It's long been said by Lions fans, "if you're not going to put a winning product on the field, at least put one on the side of the field." Okay, that's not true; I just made that up. It relates, though, to the Lions not having cheerleaders since they came to Detroit in 1934. The Lions have, however, finally agreed to allow cheerleaders, but they're not the team's official cheerleaders. As a result, there are some ground rules to help make that clear to the fans:
↵↵↵• They are not allowed to perform organized cheers.
↵• They cannot obstruct the view of fans.
↵• They are not allowed to take group photos with fans. Only two girls may appear in photos, so they plan to walk through Ford Field in rows of two.
↵• They cannot wear Lions logos or team colors. Although there is blue in their uniforms, it will not be "Honolulu blue."
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The group of cheerleaders call themselves the Detroit Pride, not to be mistaken with Sean's Lions site, Pride of Detroit. While the Lions Vice President of Business Operations, Bob Raymond, says the Lions have no plans to employ official cheerleaders, the Detroit Pride will give Lions fans their first real experience with unofficial cheerleaders in and around Ford Field:
↵↵↵The public gets its first glimpse of the Pride at the Eastern Market tailgate at 10:30 a.m. before they move to the Elwood Grill outside Ford Field around 11:30 a.m.
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"It'll finally allow us to divert our attention when we can no longer stomach watching the Lions defense," says one Lions fan. Okay, that's also not a real quote, but it's probably true.