Be proud of your team, Detroit. From Mitch Albom-
Now, this will be said a million times in the next few days, but let's say it here first: It was a great ride. Nothing detracts from that. Baseball has risen from the dead in Detroit, and the Tigers have carried our sports hopes from spring to summer and summer to fall, giving us a nightly story and a daily conversation.
"I just hope people realize what this team accomplished coming from 71 wins," Leyland said. "And how hard it is just to get to the World Series."
How could they not?
This team gave us kids to talk about -- Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya and Curtis Granderson -- they gave us veterans rewriting their history -- Todd Jones and Kenny Rogers -- they gave us a walkoff home run to win the pennant and 23 shutout innings to make the old men feel like kids again. They gave us the quick, pesky guys like Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen, and the beefy humor of Sean Casey and the fielding acrobatics of Brandon Inge and Pudge Rodriguez. For the first time in nearly 20 years, they made us remember their names.
What was best was the rekindling of an old feeling we thought we'd lost, like the sensation of riding a bike without holding the handles, like sledding down a big hill, like giggling with friends in the wee hours down in the basement. Kids stuff. The stuff of our youth -- a feeling we had in 1984 or 1968 but figured we would never feel again. Let's face it. The last time any of us enjoyed a World Series, the old were middle aged, the middle aged were just out of school, and the just out of school were just out of the womb.
Now we have a baseball team again. The Tigers may not be the world champs, but they are the American League pennant winners, and they are young and full of promise and they are coming back for more next April.
When looking at some lottery tickets this morning, a clerk at Meijers quipped, "Just like the Tigers... losers."
Wrong.
These guys are winners. Show a little gratitude people.
After all, you could be a Cubs fan.