The Disrepair of Detroit Sports

And how I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel

In 1935, Detroit was crowned the ‘City of Champions.’ In a calendar year, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, The Tigers, the World Series and in just their second season after relocating from Portsmouth, Ohio, the Lions won their first NFL Championship. In addition, Detroit was home to Joe Louis, Heavyweight Champion of the World. No city in those days or in modern times, could ever lay claim to having every sports championship, although Boston, in 2018, did win the Stanley Cup, Super Bowl and (maybe) the World Series, depending on how many trash cans the Red Sox banged on.

But this isn’t about the video cheating scandal engulfing Major League Baseball or the ramifications of Rob Manfred’s acquiesce or milquetoast punishment handed out to the Houston Enron’s (who cheated also). This is about the descent of Detroit’s sports teams, all of whom have fallen off the competitive map in a relatively short period of time and the tunnel to daylight is the luck of ping-pong balls.

The Tigers, a source of civic pride since their inception in 1901, won 47 games last season and just 35 after May 5. Since 2016, their last winning season, the Tigers have finished last twice and third once for a combined 175–310 record, a .361 percentage. The outlook this year is 54 wins. Attendance is expected to be below last season’s woeful 1.5 million and the team has been promoting ticket packages since May of last year. Since moving to…