He said exactly what the fans wanted to hear.
Detroit Lions vice chairman Bill Ford Jr., son of owner William Clay Ford, made the ultimate promise Wednesday afternoon at the Detroit Economic Club's annual kickoff luncheon.
"We're going to bring you a Super Bowl, and we are going to help do our part to continue to mend our city and our state," Ford said. "When the Lions win the Super Bowl, this city will have a party like we've never seen before."
Ford didn't say exactly when that championship parade was going to take place, but the implication certainly was that it was coming in the near future.
The Lions took a step in the right direction last season when they won 10 games and went to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
Just four years ago, they were the laughingstock of the league, finishing 0-16. There were no Super Bowl guarantees in those days, not even from the Fords.
Coach Jim Schwartz, who took over after that winless season and has helped turn the organization around in a short time, also caught the Super Bowl fever at Wednesday's luncheon.
"We don't want to be a one-year wonder," Schwartz told the crowd, estimated at 1,000. "We want to deliver championships."
The Lions have never been to the Super Bowl since the game was first implemented in 1967. Their last championship came in 1957.
So forgive the skeptics.
The Lions do, however, feature a franchise one-two punch in quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson, which automatically makes them a potential contender.
But is it enough to back up the bold words of their owner's son?
