September 19, 1999

It is not often that Wichita, Kansas, is the center of the sporting world. Anyone in the newsroom of the Wichita Eagle would have been confused, panicked, or some minor key variation of the two when a fax from Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions came to the newsroom. The fax announced the retirement of the former MVP, who was second in the all-time rushing yards ledger, within plausible striking distance of number one Walter Payton, the most arresting and graceful runner in league history. Hopes were not exactly high in Motown, but it looked for all the world like their season had just ended in July.

The commonly told story now about the sudden retirement is one that makes Barry a wronged man, fed up with a bad organization wasting his career. I don’t like this interpretation, because I dislike the title-or-bust mentality, and I refuse to believe anything about Barry Sanders’s career was a waste. But I do prefer it to the immediate reaction of fans and media, which was to call Sanders a quitter, selfish, someone afraid of the moment. I listened to the radio all day, as though we were at war in the provinces; there was not a single person on the airwaves then who stood up for Barry Sanders’s decision, or for his abstract right to make a decision.

It wasn’t all gloom in Detroit; they had finally moved on from the loathed fiasco of Scott Mitchell at quarterback, and had a great receiver in Herman Moore, but even had Sanders stuck around, it was hard to see a way forward for the Lions in the crowded NFC Central. The Minnesota Vikings had just sent offensive records the year before, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a young, impressive, defense. In a demonstration of how small championship windows are in the NFL, the most vulnerable team ahead of Detroit in the standings may have been Green Bay Packers.

Only two seasons removed from their triumph in Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers were in a time of transition. Reggie White retired, as did wide receiver Robert Brooks. Neither of these were as controversial as Sanders, because Reggie had played fourteen seasons and Brooks had serious back injuries. Coach Mike Holmgren had left too, resigning to take a job with Seattle with let him have roster control. The Packers hired Ray Rhodes as his replacement. It was a priority to pick someone with a defensive background since Holmgren had taken long-time coordinator Fritz Shurmur with him to Seattle, but the fiery Rhodes was a change in demeanor from the former high school teacher Holmgren. Despite his reputation, he struck a very casual pose in training camps. He explained that the motivational ploys were for young players and players who needed to prove themselves, not for world champions.

With both teams winning their openers, the matchup between the Packers and Lions on September 19, 1999, was for early control of the division. It looked to be a long afternoon at first, as Charlie Batch was sacked three times in the first two Lions drives, but the Packers offense wasn’t able to take advantage, only putting a field goal on the board. Batch came alive in the second quarter, with a long touchdown to Johnnie Morton, and a 74-yard bomb to tight end David Sloan. Brett Favre was able to put together an answer shortly before the half with a 93-yard drive that included a long pass to Antonio Freeman, but this was in the low percentile of 90+ yard drives that end only in a field goal. Green Bay took an eight-point deficit into the locker room with them.

Favre was one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league, but that danger was all-encompassing, and included his own team too. In demonstration, the first Packer drive of the second half ended in an interception. In scoring position, Favre let the ball hit the carpet for a Lions recovery. The Packers defense kept it all even though, pummeling Batch some more, keeping running back Greg Hill under wraps, and, in the Lions drive subsequent to the fumble, forced a punt. The snap flew over everyone’s head for a safety and the odd score of 14-8. The offense had a prompt response off the free kick, taking a 15-14 lead after Dorsey Levens punched it in from two. But Terry Fair took the ensuing kickoff 91 yards down the field. It was a simple matter, then, when Batch carried the ball in on a naked bootleg for what would prove to be the winning score. Favre had one last chance, down 23-15, but his final pass was batted away, giving the Lions an upset.

The Lions were an offbeat brand of ungracious winner following their 2-0 start. Considering how deeply the media buried them when Sanders retired, they had a right to play the “Nobody believed in us” card, but they didn’t aim it at the media, they aimed it at Barry Sanders. Defensive tackle Luther Ellis said to Sports Illustrated, “We’d all like to send a big thank you to Barry Sanders, because leaving the way he did finally woke us up and forced us to start acting like a real football team.” Sanders had been careful not to blame anybody for his decision and spoke highly of coach Bobby Ross, but already his decision was being taken as a vote of no confidence in the Lions as an organization. He was also now in a legal battle with the Lions, who were trying to reclaim his signing bonus from the contract he signed the year before. Sanders’s agents and lawyers, in a strange feint, suggested he could give up the money if he was released or traded. Sanders had no interest in playing again, and the Lions had no interest in seeing him play for someone else. This legal blind alley did nothing but hurt feelings.

Nobody would have blamed the Lions if they had rolled over and played dead the year Barry Sanders retired. There are some modern schools of thought that call that tanking and imbue it with a dignity and purpose it can’t possibly actually have. Before you start to pull for your favorite bag of laundry to throw everything in and put everything in the hands of the suits and number crunchers, remember that the Detroit Lions in 1999, year one A.B., made the playoffs in what should have been the darkest year of their history, because darkness alone cannot kill any of us, and everything will be forgiven except surrender.