Detroit Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham was caught in a precarious situation over the past week
When the Dallas Cowboys arrived in Motown last week for Thursday Night Football, Texas native Cade Cunningham felt an uneasy feeling creep into his stomach. Growing up in Arlington, Texas, Cunningham has always rooted for the Cowboys, ever since he was a youngster.
But since arriving in Detroit for his rookie season, Cunningham has grown close with several members of the Lions as well. Cunningham has been spotted rocking a Jameson Williams No. 9 jersey on occasion, and he’s been outspoken that he roots for the Lions as well.
So, Cunningham was a bit put on the spot when he was asked about the two teams prior to kickoff for the Week 14 matchup. Cade ended up giving a fairly safe, political spot in the moment so that he wouldn’t be caught in a tight bind given his fandom, but the Detroit All-Star shed some additional light on his pre-game interview after the Pistons took down the Milwaukee Bucks by 12 points on Saturday night.
“Can I say something about that? First of all, I still got faith in my Cowboys,” Cunningham began. “Okay, I still got faith in the Cowboys, I still got faith in them. We need the Eagles to lose a game, that'd be great. I'm a die hard Cowboys fan. I have been my whole life. I think my bit was a little too short on TV. I have a lot of love for a lot of players on that team. I don’t want to go down the line, but a lot of guys that we've connected, and we support each other a lot. And it's insane that I say that I support the Lions, you know what I’m saying? Where I'm from and who I've always been rooting for, it's insane that I actually be rooting for them. I wore a Lions jersey, that's crazy– a J-Mo jersey."
In that moment, Cunningham stripped away his media-trained personality and spoke about his fandom from his heart. Cunningham has a long history of supporting the Dallas Cowboys, and that is still a part of who he is today. But since coming to Detroit, Cunningham has adopted the Lions as his second team, not replacing his support for the Cowboys but adding to the amount of football that he can enjoy.
No Blockbuster Necessary: Bickerstaff Says Pistons Are Set Without Making Trade
The Detroit Pistons have been rumored to be in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes recently
"So I got a lot of love for the team," Cunningham said. "I wish them all the best. It was cool to see them win the game. I hate to see my team lose. It would have been tough to see how the other team lose, but I still got my boys in the Super Bowl. I think we'll be alright. But every year I think it's the Super Bowl or bust, and it is what it is. You could love it, you could hate it. It is. That's my team, I'm sticking beside them, right or wrong. Shout out to all the Lions guys that I rock with, though. I wish all the best, y'all keep killing it. Hopefully y'all go to the Super Bowl too. I mean, it's not possible that both teams could go at the same time…”
READ MORE: J.B. Bickerstaff Shares HILARIOUS Isaiah Stewart Story
In a way, Cunningham was destined to walk away a winner when the Cowboys and Lions faced off. And when he explained his rooting interests to the media on Saturday night, Cunningham showed a bit of humility as well. Although Cade is a superstar on the hardwood, he experiences the same conflicting moments through sports that fans do, only in a different way since he has personal relationships with players on each side.
So, Cade did what he’s always done– he stayed true to himself.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.