The Detroit Lions' dominating 42-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks commanded the majority of attention Monday night, but lost in the hoopla of the game was another important event.
At halftime, Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson was inducted into the Pride of the Lions, finally seeing his name enshrined at Ford Field with other luminaries. With many other legends and former teammates looking on, Johnson delivered a fantastic speech that captured the important strides the franchise has made with former players.
Johnson started his speech with an immediate shout-out to owner Sheila Ford Hamp.
"It's wonderful to be here in this time and place, in this moment, especially with the organization that Sheila (Ford Hamp) leads all the way down to the players. It's great to be back here in Detroit, Michigan at this time. What a great time to be a Lion, but I couldn't leave this stage, one, without mentioning a couple more things. Teammates that gave me the inspiration, all the guys behind me, the ones that I played with. The guys before me. The inspiration that was given to me to be the best I could every day. That example was set by these gentlemen behind me and my teammates that kept me going. That's what gave me the fire every day to push to give that unblemished effort to you guys, to Detroit, to Michigan."
Not long ago, Johnson would not have made this public revelation about the Lions' franchise. The evolution from then to now is a tribute to what Ford Hamp has done as a leader to unite the franchise from top to bottom both on the field and off. Patching things up with Johnson was one of the biggest early moves Ford Hamp made, and it has paid dividends.
Putting Johnson in the Ring of Honor was the obvious first step. Perhaps next he will get a statue like Barry Sanders. Regardless, it was great to see Johnson reciprocate the love with such class.
Jameson Williams admitted his goal post dunk was tribute to Calvin Johnson
Johnson's presence during the game wasn't lost on current Lions. Williams is one of the new generation of players who was inspired by Johnson's exploits when he was a kid.
After scoring a 70-yard touchdown against Seattle, Williams slammed the ball over the goal post, a move reminiscent of Johnson, who used to do the same celebration after scoring (before the league made it a penalty).
Afterward, Williams admitted it was a well-timed hat-tip to Johnson to serve as a birthday present on his big night.
"That was for Calvin (Johnson). He used to do that back in the day. It's his birthday, he's getting honored a lot so I did that for him. Some people in the facility thought I couldn't make the dunk, so you know, I had to get up there and show them."
Monday night, it was impossible to miss Johnson's imprint on the game. After living through a time when one of the greatest receivers in history was estranged from the franchise, it was nice to have Johnson back home for good.
