In doing research for my book I was going through clips of the 1990 Lions’ season when one paragraph jumped off the page, it is a classic from our friend Tom “Killer” Kowalski.

The column was written after the Lions had just beaten the Packers 24-17 at Green Bay (yes, you read that right). It was two degrees with a wind chill of minus-33. A perfect day at Lambeau Field. Barry Sanders ran for 133 yards, Rodney Peete threw for 184.

The Lions tried to give it away with miscues — fumble, interceptions, a missed field goal, you name it. Detroit was down 17-10 at the end of the third and came back with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win.

So Kowalski was telling fans not to feel guilty if a depression came over them in the second half because they thought for sure the Lions would lose.

This is the graph as it appeared in The Oakland Press on Dec. 23, 1990: “It’s conditioning. When the Lions go into a tailspin, we’ve been conditioned for 30 years to believe they’ll never pull it out. To watch a team, or career, crash and burn does not alarm us. We’re numbed by it. Oh, missed the playoffs again. Ah, another No. 1 Flop.’’

Pure Killer.

My book, “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die” will be published on Sept. 1. One of the chapters is about Tom.

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