  Lvnthed Member Username: Lvnthed Post Number: 74 Registered: 03-2007 |
With opening day around the corner, I got to thinking. Of the five major sports teams we have, all but one were at or near the top of their respective leagues. What city could boast an 80% average for their home teams. Who can say that their city is tops across the board? NONE. This gave me a great feeling of pride in our teams. It also made me think about the Lions and their problems. But I have hope that they will get it together and make it to the playoffs this year. If this does happen I will have no problem saying; WINGS 2006 League Best Record TIGERS 2006 World Series Runner-up PISTONS 2006 Eastern Conference Runner-up SHOCK 2006 WNBA Champions LIONS 2007 2nd Pick in Draft DETROIT IS THE GREATEST SPORTS CITY IN THE WORLD | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 843 Registered: 10-2003 |
The answer to your posted question is yes! The anser to the Lions is that great bumper sticker: "Bring Professional Football back to Detroit!" | ||
Skipp Member Username: Skipp Post Number: 124 Registered: 06-2005 |
This is the greatest time of the year! You can watch the Pistons, Wings, and Tigers. Throw in a little college basketball. Life is good! | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 1960 Registered: 06-2004 |
Lions are gonna break out this year and this town is gonna rock when they do! | ||
Spacemonkey Member Username: Spacemonkey Post Number: 183 Registered: 03-2006 |
Don't forget auto racing. IRL is coming to Belle Isle this September after coming to Michigan International Speedway in August. NASCAR makes two stops in MI each year too. Plus, without Detroit there wouldn't be auto racing. | ||
Skipp Member Username: Skipp Post Number: 125 Registered: 06-2005 |
Yes! good point spacemonkey. That race is going to be big fun. I just received a sweet ass poster. It has some indy cars with the scott fountain in the background. | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 1276 Registered: 03-2006 |
look at the ESPN ultimate standings Pistons are number 5 Tigers are 12 and Wings are 18. .........Lions are the worst team on it! | ||
Rjlj Member Username: Rjlj Post Number: 300 Registered: 11-2003 |
Detroit is THE GREATEST sports city, we have nearly everything and are pretty good at it. Who else can compare? | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 193 Registered: 09-2006 |
I don't think lots of people realize how successful Detroit is lately sports wise,, There are very few other cities that can boast it. Maybe with the exception of JLA the facilities are pretty darn good also, My out of town friends were very impressed with Ford Field/Comerica Pk lately | ||
Sirrealone Member Username: Sirrealone Post Number: 9 Registered: 01-2007 |
I think the ESPN survey is flawed. Wasn't the stadium experience for the Lions among the worst? What is that?!? I can see it from a perspective of fan noise, etc. but Ford Field is one of the nicest stadiums with one of the best set of amenities in the NFL. They can say it's based on lots of different categories, but it's obvious that the rankings are based on how poorly or well the team does. Oh, and what's with the coaching for the Pistons being ranked in the bottom half? Flip isn't the best, but did whoever voted for this stuff forget about some of the jackas*es we've had in the past...Ron Roethstein, Doug Collins, Alvin Gentry....c'mon people, I'd take Flip over 80% of the NBA coaches out there today. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 1280 Registered: 01-2005 |
Sport book odds in Las Vegas remain at 75-1 for the Lions to make the Super Bowl, and 150-1 for them to win it. A hundred buck bet will net you a cool 15,000 if they pull a miracle. Oh, and a form W2-G. I put ten bucks on each futures bet. But I'm a piker. | ||
Lvnthed Member Username: Lvnthed Post Number: 75 Registered: 03-2007 |
I'm glad to see all of the positive comments about Detroit, and it's Sporting History. Sorry I forgot about our Racing, Boating, Hunting and Fishing traditions. Now I am 100% convinced that; WE ARE BY FAR "THE GREATEST SPORTS TOWN IN THE WORLD"!!!! | ||
Al_t_publican Member Username: Al_t_publican Post Number: 183 Registered: 06-2004 |
