Implosion of Pontiac Silverdome failed miserably, seen as metaphor of Lions’ futility

In a way, this was the perfect metaphor for the Lions and their former home, the Pontiac Silverdome.

The stadium was home to the Detroit Lions from 1975-2001 and the team won just one playoff game in that span. The Lions, who have never made the Super Bowl, had a losing record in 16 of those 27 seasons.

So maybe it should be no surprise that when the stadium was set for implosion on Sunday, it failed.

Here is what was supposed to happen, via Fox 2 in Detroit: One blast was to break the metal beams supporting the upper ring of the dome. Next, the vertical beams surrounding the Silverdome would be broken when a small charge detonates, causing the steel ring to fall to the ground.

One problem. The stadium was still standing.

JC Reindi of the Detrot Free Press reported that the implosion weakened the Silverdome, and it could still fall. But there were no plans for a second explosion attempt.

Officials say implosion worked as planned, but stadium is “built a little too well,” according to WXYZ in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Lions fans had all the jokes:

This story was originally published December 3, 2017 at 8:57 AM.