The shots are flying ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, which could provide NFL teams with the firepower to take the next step as a franchise and power toward the playoffs… or beyond.
And with this year’s NFL Draft in Detroit, the hometown paper was feeling a little extra frosty, delivering a dagger to the heart of Dallas.
“PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: With the football world descending upon Detroit today for the #NFLDraft, including fans of all 32 NFL teams, this is a great opportunity to remind Dallas Cowboys fans that the Detroit Lions have been to more NFC championship games this millennium,” the Detroit Free Press tweeted.
The tweet is funny on a few different fronts.
First, it’s pretty atypical to see a publication step into the fray like that. Typically the accounts belonging to an entire news organization are the least partisan, built on the principles of journalism that encourage neutrality so as not to impinge upon the quality and impartiality of the reporting being done.
The Free Press has been a little loose with those principles, even dating back to last year’s playoff run.
Of course, the tweet’s also funny for other reasons, with the 2024 NFL Draft as the backdrop. One, it’s not like Detroit has some ridiculously commanding lead over Dallas in NFC Championship Game appearances.
Detroit just made its first appearance since 1991, while Dallas’ last appearance came in 1995. But if you back out the search a little more, to an equally arbitrary timeline of, say, since 1992, the entire operation takes on a very different look. Then Dallas would have had four NFC Championship Game appearances to Detroit’s one.
Further, if you want to push a little past simple NFC Championship Game appearances to Super Bowl titles, Dallas then takes a commanding lead. The ‘Boys have won five Super Bowls in franchise history, while Detroit has yet to win one.
All of Detroit’s four league championships came before the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
So while the Detroit Free Press tweet is certainly funny — and an unquestionable shot across the bow of Dallas — it probably doesn’t carry quite as much weight as the organization would like.
Still, it’s a fun bit of work before tonight’s real business gets underway tonight with the 2024 NFL Draft.
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