture because they believe in their coach. I see Campbell joining the team for up-downs and the start of each camp.
I see a coach that cares about each player on this team and will accept nothing less than those players scratching and clawing for each win. That's what the knee cap thing was really supposed to be about. Implementing the fight and the will to not give up into this team. Campbell has done that.
It's time to stop talking about the kneecap thing. It's time to start talking about what dan Campbell has achieved here in such short order. This team went from the depths of hell with Matt Patricia to a team that's expected to compete for their division and maybe more in just two and half years. When it's all said and done, the kneecap thing shouldn't be remembered at all.
Besides, this one was so much better.
Featured image by Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK