Unless you were born yesterday or you’re a young kid, you’ve heard the adage, “If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you do good.” That quote has stood the test of time. And I feel comfortable saying it’s older than the Detroit Lions. Because of this, it’s mindboggling they haven’t adopted this philosophy yet. 

And quite frankly, it’s about time they do. 

It’s long overdue. 

The Lions’ branding is synonymous with disappointment and underachieving, from the logo to the color scheme and jerseys. After the 0-16 season in 2008, the Lions’ front office should have rebranded immediately. Nevertheless, they didn’t do it. 

Here they are 13 seasons later, and once again, they missed another prime opportunity to do it. It’s one of the first “mistakes” Sheila Ford-Hamp has made since retooling the front office. After firing Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia, Ford-Hamp did something that sensible Detroit Lions fans requested for years. It’s certainly something that Sean Baligian of Baligan and Bell asked them to do for years.

And that’s to admit one thing finally: we’re a terrible organization, and the franchise has to start from the ground up. 

Lions fans should thank their lucky stars she’s in the driver’s seat now. Up to this point, she’s done a commendable job. Chris Spielman, Brad Holmes, and Dan Campbell have created a culture shift in Allen Park. 

Those hires by Ford-Hamp are giving the Lions a new identity with fans in the Motor City, one they can get behind. Now it’s time to provide them with another one. 

In 1997, their former then-NFC Central rival Tampa Bay Buccanneers abandoned their creamsicle jerseys and Bucco Bruce logo. Like the Lions’ jersey color scheme, many fans associated those jerseys with losing. 

Six years later, the Bucs won their first Super Bowl. 

They repeated this process in 2014, slightly changing their jersey and color scheme. Then boom. Seven seasons later, the Bucs won their second Super Bowl. Now let’s be honest. Wearing new jerseys didn’t help the Bucs win both of those Super Bowls. In 2003, they had a legendary defense that propelled them to victory. 

And their most recent Super Bowl win, they had the help of some guy named Tom Brady. So it takes more than a color swap and a logo change for a franchise to bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy. However, with such a losing culture since 1957, it wouldn’t hurt to entertain the idea of changing everything to a more intimidating look. Heck, again, look at the Buccaneers’ old Bucco Bruce logo and look at their current one? 

Which logo is more bad a**? With the hiring of Dan Campbell, who is talking about biting off kneecaps, trouting out a kiddie lion logo contradicts the culture shift.

After all, what sacred history in the modern era of the NFL is the Detroit Lions holding onto by keeping things the same? 

Change the logo. 

Change the colors.

And change the wordmark. 

While it’s too late to do it now, torch all of it before the 2022 season begins. It’s time.