Wading through life

Our Tigers just turned up the HEAT!: How blockbuster acquisitions of Willis, Cabrera will transform Tigers

So… I have a sad story for you: I was at the Piston’s game on Monday, where ‘Sheed banked at 60-footer at the buzzer to push the game into overtime and lead them to eventual victory. The Nuggets called a timeout with 1.5 seconds left, up three points. We and probably 60% of The Palace crowd proceeded to start heading to the parking lot.

Mistake.

Soon after we entered the hallway, we heard the buzzer sound and the crowd go crazy. This is what we missed, if you didn’t see it:

So, yeah… pretty lame. We missed witnessing one of the greatest moments of the season. I guess taking part in the Hallway Scramble was kinda interesting; some of us flocked around the nearest TV to catch the replays and discover what the crowd was cheering about. Others bolted back to their seats to ask strangers for their account of the miracle shot.

My various Final Four scenarios, made with little-to-no knowledge of this year’s college basketball picture. Championship game winner is in bold, loser is italics:

• ESPN: Florida, UCLA, Texas, Ohio State
• YAHOO: Florida, UCLA, Georgetown, Ohio State
• FACEBOOK: Florida, UCLA, Texas, Ohio State

From today’s Detroit News article: Play ball! An interesting look at the power of sports, especially the latter, “You get used to losing” part.

Classrooms at Hanley International Academy in Hamtramck are filled with the children of recent immigrants. Many don’t speak English. Yet in the past few weeks, baseball has unified them in a way arithmetic never did.

Students wrote “Bless You Boys” in Arabic, Bosnian and Polish on posters that adorn the school hallways. Classmates who seldom work together on school projects because of language differences discovered that when they cheered, they all sounded the same.

“The Tigers have become a universal language for them,” said Principal Carolyn Glover. “It’s brought them together like nothing we’d done before.”

Perhaps it’s too much to believe baseball can change the world. A Kenny Rogers shutout won’t stop looming layoffs at Ford. A Magglio Ordonez home run won’t turn the housing market around. When the World Series ends and the lights at Comerica Park are turned off for the season, fans will turn their attention back to their lives. They’ll worry about their jobs, try to balance their checkbooks and face the curveballs that life throws at them.

But Rigelhof thinks there may be a lesson he can take away from the fairy-tale season of a team no one believed in.

“You get used to losing,” he said. “Some days, you sort of wonder if it’s ever going to change.”

But if you believe long enough and hard enough, things will turn around.

“It’s been like a dream,” Rigelhof said. “I don’t want it to end.”

So, Scott called with an unexpected phone call around 10:15 this morning. He said he had an important question for me: “What was I doing Sunday night?” Forgetting our small group meets on Sunday’s, I responded: “Nothing.” Then he said: “…around 7:30 Sunday night…?”

At that point, I knew something was up. The Tigers were playing at 7:30.

“Did you get Tigers tickets?”

“$90. Standing room only!”

Turns out, I’m invited. (Thanks, Julie!) (And for good measure, here’s the Detroit News’ perspective on trying to get the tickets online this morning.)

I think I’m still a little in shock I’ll be attending a World Series game… in Comerica Park… rooting for the Tigers. I’ll be able to tell my kids about it much like dads are recollecting The Roar of ‘84 with their sons and daughters. I’ll be there in person, in the brisk autumn air, surrounded by drunks, cheering until my throat is hoarse.

Never has this been baseball season to me. It’s always been football season. The Tigers were usually 30 games back by August and attention had shifted to the misfit Lions. Or for some to the safe-bet Red Wings.

But this year, downtown Detroit, and Michigan as a whole, is being revived–infused with hope–by the most unsuspecting of heroes. The 119-loss Detroit Tigers.

It’s a shame it isn’t a Holy Spirit revival yet, but hey, I guess we have to start somewhere. And why not with the Tigers.

Just shows that anything is possible.