Honolulu Blues: How Loving a Losing Team Created a Winning Man

A comedic play-by-play of historic gridiron failure marked by stunning almost wins and saw-it-coming losses that positions Detroit Lions lore as the backdrop for exploring themes of generational trauma, addiction, mental illness, and death

The city of Detroit and its football team have been a punchline since the 1960s--the Same Old Lions seem to have losing baked into their DNA.

Joel Walkowski is a poor kid from the Midwest, cut from the same cloth as his loveable, eccentric father, Banjo Bob, who pushes forward down the field amidst his autism, alcoholism, and severe childhood trauma. They see each other most clearly on Sundays, coming together as the twelfth man on the sidelines of a team whose history looks a lot like theirs--seasons full of promise upended by a penchant for falling short.

In Honolulu Blues Joel intertwines the fate of two losers--the Detroit Lions and himself--to explore the broader impact a city's football team can have on its residents, proving that you can overcome anything if you can learn to love what disappoints you.

Born and raised to be an addict, Joel is hooked on Adderall by seven and hops on the fast track to a life of alcoholism, homelessness, and--worst of all--a career in stand-up comedy. He holds his head high because he, like his family and their beloved team, is supposed to lose.

Learning from the Lions what his father couldn't teach him, Joel charts his journey to sobriety while caring for his dying father, coming to terms with the fact that there's a difference between failing and never having been set up for success.

Honolulu Blues proves the Lions story is the story of being human--carving your own path out of the ruts of the past and accepting that you don't have to win to be worth rooting for.

Author: Joel Walkowski
Publisher: Matt Holt Books
Published: 07/14/2026
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781637749043


Review Citation(s):
Foreword 06/27/2026

About the Author
Joel Walkowski is a writer, nationally touring comedian, and New York City basketball legend. He runs a SMART Recovery meeting at the Phoenix House in Brooklyn, NY. Joel is a nationally touring comedian, award-winning roast battler, and second funniest cast member on the popular NFL Fan Therapy web series. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Comedy Central, and got him banned from Major League Baseball. His nonprofit "Big Walkowski" raises money for organ donation with a basketball tournament (that he usually wins). He lives in Brooklyn, NY and has a sauna in his living room.