When the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder last week, it was one of those “where were you when you heard the news?” moments. I was listening to the Ticket on 97.1 FM, and at first the talk show hosts didn’t think it was real. After the dust settled, the Tiger’s had make their biggest free agent signing ever. It vaulted them to the front of the line in World Series favorites.
They now have the best 3-4 hitters in MLB in Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder and oh yeah, they have some guy named Justin Verlander who won the MVP and Cy Young award last year. The best pitcher on the planet now has two of the game’s best hitters to support him.
The Fielder signing got me to thinking. With The Lions, finally after wandering the football deserts for over forty years, planning to make a serious run for the Super Bowl title, could this be the greatest year in Detroit sports history? I know that the Tigers and Lions both won their respective titles in the same year, 1935. Everybody who remembered those crazy parties celebrating them raise their hand. That’s what I thought. They didn’t even have television then. If there’s no TV, did it really happen?
The 2012 season is primed to be a historic one in Detroit. Anyone who’s ever read this column knows that I TOTALLY believe that the Lions are poised to make a run like they did in the 50’s when they won 3 titles. The Lions ARE going to be the team of the decade. They are only one solid off-season away from laying the wood to the rest of the league.
I’ll admit to having little interest in the other two major teams in town. I do watch the Red Wings in the playoffs every year in their annual push for the Stanley Cup. Twenty straight years in the playoffs, damn-that is impressive. It’s exciting when they win, and I took enormous pride in the times they’ve hoisted the cup over their heads. But I never learned to skate, and only know when a goal is scored when they all start jumping around. I can’t find the puck.
I loved following the Pistons when they were good; I’m still pissed at Rasheed Wallace for leaving Robert Horry open and losing to the Spurs in game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals. But they’ve fallen on hard times and they need another year on the bottom before they can ascend to the top. The only way you succeed in the NBA is to get a high draft pick. I still don’t trust the NBA, It’s only a few steps away from the WWE. It’s not hard to see why they aren’t drawing large crowds when every other team in town can be debated as a title contender.
Think about it folks, in the span of the next year, we could be celebrating championships for the Red Wings, Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions. Let the good times roll.