Detroit Lions Mike Utley Joins The Show
If you’re looking for motivation today, look no further than the Detroit Lions Mike Utley. November 17th, 1991 against the Rams at the Silverdome when Mike was paralyzed during the game. But Mike Utley is a fighter – and we talked Lions playoff football with Mike from his home in Utah:
Couple of notes from the conversation (Mike in bold)…we asked him about the Lions:
I want them to play well, but I want the bottom line. When that fat lady singing and blows that whistle. I want it to be the lions. Absolutely.
Do you know how many people are smiling right now, hearing you, Mike? Talking about the Lions and doing this man? Yeah, we’re all just great. Yeah, it is. And you know, Detroit fans, I mean, the Lions fans are unlike I think they’re better than any NFL fan base, their their undying passion for this team. It doesn’t matter what their record is, and now they deserve everything we’re getting this year.
You know what? I tell you what… It’s the fans deserve this more than anybody else. the Ford family has been good to me, you know, but right now, the fans, you deserve this. Get in there, cheer ‘em on. Watch it on TV. Put the Lions jersey on. Just do what you got to do. But God dang it, we’re going to push for them to do well on Sunday.
It’s amazing because everyone’s going back to that win which technically was the 91 season but it was a 92 against Dallas and stuff. Where were you at that point? Were you obviously you were still in the hospital. Did you watch the game with the Cowboys?
I have watched every game from that Thanksgiving when they brought the TV and piped it into my room when I was in the ICU and all that kind of stuff. I had not missed a game, not not one game for the Lions all these years. And when it comes down to it, it was a big deal when Kramer came out there and the fellows they rose to the occasion and they won. They deserve everything they got. It’s a moment.
So you still you watch every game, you know, everything going on with the Lions.
I watch the game as a fan. You betcha. I watch what they do. I tell you what, this offensive line is extraordinary. They work well as a team, and that’s the difference. You can have great individuals, but if you don’t work together, you ain’t going nowhere and you see it.
Mike, you inspire so many people. I keep saying that. And I just want you to know that here in the Motor City, there are men and women listening right now that have been inspired to deal with whatever they’re dealing with in life, on whatever level, because of you and how you dealt with this thing.
You know, life’s a choice. And I believe this. And people don’t realize that, you know, for 27 years I have done very, very well. But then 2018, I got a spinal infection, I had a core passed me, which means they were removed t nine, ten, 11 vertebrae. And now I have a rise between my shoulder blades all the way down to L4. And right now I’m going through I got this 17. I have to do some MRI’s on my my whole spine and my left hip. It’s just it’s a price I pay to play the game I want to play. And life’s a choice. You cannot go forward looking in the rearview mirror
So Mike Utley, for all the men and women Lions fans listening to right now, what’s your message for them about this game and about this team?
Take every play, give 100%. Give yourself up and let the dice roll. But the one thing is, don’t look back. Leave it all on the field… one way or another, look back and say, I gave 100%.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – SEPTEMBER 22: Offensive lineman Mike Utley #60 of the Detroit Lions blocks as quarterback Rodney Peete #9 drops back to pass against the Indianapolis Colts during a game at the Hoosier Dome on September 22, 1991 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Lions defeated the Colts 33-24. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
Everyone’s talking about the Lions this week (obviously) – and we took time to look back at Alice Cooper and Bob Seger’s predictions for the season
