"I Don't Believe It!": Memories Of A Detroit Lions Fan [Paperback]

Barry Schumer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1425943942 | ISBN-13: 978-1425943943

'I Don't Believe It' is a humorous look at the frustrated Detroit Lion fan since 1970. The memories from all three stadiums over 36 years of Lion football, and how fans have coped with the losing, make this book a must for sports fans. The author details the sad and comical ups and downs of the passionate NFL fan, as they wonder if they are losing their minds following the team they love. Highlights include the top 20 'I Don't Believe It' moments since 1970, how the Lions compare to the rest of the NFL, and summaries of almost 400 games from 1976 - 2005. Included are the 'Lion Jinx', a review of coaches and quarterbacks, favorite players, the angry fan march and the song 'gridiron zeroes'. Although the author is critical of the organization, the main message is the passion Lion fans have for their team, and how badly Detroit fans want a winner. We salute all the men who have put on the Honolulu blue and silver jersey over the years, risking injury for the money, the pride of representing Detroit and the quest for Detroit's first championship since 1957. We will always love our Lions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The author, Barry Schumer, is 50 years old and lives in Livonia, Michigan. He has an 18 year old son and 14 year old daughter. He is a Social Worker for the Dearborn Public Schools and has been an avid Lions fan all of his life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1425943942
• ISBN-13: 978-1425943943
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining at times, but difficult to follow, January 23, 2007

By 

elvindeath (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: "I Don't Believe It!": Memories Of A Detroit Lions Fan (Paperback)

The Detroit Lions. Nowhere in the history of organized human sport has a team displayed such an unwavering and thorough commitment to incompetance, amateurism and utter bufoonery. Despite 47 (and counting) years of producing excrement-like results on the football field, it is amazing that the Lions have ANY fans, let alone one passionate enough to write a book about the subject. It is even more amazing that after 6 years of the uttery insanity that is the "Matt Millen Era", anyone like me would even care to buy (let alone) read a book about the Lions. I guess that's a testimony to how great the Detroit fan base is - that with three pro teams and 2 major university teams which have won multiple championships in the last 30 years, they still manage to sell out Ford Field every year, with nearly 70,000 fans gathering every Sunday to see whether the Ford/Millen led abortion of a team will get 2 wins this season or 3.

In any event, it's clear that like myself, Mr. Schumer is a fan. A passionate fan. A fan who loves his hometown football team ... even if it is the Lions. His book is seemingly meant to be a personal reflection on his many decades of following the team, and all the great heartaches that entails. I say seemingly because while the book brought back a lot of the same emotions in me, I could never quite follow what it was the author was trying to say. While he had a lot of memories, it's clear he wasn't a professional "author", and thus the book was frequently meeandering and unfathomable. Each chapter leapt all over the place, and rather than segment the book into specific topics, it seemed like a loose collection of the same essay written over and over again. Furthermore, this appears to be a "vanity" publication, which was published without even the most rudimentary editing. Typos and incomplete sentences abound, and make it hard to follow any trains of thought.

I found the book entertainng, but it was mostly because it triggered so many of my own memories about the Lions' incompetance under Old Man Ford. With some editing, and a few more rewrites, I think this could have been a must buy for any true Lions fans ... but as the book is currently released, I just can't bring myself to recommend it.

I'd close this review with some quaint comment like "perhaps if the Lions ever turn it around and get to the Superbowl, Mr. Schumer could revise and rerelease the book", but as any true Lions fan knows, we'll all be dead long before this joke of a team ever gets to the top of the mountain.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Agreed, January 2, 2008

By 

freak3896 "freak3896" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "I Don't Believe It!": Memories Of A Detroit Lions Fan (Paperback)

I agree with the previous posting. The book read like a blog for the most part, especially in the later chapters. I enjoyed it for the most part because of the recolections of some of the Lions' most embarrassing performances (i.e. Marty take the wind, Boss Ross goes for 2 twice, Eagle playoff mega-blowout, etc.)

For the price, I would recommend it to another long suffering Lions fan. You can easily finish it in a day or two.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for the Knowledgeable Fan, December 11, 2011

By 

bmcb (Detroit) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "I Don't Believe It!": Memories Of A Detroit Lions Fan (Paperback)

The opening anecdote should be enough to tip off the reader that the book will be incomplete. The event described is a 1970 Lion's loss at the hands of the New Orleans' Saints or should I say to the foot of kicker Tom Dempsey. Schumer tells how Alex Karas and his defensive line mates were laughing at the 63 yard field goal attempt with 2 sec left in the game. What he doesn't explain is why they were laughing. Dempsey was perhaps the least athletic person to ever play in the NFL- besides being slightly overweight, he was born without toes on his right foot which caused him to wobble when he ran. He wore a shoe with no toe box; it had a flattened face like a sledge hammer. As he ran on the field for the winning attempt, the Lions were laughing about the incongruity of a "cripple" attempting the longest field goal in the history of the NFL. Karas later admitted that they barely rushed because it seemed so unlikely that he could be successful. While politically incorrect by today's standards, the full story is necessary to explain Karas' laughter and the improbability of the subsequent loss.
The rest of the book is as incomplete and inaccurate as the opening story. In another story, the author recounts how Joey Harrington was isolated on the sidelines by his team mates after an interception. The author quotes an announcer reporting that "Joey was avoided like a piranha".... I'm pretty sure the announcer said "pariah" meaning "outcast."
The book lacks a narrative structure, contains numerous spelling & grammar errors and really does a terrible job of capturing the suffering of truly knowledgeable Detroit Lions fans... save your money!