There are endless statistics available to describe five decades of failure for the Detroit Lions. This is a personal favorite: The Lions were 0-8 against Mike Tice, a man who will need a second chance as a head coach in order to build a Hall of Fame résumé.
The last of Tice's Vikings victories over Detroit was 21-16 in Ford Field on Dec. 4, 2005. The Lions had fired their coach, Steve Mariucci, the previous Monday and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant Dick Jauron.
Mariucci's departure gave inspiration to a young man in attendance on that first Sunday in December. He made a square from a paper bag and printed the message: "Fire Millen."
The target was Matt Millen, Lions CEO, and the architect at that point of five consecutive miserable seasons. Security guards tried to remove the sign, the fan took off and part of the pursuit wound up being shown on the Fox telecast.
The fans cheered the protester's every dodge and booed raucously when he was tackled by his pursuers. The episode would turn the young man into the Rosa Parks of the "Fire Millen" movement.
A few nights later, Mariucci attended a Michigan State basketball game. He was shown on a scoreboard screen. He received an ovation, and then a "Fire Millen" chant rocked the arena.
The chant started to surface at Red Wings and Pistons games. "Fire Millen" signs started to show up when Michigan teams played in L.A., Charlotte, anywhere in the country.
It would take until Sept. 24, 2008 -- three losses into his eighth season -- for the Ford family ownership to finally fire Millen. The carnage he left behind continues to astound.