Stop Telling Detroit Sports Fans to Be Patient

Four safeties. That is how many Detroit Lions safeties are currently unavailable as the team enters Week 4. Thomas Harper was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury, joining Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph among the team's unavailable safeties, while Avonte Maddox is out for the season. Harper will miss at least four games as Detroit continues to adjust its secondary. For Detroit sports fans, however, the issue goes beyond one injury report. It is about a word they have heard for years: patience. Be patient with the rebuild. Be patient with the young players. Be patient until the prospects develop. Be patient until next season. Detroit fans have done exactly that. Now, across all four major professional sports teams, they are reaching a point where being told to wait is no longer enough.

The Lions Raised the Standard

The Lions are the clearest example of how the expectations have changed. Detroit spent years asking fans to trust the rebuild, and those fans did. The result was a team that eventually gave its supporters something they had rarely experienced: legitimate expectations. That means fans are going to question injuries, roster decisions and missed opportunities. On Wednesday, Detroit's pursuit of Joey Porter Jr. ended without a deal after Dallas acquired the cornerback. Fans do not have to demand that the Lions make a trade just to make one, but they are allowed to wonder how the team will address a secondary that has already taken several hits. That is not impatience. It is the natural result of expectations rising.