I've been a fan of the Detroit sports teams all my life (41 years) and I can't ever remember a worse time to be a Detroit sports fan.
Now I was spoiled, when I really started to pay attention to sports (late 80s and early 90s) the Tigers were still competitive, the Lions had Barry Sanders and had their best seasons of the last 50 years, the Bad Boys Pistons were around, the Red Wings had Stevie Y and were starting to make a run, and even the Tigers were still relevant and a potential contender (before the 90s).
And there were plenty of superstars to root for: Isiah, Dumars, Yzerman, Trammell, Whitaker, Morris, Barry...and then into the 90s the Red Wings added more stars, the Tigers had Cecil, the Pistons had Grant Hill, and the Lions still had Barry at least. And that is before you throw in Michigan basketball and football. 1989 - 1998 was an incredible decade of sports for a young fan.
As I look around the landscape today, I've never seen it so barren. It is bad enough that the teams aren't even close to competing for the playoffs, let alone championships, but I'm not sure there is a single future Hall of Famer playing professional sports in Detroit right now with the exception of Miggy, whose best years are obviously behind him.
Ok, that's my rant lamenting the sorry state of Detroit sports. If anybody else (other than Boston fans
) wants to chime in with their complaints, feel free.
Now I was spoiled, when I really started to pay attention to sports (late 80s and early 90s) the Tigers were still competitive, the Lions had Barry Sanders and had their best seasons of the last 50 years, the Bad Boys Pistons were around, the Red Wings had Stevie Y and were starting to make a run, and even the Tigers were still relevant and a potential contender (before the 90s).
And there were plenty of superstars to root for: Isiah, Dumars, Yzerman, Trammell, Whitaker, Morris, Barry...and then into the 90s the Red Wings added more stars, the Tigers had Cecil, the Pistons had Grant Hill, and the Lions still had Barry at least. And that is before you throw in Michigan basketball and football. 1989 - 1998 was an incredible decade of sports for a young fan.
As I look around the landscape today, I've never seen it so barren. It is bad enough that the teams aren't even close to competing for the playoffs, let alone championships, but I'm not sure there is a single future Hall of Famer playing professional sports in Detroit right now with the exception of Miggy, whose best years are obviously behind him.
Ok, that's my rant lamenting the sorry state of Detroit sports. If anybody else (other than Boston fans
) wants to chime in with their complaints, feel free.
