I was never the type of kid to write letters to my heroes or Santa Claus or anyone like that. But every once in a while, a situation comes along that stirs up something inside me, and I get a craving to let my voice really be heard, so why not write that letter?

When I heard that the Detroit Lions, specifically head coach Steve Mariucci and general manager Matt Millen, approached a retired Barry Sanders to perhaps coax him into returning to football, I thought to myself, “it’s about time someone seriously asked him to return.”

But Sanders said he would consider coming back only if the Lions are one of 32 teams that he can deal with. He said this because Detroit still owns him, and if he came back to football, he would have to continue with the blue and silver.

The way I see it, Detroit’s selfishness is depriving the world of one of the greatest football players to ever touch a football. So my letter to them will go like this:

To the Detroit Lions organization:

I am writing this as an educated — not to mention attractive — sports writer and as a huge football fan.

It has come to my attention that Barry Sanders did show interest in returning to the game of football when you approached him about it, which is a good thing. But the one catch is that he wants to be able to entertain offers from every team, not just the Lions.

Now I understand that Detroit needs talent, badly. But to deprive the rest of the league and the sports world in general of a chance to see the best running back ever in action once more, that is just plain ludicrous.

Wouldn’t you like to see Sanders come back and take what is rightfully his — Emmitt Smith’s rushing crown?

He only needs 1,893 yards to catch up to Smith’s 17,162, which he could accomplish in a season and a half. Then he could take another season and a half to add to it, just in case Smith gets thrown behind another amazing offensive line like he had throughout those glory years in Dallas.

Just look at all the amazing athletes who have made successful comebacks, like Michael Jordan. Even former Denver Broncos MVP running back Terrell Davis is making a comeback and he has to overcome an injury to do it.

Sanders is 35 and has been out of the game since after the 1998 season, but you know as well as I do he’s got at least five more years left in those legs. The man was injured about as often as I’m on time to class, which isn’t very often.

For you to not allow him to come back the way he wants to would most likely mean he won’t come back at all. And Detroit will be the very reason for one of the most appalling premature retirements, without a comeback, of all time.

I don’t mean to knock the Lions as a team, but you have to admit Sanders is the brightest spot this team has seen since Chuck Long, the former Iowa Hawkeye, had a brief stint there. And for someone who has been so good at football his whole life to do nothing but lose at the professional level because he was surrounded by mediocre football players, is a pretty solid reason to not want to come back for that team.

On the other hand, maybe you could do more to inform Barry on how much Detroit is going to benefit from Mariucci — the only proven winner the franchise has seen in decades.

An option for your team is to perhaps work out a trade that sends Sanders, or at least the rights to him, to another team. An option that, according to espn.com, has been touched on but not pursued heavily by Detroit.

The options are there, and I know it is hard to give up the rights to a living legend, but do it for the sake of the sport and do it for the kids.

Most importantly, do it for us Emmitt-haters.

Sincerely, Kyle

Kyle Moss is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He is the sports editor of the Daily.