Detroit Bias

Detroit’s magical sports run came to somewhat of a halt last weekend, as the Tigers were eliminated from the MLB playoffs and the Lions suffered their first loss of the season. Regardless, the Tigers had a great run and the Lions are still sitting pretty with a 5-1 record. Both teams have very bright futures ahead. Not to mention the Red Wings are off to a 4-0 start and looking ready to make another run at the Stanley Cup. Yes, things are looking up for Detroit sports.

Detroit’s epic sports week kicked off with the Lions feasting on the Bears in their first Monday Night Football appearance in ten years. Ndamukong Suh and the Lions dominant defensive line sacked Jay Cutler three times and had him running for dear life all night.

Detroit ran away with the game with big plays from Jahvid Best and Calvin Johnson, turning the full house at Ford Field to its highest decibel. The Lions improved to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1956. Most importantly, they got the Motor City momentum rolling as the Tigers were coming back in town after dropping the first two games of the ALCS to the Rangers.

The Tigers fed off the mojo, winning two out of three games at Comerica Park, cutting the Rangers lead to 3-2 and sending the series back to Arlington. In the end, Nelson Cruz and the Texas bats were too much, but the Tigers put up a great fight in a very exciting series and kept the good vibes rocking in Motown.

Some of Detroit’s biggest stars were on hand for the events. Lions legend Barry Sanders was part of the Monday Night Football intro and came out for the coin toss. The Tigers showcased a variety of national anthem performances by some of Motown’s finest: Aretha Franklin, the Four Tops, and Bob Seger!(‘s saxophonist Alto Reed). There’s no way Alto Reed is that guy’s real name… that’s like my name being Writer Sports.

The Michigan action didn’t stop in the Detroit. Ninety miles west, in East Lansing, Michigan State took out the undefeated Michigan Wolverines on Saturday in one of the mid-west’s biggest college football rivalries. The Spartans defense completely shut down Denard Robinson and Michigan’s high voltage offense. Despite losing to MSU once again, Michigan seems to be inching closer and closer to getting back to their dominant ways under head coach Brady Hoke. And Michigan State seems to be inching closer and closer to actually winning a big ten title.

The Lions undefeated season also came to an end, at the hands of a viscous 49ers defense and running game on Sunday. While the Lions Super Bowl bandwagon certainly busted a wheel, at least head coach Jim Schwartz proved he won’t take crap from anyone.

Regardless how tough their coach is, the Lions can’t afford to drop many of their next four winnable games, if any. The last six games on their schedule include two against the Packers, road games in New Orleans and Oakland, and a home game against the Chargers, who are always dangerous late in the year. The time is now for the Lions to bounce back. With the Tigers out, the city of Detroit depends on it!

As many of you know, I am originally from the Detroit area. I grew up cheering for the Lions and Tigers as well as the Red Wings and Pistons. I moved to Chicago in ’03, then moved to Los Angeles about a year ago, but no matter how long I live away from home, I’ll always cheer for the teams from Detroit.

I get phone calls and text messages from friends and family in Michigan excited about the Tigers. I go to sports bars in L.A. with a Lions shirt on and make friends with strangers with Detroit roots. These things make me feel closer to home and proud to show people where I come from. If anything, living away from Michigan has made me a bigger fan of Detroit teams.

Detroit sports have had some success with the Red Wings remaining a dominant force in hockey since the 90’s and the Pistons coming up with a few great championship runs of their own. But from the late 80’s until 2005, the Tigers were quite possibly the worst franchise in baseball. And ever since the dawn of man, the Detroit Lions have been almost definitely the worst franchise in the history of sports. And as great as it was to see the Red Wings and Pistons win championships, nothing excites and unites a city like a Super Bowl or World Series run. Not in America at least. Except for maybe a revolution against Wall Street, but that’s a different story all together.

I’ve been a fan of the Lions and Tigers for about 20 years, and for the most part it has never paid off. Twenty years of investing my time and emotions in something that has pretty much never rewarded me. That’s like spending your entire life chasing a girl who always takes advantage of you and never respects you. At some point, you’d think I’d just give up.

But if you give up on your teams, you don’t get to enjoy the moments when it finally pays off to be a fan. If you don’t let your emotions go so far as a sports fan that you get crushed when your team loses, you can’t possibly get the same thrill when they finally win.

To someone that’s as passionate of a sports fan as I am, last week was almost too emotionally overwhelming to handle. There were ups and downs, and eventually the Tigers season ended and the Lions got beat. But for once, it felt cool to be a Lions fan and Tigers fan in the same week.