The Lions may be the worst on the ESPN survey (and I don't dispute that), but over the past, say, thirty years I would say they are the most popular team in SE Mich, including U. of M football. When I say popular I mean in terms of not just attendence that has always been solid with the Lions, but also in fan expectation and continued support in the face of awful play. When the Red Wings were awful in the '70s Olympia was full of empty seats and hockey fans did not come back in earnest until the late '80s. In this respect the Pistons have done better with full or near full capacity between the championship years of the '89-'90 and up until now. Until last year the Tigers were largely forgotten with attendence in the bottom third of MLB, below 20K per game, around 116-18K average. If the Lions put together five season a la the Pistons or Wings even non-football fans would be talking about them. Detroit as a sports city, fourth or fifth, I'd say behind Chicago, Phily, Boston. | ||
Detroit313 Member Username: Detroit313 Post Number: 301 Registered: 02-2006 |
Yeah but non of those cities have a great college sports team!!!!! go blue, go spartans!!!!313 | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 464 Registered: 02-2007 |
If our College teams were so great, they wouldn't screw up against NC, Florida or Ohio every single go around. | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 465 Registered: 02-2007 |
Detroit has the most Sports and devoted fans in the country though. Can't say the same for those other cities. Chicago, Philly, and Boston's Hockey teams suck though, and last year BB season proved our team is officially better then al of there's combined. Now they would give us competition in Basketball. In Football, even the Jacksonville Jaguars (if they're still around) have us beat. | ||
Queensfinest Member Username: Queensfinest Post Number: 69 Registered: 08-2006 |
Until something is done about the Lions, Detroit can never claim to be the greatest sports town in the U.S. You have to consider that The NFL is so much more popular than any of the other three so-called major leagues in sports. When you have a team that bad it really impacts what outsiders think of you. I'm not even a pro football fan. These are just the facts. Also, hockey is not very popular anywhere in the country in major cities other than perhaps three or four towns. Boston, Philly (sort of), Detroit obviously, and Chicago (maybe) Most Americans could give a shit about hockey. These are just the facts. Tv ratings tell us this. Do something like Boston did, with the Pats and Red Sox winning it basically the same year. The two big time team sports. After that the rest of the country will view your town as the best sports town out there. | ||
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup Post Number: 1961 Registered: 06-2004 |
quote: that designation goes to MLB, not the NFL | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2631 Registered: 02-2005 |
Someone said that Chicago, Philly, and Boston DON'T have great college teams and we do. I think not. First off, UM is a regional attraction. So while they have the best football team, among other things, they are not a Detroit thing. Detroit has U-D basketball, that's it, and that does not draw much of a crowd. Boston: Boston College, great at basketball, good at football. Boston U. (for hockey) Chicago: Northwestern comes to mind, even if they are in a neighboring city and have crappy teams. They also have DePaul basketball. Philly: Temple, Villanova, Drexel, and St. Joe's are all great bball teams, and Penn has a good bball team, and classic ivy league traditions in all its major sports. So, Detroit has crappy college sports comparatively, and it's up to WSU to step to the table and give us something to cheer for. ----- In terms of professional sports, few cities can rival the current performance of our teams, and the long history/heritage/legacy of each of them, especially the Tigers and Red Wings. There's another way of judging, and that is in terms of fan passion. Detroit fans are dedicated, caring to the point of obsession, and often, quite spirited. I think many cities have more spirited fans, however. We looked awesome during the Tigers' run last year, but I think Boston, Philly, and Pittsburgh have more fanatic fans...Denver/Seattle/Green Bay have the most spirited football fans...the most spirited hockey fans are in Canada...the best baseball fans are on the east coast (in terms of spirit). Still, let me emphasize that our teams' performance are still near/at the top, and our spirit ain't bad, just not the best. | ||
Gibran Member Username: Gibran Post Number: 135 Registered: 02-2007 |
You can take the Detroiter out of Detroit but the fan never leaves....Go Blue, Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons and Lions....by the way in the 80's I would go to tigers games in Texas and there were more fans of Detroit than Texas, or at least we thought so...I felt I was at Tiger stadium.... | ||
Queensfinest Member Username: Queensfinest Post Number: 72 Registered: 08-2006 |
