The Hutch-Wagon

 I have never been a pro football fan, though I always support my local teams or teams with whom I have some kind of connection. The Detroit Lions have had a major losing streak since we've lived here, or so I heard. I never paid any attention to the games. However, when Ziggy Ansa was on the team 8 years ago or so, I was pretty excited because he was in the Canton ward and we met him a couple of times. Austin even got his autograph. Kyle Vanoy played for them and stayed with Ziggy for a bit before his wife joined him and they moved to the Northville ward. We met him and his wife as well. 

This season, again, I didn't pay much attention, but I heard about how we were having a pretty good season. When I was out shopping for Christmas gifts, I bought Austin a Michigan shirt and a Lions shirt, for a buy-one-get-one-half-off. I knew he needed a new Michigan shirt and at that point, I knew how well they were doing (Go Blue!), and when I saw the deal, I thought, "Might as well get him a Lions shirt too, since they're doing pretty well right now."

After they won their last home game, leading up to the 49ers game, my boss, who pays way less attention to football than I do, had noticed all the kids coming to school in their Lions shirts and realized we should make a bigger deal out of it for some school spirit. So she announced a "wear your Lions blue and white" day for Friday. When she was telling me her idea she mentioned that Aiden Hutchinson, a defensive end for the Lions, went to Red Bell as a preschooler and his parents live down the street! He played for the Plymouth Canton Steelers, where Kade used to cheer, and went to the private school where my boss's mom taught art. She was his art teacher. 

The best part about it was on Tuesday, a student said how he wanted to be a football player when he grew up, and I told them that Aiden Hutchinson went to Red Bell. One 3-year-old girl promptly raised her hand and said, "Aiden Hutchinson is my neighbor and I walk his dog!" Now, I usually take what these little guys say with a grain of salt, however, she said it so clearly and matter-of-factly that I almost believed her. Either way, it was about the cutest thing I heard last week!

Well, we ended up losing to the 49ers, and won't be in the Super Bowl after all, but this is the best they've played in 30 years. Yes, I did watch the game with my family and was rooting for Hutch, the Red Bell alumni, but our journey ended there. It was fun while it lasted.

I borrowed Austin's shirt for our Lion's Pride day at school.