The Legend, The Curse & The Cure | Bobby Layne

Lions Feel The Curse

The year was 2008 and the Detroit Lions were on the verge of making history. Not the good kind of history, but the kind that would haunt them forever. They had lost every single game of the season so far, and only one more defeat stood between them and the dreaded 0-16 record.

The Lions’ head coach, Rod Marinelli, tried to motivate his players with inspirational speeches and slogans, but nothing seemed to work. The team was plagued by injuries, turnovers, penalties, and poor performances. The fans had given up hope, wearing paper bags over their heads at the games.

“No competitor wants to go through something like this,” Marinelli said. “This is not fun to go through, obviously. But there’s people going through a lot worse than this.”

The final game of the season was against the Green Bay Packers, a fierce rival who had already clinched a playoff spot. The Lions knew they had little chance of winning, but they still wanted to avoid the embarrassment of being the worst team in NFL history.

The game started as expected, with the Packers scoring two quick touchdowns in the first quarter. The Lions managed to get a field goal in the second quarter, but they still trailed 17-3 at halftime. The third quarter was more of the same, with the Packers adding another touchdown and a field goal to make it 27-3.

Just Really Bad Luck, Or Was It Bobby Layne?

As the fourth quarter began, some of the Lions players started to wonder if there was something more than bad luck behind their misfortune. They had heard rumors about a curse that had been placed on their franchise by a former quarterback named Bobby Layne.

Bobby Layne was a legend in Detroit, leading the Lions to three championships in the 1950s. He was known for his toughness, charisma, and clutch plays. He was also known for his hard-partying lifestyle and his rebellious attitude.

In 1958, after breaking his leg in a game, Layne was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers by the Lions’ management. Layne was furious about the trade and allegedly said that the Lions would not win another championship for 50 years.

Whether he said those words or not, the Lions’ fortunes took a turn for the worse after the trade. They never won another championship, and only made the playoffs a handful of times. They also suffered the most heartbreaking and bizarre losses in NFL history.

Some of the Lions players believed that the curse was real and that it was about to expire. They thought that maybe, just maybe, if they could somehow win this last game, they could break the curse and start a new era of success.

Lions Players Give All They Got!

They decided to give it their all in the final quarter, and to their surprise, they started to play better. The Packers, who had nothing to play for, relaxed their defense. The Lions scored two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to make it 27-19 with five minutes left.

The Lions’ defense then forced a punt and gave the ball back to their offense. The Lions’ quarterback, Dan Orlovsky, led them down the field with some accurate passes and scrambles. He found Calvin Johnson, the star receiver, in the end zone for a touchdown with one minute left. The Lions were down by two points and needed a two-point conversion to tie the game.

Orlovsky looked for Johnson again, but he was double covered. He saw another receiver, Shaun McDonald, open in the corner of the end zone. He threw a pass that looked perfect, but at the last second, a Packers defender tipped it away. The conversion failed and the Lions were still down by two points.

The Lions tried an onside kick, but the Packers recovered it and ran out the clock. The game was over, and the Lions had lost 27-25. They had become the first team in NFL history to go 0-16. The Lions’ players collapsed on the field, some of them crying, some of them staring blankly. They felt like they had let down their fans, their city, and themselves. They wondered if they would ever win again.

Dan Campbell has spoken in the past about having no light at the end of the tunnel, and when you see a light, its just a freight train coming right at you. Jason Hanson after the final loss of the 0-16 season, made a comment that would resonate well with the Lions current head coach.

“It’s just kind of numb,” veteran kicker Jason Hanson said. “It’s here, It’s been coming though, a train rolling down the tracks for a while. We tried to stop it. We couldn’t.”

Layne’s Promise Turns Into Reality

Meanwhile, in a nursing home in Lubbock, Texas, an old man watched the game on TV. He had a smile on his face and a glass of whiskey in his hand. He was Bobby Layne, and he had lived long enough to see his curse come true.

This supposed curse did not stop here, but this had to be the absolute bottom of the mucky bottom for the Lions, right? Wrong, till this day the Lions have had the most bizarre endings to games, blatantly bad or no calls by refs, calls overturned by the NFL command center, rules changes implemented the season following, (Calvin Johnson Rule & Jim Schwartz Rule).

Then there are the stingers, (The “10-Second Runoff” Rule, The Seahawk “Batted Ball” & The Calvin Johnson “Football Move”).

No matter what seems to happen during a Lions game, the fans never appeared to be surprised, more so expecting it to happen. There is not much convincing needed with a Lions fan when they feel the “Fix” is in, and the curse is real. For too long, the losing seasons have continued to pile up.

Does Curse Comes To An End?

The Curse may have never stopped, it was now more than 50 years since Bobby cast his “hex” or “curse” upon the Lions. The curse should have ended after the 2008 season where the Lions finished 0-16. It didn’t, and it may have never ended if it wasn’t for Peyton Manning & Jeff Daniels wanting to do something about it. We firmly believe that Brad Holmes & Dan Campbell have righted the ship, but there is no doubt a little extra help was needed and certainly welcomed.

Rolling through downtown Detroit in a 1957 Lincoln, (the last year the Lions won the Championship), Manning & Daniels attempted to break the curse, during the 2022 season. 

They visited Layne’s favorite establishments, sipped his favorite spirit, and even sang him a song. With a little help from Peyton’s Places show, the two were going to stop at nothing to send Bobby Layne’s (HEX) back where it came from.

Manning & Daniels gathered in the endzone at Ford Field, where they had filled a bathtub with Bobby Layne’s favorite whiskey and salt. Daniels read the mystical incantation, casting out Bobby Layne’s black cloud curse, and restoring the roar in Motown!

The Lions finished 9-8 at the end of the 2022 NFL season. Unlike the 2008 season, the Lions finished games, especially the last one of the season. They fought with heart, and the team played for one another as brother on and off the field. With one of the best 2nd half comeback seasons in NFL history, missing the playoffs by one game, one bounce of luck their way.

The Lions are now poised as one of the hottest teams in the league, headed into the 2023 NFL season. They have a long way to go to prove they are authentic, but the evidence is starting to roll in by the truckload that the Lions are finally on their way to becoming a good football team. Most importantly, the curse just may be lifted off the Detroit Lions.