'Hungry Lions' adorn cover of Sports Illustrated
11:03 AM, Oct. 4, 2011 | BY DAVE BIRKETT

DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Oh, curses (if you believe in that sort of thing).

The undefeated Detroit Lions are on the national cover of Sports Illustrated this week, according to the magazine's official Twitter account.

The cover shot captures Calvin Johnson outjumping Terence Newman for the game-winning touchdown in Sunday's 34-30 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The headline reads, "The Hungry Lions," with the readout, "Do you believe? Detroit Does".

It's not the first time a Lion has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Barry Sanders graced the cover at least three times, including the Hall of Fame edition in 2004, and Joey Harrington made the cover during his rookie season of 2002 in an issue that touted "the best crop of (young quarterbacks) in 20 years."

Doak Walker was featured on the Oct. 3, 1955, issue, Nick Pietrosante was on the Nov. 19, 1962, edition, and the Lions were supporting players on covers in 1969 (that featured the Minnesota Vikings defense), 1982 (Browns linebacker Tom Cousineau) and 2003 (Jake Plummer).

Being on the cover of Sports Illustrated has come with its perils in the past. In 2008, Tom Brady was on the cover of the NFL season preview issue and tore ligaments in his left knee in the opening game.

Sports Illustrated's Peter King addressed the SI cover jinx in a Tweet today after news of the cover was released, writing: "If we didn't put Leos on the cover, we'd be dissing a 4-0 team. When we do put them on the cover, we're idiots for jinxing them."

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said on his weekly radio appearance on 97.1-FM this morning that he doesn't buy into the SI cover jinx.

"We’ve got enough stuff to worry about than worrying about stuff like that," Schwartz said. "I’m probably the least superstitious person that I know. You win with good players that are coached well and have good roles on the team and all that different stuff. I hate to disappoint anybody, but it’s not where somebody sits during the game. It’s not all those other things. It makes it fun for them to talk about but it really doesn’t matter a whole lot once you get onto the field."

Since there's already articles about it on Mlive and the Detroit Free Press, I might as well spoil it:

I hope that they aren't celebrating too much. They got their butts kicked in the first halves of two consecutive games and should be 2-2 or at best 3-1 right now. I give them a lot of credit for having the fortitude needed to get those comeback wins, but those halftime deficits should be of great concern to them.

Couldn't agree more with this post.

Reading Growlers post has led me to a question:

Can a head coach seal the locker room?


If I were Schwartz, and I had a young team that is in the process of doing something spectacular, I would do absolutely everything to insulate my guys. Seal the locker room, restrict media coverage, and begin talking with the team about why I as the HC had done just that.

I understand that these are mature men, but if winning is the goal, there is a time to celebrate, and that's in Feb. I honestly believe that this team needs to be on lock down in regards to the media. I'm sure ESPN, and other media types would claim censorship, and the people have a right to know, but it's not documented in the Constitution so no they don't necessarily have a RIGHT to know.

Am I being to harsh? We've seen a good thing come (finally) to the city of Detroit in our Sports Rennaisance (Lions and Tigers) and I think everything should be done to keep the team grounded, hungry, and insulated from the hype. Thoughts?