Lilpup, In terms of overall league revenue, the NFL is the most lucrative sports league in the world, by far. 1.) NFL 2.) MLB, 3.) NBA, 4.) English Premier League 5.) NHL The NFL has the least international exposure of the top four major leagues, making their success in the States all that more impressive. It's not an international sport like the other three top sports in the U.S. Since the 80s, the NFL has solidified its dominance as America's top spectator sport. The Super Bowl is an unofficial national holiday and the top rated tv show of the year, practically every year. The television rights to the NFL are the most lucrative and expensive rights not only of any American sport, but of any American entertainment property. Baseball doesn't come close in TV ratings. This was especially true last year when the Detroit - St. Louis matchup failed to generate much interest outside of a few cities in the Midwest. I don't even like football, nor do I watch. I'm a baseball fan. These are just the facts. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 347 Registered: 10-2003 |
"Maybe with the exception of JLA the facilities are pretty darn good also, My out of town friends were very impressed with Ford Field/Comerica Pk lately" I don't love JLA, but they DO say it has the best ice in Hockey. | ||
Lawnmowerman Member Username: Lawnmowerman Post Number: 19 Registered: 02-2006 |
I just fumbled across this info...... Total Titles #1 New York Yankees: 26 Giants: 5 Mets: 2 Dodgers: 1 Rangers: 5 Islanders: 4 Giants: 2 Jets: 1 Knicks: 2 #2 Boston Red Sox: 6 Braves: 1 Bruins: 5 Patriots: 3 Celtics: 16 #3 Montreal Canadiens: 24 Maroons: 2 #4 Detroit Tigers: 4 Red Wings: 10 Pistons: 3 #5 Los Angeles Dodgers: 5 Angels: 1 Raiders: 1 Lakers: 9 | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 150 Registered: 02-2007 |
The irony in all the back 'n forth about best, second best, etc. is that few of "our" athletes are from Michigan, let alone Detroit. I wish that there were more because then I could feel a stronger sense of pride about "our boys." As it is teams these days are mostly staffed by mercenaries willing to play for the highest pay no matter where the town may be. | ||
Rockcity2windycity Member Username: Rockcity2windycity Post Number: 119 Registered: 11-2005 |
Great topic! I judge a sports town by their sports radio stations. I've lived in N.C., Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Chicago And Michigan. We have the best sports talk radio. Pittsburgh has the most dedicated football fans, i lived in Chicago the year the White Sox won the World Series and it was still a Cubs town. North Carolina was very passionate about college basketball. Phoenix wasn't a very good sports town maybe because of all the transplants. Transplants play a big part in a town because they still have loyalty to teams where they grew up. I don't know if we are the best but we are a great sports town! | ||
Waz Member Username: Waz Post Number: 17 Registered: 11-2006 |
Craig, free-agency has changed any sense of "hometown heroes" for the foreseeable future. There are several hometown boys doing well nowadays, but they play for other teams so we don't hear about them much. I share your despair. But then again, Al Kaline and Hank Greenburg weren't locals either, and they are among the most beloved of our sports guys. | ||
Ookpik Member Username: Ookpik Post Number: 189 Registered: 01-2007 |
Don't forget: Hydroplane racing - We have the Gold Cup every year - that is equivalent to having that particular sport's Super Bowl EVERY year. Boxing - Joe Louis - 'Nuff said. Arena Football - Multiple championships. Ladies Football - Multiple championships. Woodward Dream Cruise. | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 951 Registered: 02-2007 |
The Dream Cruise is a sport? I would of considered it more so an annual recreational event rather than a sport. There's no winner's or loser's, people are just there to have fun. | ||
Lvnthed Member Username: Lvnthed Post Number: 132 Registered: 03-2007 |
Thanks everyone for the encouraging posts!! I'll tell you what! When they get here.....THEY STAY That says more about Detroit than most cities. Free-agency Creates gypsies and Detroit makes them home bodies. I LOVE THE D | ||
Club_boss Member Username: Club_boss Post Number: 57 Registered: 12-2006 |
Detroit has been referred to as the "Greatest sports town" or the "City Of Champions" for decades. Fun Facts... "Detroit has been known as the City of Champions since the 1930s when the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings all won titles in the same decade" http://www.theworldiscoming.co m/getinfo_sports.html |
