The month of June brought both the NHL and NBA championships. Neither one ended up in Detroit, but at least we came darn close with one of them. But this isn’t about Detroit not getting championships - we should probably be used to that. This is about the fans.
Each time a Detroit team has captured a championship, Motown fans have come out in droves to support their teams – most recently with the Pistons in 2004 and the Red Wings in 2002 and 2008. Woodward Boulevard flooded with fans and converged in Hart Plaza. The Tigers have had a minute since they saw the parade route, but there’s no doubt that if they won again, their fans would be there along the streets. Even the Lions still have die-hard fans who would brave the Detroit winter to support them – OK, that might be a long shot, but still, they’d be there.
My point is this: Detroit fans will come out to the championship parades, no matter the scorching heat for the Pistons and Red Wings in June or the crisp chill in October for the Tigers or the blistering cold in February for the Lions (ha!). Not only will they come out, but they’ll come out a million strong. This is why it’s practically a slap in the face that only “tens of thousands” came out to the streets of Pittsburgh to celebrate the Penguins astonishing victory over the Red Wings. The Los Angeles Lakers almost couldn’t afford their parade – which also only drew “tens of thousands.”
Wait, LA couldn’t afford something that the Pistons would pull out all the stops for? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Michigan and Detroit were pretty much down in the dumps when it comes to our finances. I wish we had billionaire developers offering us money for our celebrations.
Maybe then the Pistons would try a little harder? When it’s time to do work, we do it on our own dime. Maybe that’s what makes Michigan different from other states: we’re born hard workers. It even shows through in our parades.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 87
Judge Spalding
posted 6/24/09 @ 7:45 AM EST
375,000 people at the Pittsburh parade.
AJ
posted 6/24/09 @ 7:52 AM EST
Where did you receive your information about "tens of thousands" of fans showing up to the Pittsburgh Penguins parade? All media reports, local and national, stated there were "HUNREDS OF THOUSANDS" of fans at the parade. (Continued…)
Dave
posted 6/24/09 @ 7:58 AM EST
Please do your research before writing anymore articles, the City of Pittsburgh reported to Penguins parad to have 375,000 people. That is a tad bit more than the 'tens of thousands' you reference in your article. (Continued…)
Mark
posted 6/24/09 @ 8:24 AM EST
My dear uninformed friend.... Pittsburgh had between 350k and 400k in attendance for their Stanley Cup Parade.
(and Crosby shook all of their hands)
Do you research before you write?
Andy
posted 6/24/09 @ 8:45 AM EST
"This is why it's practically a slap in the face that only "tens of thousands" came out to the streets of Pittsburgh to celebrate the Penguins astonishing victory over the Red Wings. (Continued…)
Andy
posted 6/24/09 @ 8:50 AM EST
"This is why it's practically a slap in the face that only "tens of thousands" came out to the streets of Pittsburgh to celebrate the Penguins astonishing victory over the Red Wings. (Continued…)
LeMagnifique
Andy
posted 6/24/09 @ 8:52 AM EST
"This is why it's practically a slap in the face that only "tens of thousands" came out to the streets of Pittsburgh to celebrate the Penguins astonishing victory over the Red Wings. (Continued…)
Ian
posted 6/24/09 @ 9:26 AM EST
"Tens of Thousands" in Pittsburgh for the Penguins parade?!?! Try an estimated 375,000! Detroit can't even sell out the Joe most of the time!
Brian
posted 6/24/09 @ 10:56 AM EST
Maybe you should pay attention first before writing an article?
The estimated crowd for the Pens parade was over 375 thousand. To be honest, that was a quite conservative estimate being there HAD to be more than that there. (Continued…)
AbandonedDump
posted 6/24/09 @ 12:28 PM EST
The Pittsburgh papers have the crowds estimated at over 350,000.
Tens of thousands? Come on. With all the tears flowing from your abandoned dump of a city, we're going to need to build an ark!
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