Detroit bloggers’ roundtable (Pt. 4)

Last week, I sent an email to many sports bloggers who cover Detroit teams with five questions about why the city of Detroit is such a great sports city. I received so many great and well thought out responses that instead of posting the answers to all five questions at once, I will spread it out throughout five days.

Today is Day #4 for the Detroit bloggers’ roundtable. You can also view the discussions for part one, part two and part three.

I’d first like to once again thank the bloggers who participated in this discussion:
Kurt @ Mack Avenue Tigers (Detroit Tigers)
Scott @ Quo Vadimus & Cutoff Man (Detroit Sports & Detroit Tigers)
Sean @ Pride of Detroit & Michigan Sports Center (Detroit Lions & UM Sports)
Matt @ Lets Go Wings (Detroit Red Wings)
Paul @ Kukla’s Korner (Detroit Red Wings/NHL)
Al @ The Wayne Fontes Experience (Detroit Sports)
Ripismoney @ Detroit Sports Unleashed (Detroit Sports)

The third question I asked the panel was… “What is your favorite Detroit sports memory?”

Kurt @ Mack Avenue Tigers: “Right now, it’s kinda scattered. I can’t come up with one. What really stands out is one night after an April series against the Milwaukee Brewers my senior year of high school. I was back home in Detroit, visiting family on a long weekend. I remember walking down from the upper deck in the crisp night with downtown was lit up and I just felt so at home. Really, it all keeps coming back to that. That’s what made the Tigers rebirth American League championship so important to me. That scarred city is my home town and that team is the one I grew up caring about most.”

Scott @ Quo Vadimus & Cutoff Man: “No question, being at Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals with my dad, Detroit Red Wings versus the St. Louis Blues in 1996. For Red Wings fans, the game needs no introduction or explanation, but for those wondering why some seemingly random game over a decade ago was so special, here’s the backdrop. It was the Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues, Steve Yzerman versus Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull. And it was Game Seven, loser goes home. And this was before the Wings had won any Stanley Cups, and fans were pretty anxious to see the Wings finally accomplish something in the playoffs. I was at the game with my dad and the arena had a certain electricity to it all night, everyone on the edge of their seats.

I love playoff hockey so much because one goal can make or break an entire season. In no other sport does one score (even in baseball with one run) matter so much in the playoffs. And after 60 minutes of play there were no scores, on either side. Which meant sudden death overtime. Next team to score wins, next team to be scored on is playing golf. Now the arena really tightened up. And for 20 minutes, not a goal was scored. A second overtime was beckoning. And I started to realize why 0-0 soccer games could be so exciting. Not a goal had been scored in 80 minutes of hockey but it was the most riveting and exciting game I had ever seen. Then, less than two minutes into the second overtime, Captain Steve Yzerman blasted a slapshot from just inside the St. Louis zone and the rest is history. I still remember running out of the arena, every fan honking their horns into the Detroit night. I’ll never forget that night, or that goal.”

Sean @ Pride of Detroit & Michigan Sports Center: “There are so many to choose from recently that it greatly helps in making a choice. Since I am a younger Detroit sports fan, many of the great memories took place before I can even remember. What I do recall though as one of my first memories from Detroit sports is way back in 1997 when the Red Wings swept the Flyers to win the Stanley Cup. The drought was over and Hockeytown finally lived up to its title by winning a title. I was only a young kid at the time, but I vividly remember celebrating the win. Since then, the Wings’ title in 2002 ranks up there and of course, the Pistons’ championship over the Lakers just a few years ago is also high on the list.”

Matt @ Lets Go Wings: “Steve Yzerman lifting the Cup in 1997. Won’t ever forget it, both just watching it on TV and sharing it with friends and family. Even in all of the hubub of that game was still a pleasure to sneak away from the crowd and take in Bruce Martyn calling the 2nd period of that game.”

Paul @ Kukla’s Korner: “Game 4, SCF victory over the Flyers in 1997. I was in attendance, and it was so loud, the Joe was shaking. I happened to be part of one of the impromptu Cup parties that took place that night, spent some unbelievable time with the Cup and a few of the Wings. I will never forget that night!”

Al @ The Wayne Fontes Experience: “Playoffs: When Magglio Ordonez hit the game, series, and pennant winning home run against the A’s to win the 2006 AL pennant. I’ve seen plenty of championships in my lifetime, and to be honest, we’ve been awfully lucky in that regard. But to see how that team came out of nowhere to absolutely captivate an entire area, and how dramatically it ended with Ordonez’s walk off HR, it’s hard for anything else to compare..

Regular season: March 26, 1997, possibly the most exciting and remembered regular season game in Detroit sports history. You only have to say the date, and every Detroit sports fan will know exactly what you are talking about.”

Ripismoney @ Detroit Sports Unleashed: “I’m rather young, so the Pistons’ championships in 1989 & 1990 were before my time, however if there is one simple moment that sums up everything it would be Magglio Ordonez’s walk-off home run in the 2006 American League Championship Series. It’s a moment that still gives me the chills — from the outrageous crowd celebrating a trip to the World Series just a year after being sub-.500 and several seasons from going 43-119 to the team’s reaction. There are plenty of moments to choose from to be sure, but that one swing of the bat electrified the entire state of Michigan as the world’s eyes were turned on Detroit. Incredible.”

Related Posts

  • No Related Post

Posted in: Features | | June 2007

Leave a Reply