The date August 29, 2005. Steve Carrell's "40-Year-Old Virgin" was making America laugh, while The Pussycat Doll's "Don't Cha" was teaching preteen girls to dance inappropriately, and the Detroit Lions were hosting the St. Louis Rams for the most important pre-season football game ever.
By NFL rules, the Lions had to host a Monday Night Football game that year because Ford Field was hosting Super Bowl XL. But the Lions, then in the darkest depths of the Matt Millen era, were terrible. Rather than waste a prime regular season spot on a team this unwatchable, Monday Night Football buried the Lions in their preseason schedule to get it over with.
The Lions, however, were anxious to make a big deal out of the event. It was the third preseason game, which is the one that most resembles a regular season contest, they said. This team, you'll see...you'll all see...Matt Millen knows what he is doing, claimed Allen Park's PR flacks.
The game was to be the team's coming out party, the year Joey Harrington was poised to take a big step forward. To make sure Lions fans knew what a big deal this game was, the team unveiled their new, alternate black jerseys. Matt Millen was a great believer in the theory that NFL teams always do better in black unis because the Raiders.
It didn't help the Lions. The Rams crushed them that night 37-13 and the black jersey became a symbol of the ineptitude and absurdity of the Millen regime. A couple years later, the Lions dumped the look.
But the Lions may be considering a return to the black uniform. The NFL may loosen their rules about alternate uniform color schemes for 2015 and Lions are sporting black practice pants in training camp. Does that mean a new third jersey is in the works?
WXYZ: After players began wearing new black pants during this year's training camp, buzz around town regarding a possible alternate jersey picked up new steam.
"I would stay tuned," Lions president Tom Lewand said.
That coy answer kind of sounds like a yes.
Maybe this time, if a winning team takes the field in black jerseys, the look will catch on.
