We have to dive three years deeper into the record books to find a postseason series victory the Red Wings and Tigers each survived a round in The end is nowhere in sight. The Lions, now , are crashing toward a top-three draft pick; the Pistons are below. Yet, fans keep showing up. The Lions, for example, have filled Ford Field to And so, with the Lions and Red Wings both playing at home this past Sunday โ the former at 1 p.
But I want to start Sunday here, at the familiar corner of Michigan and Trumbull, because the seeds for this story really were planted some 20 or 30 years ago, at Tiger Stadium.
My first, vague sports-watching memory dates back to the final day of the MLB season, to Frank Tanana fielding a slow roller and flipping to first to clinch the AL East title for the Tigers. Regardless, that was the high point of my conscious Tigers fandom for the next two decades or so.
I still followed them religiously through it all, and made several trips each season out to the ballpark. Today, I park on Trumbull and walk around to the front of the facility. Two more Lions fans follow a few seconds later, then a couple passes me, headed in the same direction. I is right there , just beyond where the third-base line is at The Corner Ballpark.
The flags atop it are blowing straight out to right, out toward a pair of new buildings still missing their finishing touches. ET, a parking lot off St. Antoine: When the weather is nice, and the Lions still have playoff dreams, the lots outside Ford Field are crammed with tailgaters. His son is nearby, in a Lions beanie. The five-person party made the drive down from Toronto on Saturday, for their first visit to Ford Field.
