It's a new problem for the Detroit Lions, this winning business.
After eons lodged in the deep shadows, Detroit's 4-0 start has thrust them into the national spotlight and onto the cover of this week's issue of Sports Illustrated.
The Lions will be featured as one of three regional covers along with Alabama's football team and the NHL's Boston Bruins.
While Barry Sanders was featured on the cover of a special SI Presents magazine in 2004, The Detroit Free Press points out that it's the first time the Lions will grace the cover of SI since Joey Harrington in 2002. Granted, Harrington was a trainwreck, but Lions coach Jim Schwartz isn't sweating the infamous SI cover jinx.
"I'm probably the least superstitious person that I know," said Schwartz. "You win with good players that are coached well and have good roles on the team and all that different stuff."
Besides, SI's senior NFL writer Peter King believes there was no other choice, tweeting Tuesday: "If we didn't put Leos on the cover, we'd be dissing a 4-0 team. When we do put them on the cover, we're idiots for jinxing them."
Sounds like SI can't win, but that's something the Lions haven't had a problem with so far.
