NEWS OF THE WEEK: About 1,000 Detroit Lions fans marched around Ford Field to demand team president Matt Millen be fired.
WHAT THE PROFESSOR SAYS: “Everywhere … the people dominate and prevail.” These words were written to the emperor Marcus Aurelius in the middle of the 2nd Century A.D., and the people in question were at the games.
Put another way, Lions fans can only dream of the power that ancient fans had.
Emperors and other wealthy people justified their position by making sure that average folk were well-fed and entertained. One man even commissioned a mosaic floor showing the beast hunt he had sponsored with the cheers of the crowd written out in the middle of it. His games would be an example for others.
One flip side: Fans didn’t tolerate years of lousy performances. They wanted instant retribution for poor play, and the guy responsible for the games had to live with gossip on the party circuit that made modern talk radio look tame.
People who weren’t invited to those parties were free to paint their opinions on any wall that came within reach of a paintbrush, and their views were pretty explicit. Pity the gladiator who lost his nerve and saw the words “He ran” painted with his picture.
Imagine him trying to work again when people thought he was a coward. Matt Millen is lucky that his Lions are in Detroit.
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