By Sarah Kwak, SI.com
DETROIT – For one night only, Motown is Sportstown. With the Tigers taking on the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park at 7:05 p.m., the Red Wings and Penguins playing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals at 8 p.m. and the Pistons and Celtics tipping off 30 minutes later, three major sports collide here in Detroit.
That said, though, the question at Joe Louis Arena and around the NHL is this: If this is the league’s dream final, with two marquee teams having it out, will it be enough? Will the matchup of the Detroit Red Wings and “the face of the sport,” as Red Wings GM Ken Holland called Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, be enough to push hockey back into the fringe of relevancy in the United States?
Well, for starters, it doesn’t help that the competition is fiercest right here in the city. With Boston losing its first home game, many eyes were in Auburn Hills looking to see if the Celtics can actually win one on the road. The Tigers, with the second highest payroll in major league baseball, are trying to climb out of the incredible hole they dug in the season’s first month. Despite their losing record,the Tigers still have enough star power to keep people interested. So, where does that leave hockey?
Well, this is Hockeytown, isn’t it?
“That’s what they say,” said one Detroit resident. “And I say ‘they’ because I don’t know much about it.”
“Oh, are you here for the basketball game?” asked another, a Tigers fan.
There were, finally, some hockey fans milling about outside the Joe, looking from afar toward the players’ entrance into the arena. “No, I’m from South Bend, Indiana” said a fan clad in a vintage Red Wings jacket. “Drove up to take part in the festivities.”
There were a decent number of Red Wings and, incidentally, Penguins jerseys roaming outside the Joe, looking to catch a glimpse of the players as they left morning skate. It’ll be interesting to see how many Pittsburgh fans show up for Games 1 and 2 since Pittsburgh is only about a five-hour drive from Detroit; the eastern-most Western Conference city vs. the western-most Eastern Conference city. Well, not completely true (Atlanta is further west), but you get the idea.
“I spent $1,500 on this weekend between the tickets, the hotel and everything,” said one Pittsburgh fan, who drove the five hours to Detroit.
Why not just go when the Penguins return to Mellon Arena for Games 3 and 4?
“Oh, I couldn’t get tickets there.”
Which raises another interesting point in Detroit. For a place steeped in so much hockey history, that prides itself on its fanatical fanbase, for a team that says, “we have fans everywhere we go,” as forward Kris Draper said today, why was there so much talk over the empty seats -- in the lower bowl, no less -- during the season? And why can a guy from Pittsburgh get a couple of seats (bought online, he said) here in Hockeytown but not in his own hometown?
Whatever the case may be, here in Detroit, three major sports will collided on Saturday night. The only surefire winners are the fans.
As for hockey, here’s hoping for a memorable series because if this matchup can’t bring in the casual fan, then it may just be time to admit that there are no casual hockey fans.
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Even if the Lions were playing, it would still seem like only 3 major sports were taking place
NYGiants: Nice Game…
Rockville Centre , NY
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<<Which raises another interesting point in Detroit. For a place steeped in so much hockey history, that prides itself on its fanatical fanbase, for a team that says, ???we have fans everywhere we go,??? as forward Kris Draper said today, why was there so much talk over the empty seats -- in the lower bowl, no less -- during the season? And why can a guy from Pittsburgh get a couple of seats (bought online, he said) here in Hockeytown but not in his own hometown?>>
Reality check time. Here's a reporter living outside the zone who apparently doesn't listen to the reports concerning the economic health of the state of Michigan. Our state has been in a recession for at least the past two years, well before the rest of the country recognized the inevitable economic trashing resultant of the spending habits of the current administration in Washington, housing sales have been down for at least that long and the state is one the top 5 in the country in home foreclosures. With all this and a depressed job market, gas prices hovering around $3/gallon for the past 6 months and now at or above $4/gallon, it's a struggle to decide which is a higher priority-pay the bills, put food on the table, take the kids to the doctor or put gas in the car to go to work or to look for a job. And Sarah wonders why there are empty seats in the lower bowl. ( We don't receive a per diem, Sarah.) Until the economic downturn occurred, the Joe sold out every seat for every home game regardless of the opponent. The unfortunate fact is that disposible income is no longer something that many residents of Michigan can enjoy, especially middle-class, blue collar workers who make up the largest part of the 'fanatical fanbase' as you so eloquently described it..
Detroit is, always has been and likely always will be the largest hockey market west of the European continent and south of the Canadian border. Once the state economy improves, and it will someday, the Hockeytown crowd will return in full force to cheer their heroes onto victory.
Sorry for the political comment, but ask a stupid question...
a long time tiger and redwings fan
longtime tiger and…
Manchester , MI
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I am one of the many wings fans that have not been able to attend games this season. I consider myself the typical case. I am still a huge fan and have not missed a game on tv this season. Tickets are just too expensive, there is nothing more to the story than that. The economy is in the toilet here, and I cannot justify spending the dough needed to attend the game. Draper is right, our fans still appear in more stadiums around the league than anyone else, and we have arguably the most dominant franchise in pro sports. The Pistons also have been winning for the better part of a decade, and the Tigers are just off to a slow start (so are the mighty Yankees). I hear the argument that when times are bad, attendance goes up at sporting events, but the cost of attending is usually lower.
WingedFox82
Sterling Heights , MI
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Born in Detroit, but don't live there, and a Red Wings fan here, but the last two posters basically sum it up. If you see empty seats in Joe Louis, you have to taken into very strong consideration that Detroit itself has been in really bad shape for a long time, and now there's a statewide recession (as the poster 2 posts above pointed out, was felt before the rest of country did).
It's not a question of fan loyalty... Red Wings fans are absolutely devoted. But they're also in hard times, and it's statewide, so where you gonna get people to buy tickets? Ann Arbor?
ManuteBolSuperfan
Ithaca , NY
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oof sorry for typos didn't proofread my post at all
ManuteBolSuperfan
Ithaca , NY
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Really memorable and unforgettable moments are captured in this blog.
http://www.myticketin.com/Event.aspx?EventID=7640
Texans tickets
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