9811160247
DETROIT FREE PRESS
981116
Monday, November 16, 1998
METRO FINAL CHASER
1D
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1998, Detroit Free Press
FANS SHOULD BAG TALK OF TRADE, NOT THEIR HEADS
The first thing I saw when I entered the Silverdome parking lot Sunday night
was a Lions fan leaning against his car. He had a bag over his head.
This was not an encouraging sign. As headgear goes, the bag rates low on the
sports list, behind the rainbow wig, the big piece of cheese, and the beer
cans with plastic sucking straws. Still, I had to wonder how many fans would
be there at all -- including Mr. Baghead -- if Barry Sanders were not on the
team.
Which brings me to this new altruism toward Sanders. It's going around. You
hear it. On radio shows. On TV shows. In newspapers. You know. The idea that,
since he is a nice guy, a tremendous talent, and this team is going nowhere,
the Lions should trade him. Give him his freedom. Send him to a winner.
To which I say: Sure. And Sunday we'd have had eight people in the stands, and
every one would be wearing a bag.
Sorry, Barry-lovers, but pro football is a business. That's why they hand out
paychecks instead of milk and cookies. And as long as Sanders is the biggest
draw on the team, the largest mover of merchandise, and the single best reason
you should go see a game in this era, the Lions would be crazy to trade him.
Would you if you owned this team?
That's just Barry being Barry
On Sunday night, Barry was hurt. His ribs were bruised. They left him wincing
after contact. You could see how even breathing brought a shiver of pain.
This, for Sanders, was not a good night to work in a contact sport --
especially on a team that had two wins and seven losses.
But here was Sanders, in typical fashion, racking up another 100-plus yard
game, offering excitement on even the most routine plays. On his first carry,
he scooted right for seven yards. On his second carry, he went left for 14
yards. The whole time, fans were shaking their heads in amazement.
He made simple plays complex and complex plays simple. On one first down, he
went left, cut back right, lost the ball, turned around and picked it up, then
shot up the middle for six yards. It brought a roar of approval from the
Silverdome crowd. How many times does a fumble do that?
"Hey, he almost broke it for a touchdown!" laughed quarterback Charlie Batch
after the game. "I mean, he shot out like a cannon. That's just Barry being
Barry."
Barry being Barry. All night long, he did the blue-collar work. In fact, the
only part of the offense he wasn't involved in was the scoring. Four times, he
helped get the Lions to first-and-goal, then backed off while fullback Tommy
Vardell or kicker Jason Hanson scored the points. On one of those touchdowns,
Barry came back to throw a block to free Vardell for the score. He shakes. He
bakes. He blocks?
Yes. And all night, fans yelled, "Barry! Barry!"
This is the guy they want to trade?
Sorry, but no way. It is not the Ford family's job to say, "Barry, we stink,
you're great, go seek your fortune somewhere else." It is their job to say,
"You're great, we're not, we need to bring the rest of the team up to your
level."
And don't tell me how trading Barry for five draft choices would somehow
ensure a brighter future for the Lions. Come on. Would you trust this front
office with five draft choices? Based on what? Chuck Long? Andre Ware? Ryan
McNeil?
No. This is a business, an entertainment business, and Barry is your big name
on the marquee. He is the reason the Lions get scheduled on Sunday and Monday
nights. He is the jersey that kids want to wear, the only Lion with a true
national draw.
You have an asset like that, there's something wrong if you give up on it.
If it happened, it should be his call
Which doesn't mean it won't give up on you. There may come a time where the
repeated failures of the Lions will lead Sanders to say, "Sorry, I'm out of
time. I need to get to a winner before I retire." But if that happens, it
should be Barry's decision, not the Lions'.
Personally, I'm not so sure it will happen. Barry has four years left on his
contract, including the option year, which would make him 34 before free
agency called. He could ask for a trade, maybe hold out and demand one, but
blockbuster trades are hard to pull off in this salary cap era of the NFL.
Besides, he would want to go to a Super Bowl-contending team, and those teams
don't often have high first-round draft picks to give up. Nor are they likely
to trade star players for Sanders, who is the type of back that requires a
reorganization of your blocking schemes, your game plans, and your normal
reliance on your running back to convert third-and-1.
Meanwhile, here was Barry on Sunday night, in another meaningless game, still
chugging with less than eight minutes to go and the Lions leading by 20. He
took a handoff and rocketed around left end, outrunning the defenders, picking
up a first down.
And that wasn't the most impressive part: Fans who were walking up the aisles,
heading for their cars, suddenly stopped and wheeled around. They knew that
sound. They knew it meant Barry might be doing something, and they'd be fools
to miss it.
Sorry, altruists, but when you have an treasure like that, you milk it, you
nurture it, you market it and you celebrate it. You don't trade it. Not unless
you want to wear a bag the rest of your life.
To leave a message for Mitch Albom, call 1-313-223-4581 or E-mail
albom@freepress.com. He will sign "Tuesdays With Morrie," noon-1 p.m. Nov. 27
at Barnes & Noble in Bloomfield Hills and 1-2 p.m. Nov. 28 at Borders in Novi.
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
COLUMN