Tigers finish off most glorious weekend in Michigan sports history
Ok, maybe its not the most glorious weekend in the state of Michigan’s sports history. But when has a non-championship weekend delivered so much hope & joy to so many Michigan sports fans? I woke up this morning on a Monday, realized I didn’t have to go to work, it was 65 degrees and sunny (re: not foggy). Yes, it was a very good weekend.*
Let’s start with the Tigers. A road SWEEP of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays? I was on Leyland and the team about how hard they had to work to beat Cleveland, a poor team that gave up all of its players at the trade deadline. But a road sweep against a very good team that’s fighting for the playoffs? Now that’s a series. And what a fight — three late-inning comebacks. Great pitching against a very good Tampa lineup. Who wasn’t excited to see Jeremy Bonderman pitch meaningful innings in a pennant race? Who wasn’t excited to see Brandon Lyon get back to back saves when Detroit’s closer needed some time to rest?
Yes, it was fantastic. And Minnesota had a troubling weekend (if, you know, you root for the twins). It even got me in the mood to start looking into Detroit’s magic number. Oh yes, there’s a wikipedia page for that. Its 20. Twenty. Any combo of Detroit wins and Minnesota losses gives Detroit the AL Central crown. (If you’re still worried about Chicago, the magic number vs chicago is 18).
The Tigers are still a flawed team, and they’ve used their extended roster… extensively… to cover these flaws (lack of speed, lack of hitters who can field, etc). Who cares. The playoff roster awaits once the team makes the playoffs.
How about the rest of the sports teams? Michigan State football took a giant step forward by beating… um.. Montana State. But as a Sparty, you would be excited that MSU carried over their successful 2008 campaign and started a new page in their history with a new QB and without handing the ball off to Javon Ringer 4,785 times per game. That would make you very excited.
The Wolverines? It was an important victory. As a fan, you realize that things may return to normalcy. Dogs have stopped sleeping with cats. No more internal fighting over who’s the coach (for a week). What matters is fans remembered that the team has a chance to win some games again. In the long off-season, sometimes you forget this. It’s a new beginning. For my personal sanity (and probably my marriage), it was a big weekend. Words cannot describe the darkness I’ve been in for the last year. The stupid arguments I’ve had to listen to about the coaches (I literally had to listen to another alumni complain about the ‘captain’ status while I was vacationing in Korea over new years. KOREA. Some people…). I thought my college roommate’s heart was going to explode. These issues have subsided. They won’t go 12-0, but the concern over 0-12 has gone away.
And the Lions. Not even the Lions could spoil the festive sports weekend. How? They didn’t even play. God Bless the NFL scheduling folk. Even better, they named a starting quarterback who isn’t named Culpepper (via twitter via Ian). Hope springs eternal… or something. Lions fans have hope that a new quarterback is a new life, a better life. At least, on this labor day weekend, they can hang their hat on new hope… and the fact that there are no digits in the loss column. After a ‘historic’ 0-16 season, these are the things that make you happy.
Its an interesting question about what would make a great ‘state’ sports day / week / weekend. There are probably better ones for Michigan. But how many weekends have put so much ‘hope’ into fans? Michigan and Michigan state (rebuilding the program / extending their program), Lions (not losing), and the Tigers. Back to the Tigers… a strong statement for their playoff chances, and for their chances IN the playoffs. The teams has continued to improve and just may peak in October.
* Apologies to Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan fans. Because… I lived in Michigan for 23 years and I never met an actual football fan from one of those schools.