Tigers Gotta Do It.

My Dad was always a Detroit Tigers fan. As long as I can remember, he rooted for this team, even when they sucked, which was a lot of seasons over the years. I can remember him taking me to their games at Tiger Stadium way back in the 1970's, and we'd watch and cheer for the likes of Rusty Staub, Mickey Stanley, Mark "The Bird" Fydrich, and Al Kaline. In the 80s, we watched Kirk Gibson and Cecil Fielder, and even went to a publicity event to hear Sparky Anderson talk about what it took to be a winner. The Tigers were something that we shared back then.

I'll confess that come the 90's, we didn't see much of each other or watch many ball games together. There were reasons for that that I won't go into, and the last decade saw me away from the Detroit area but for a few short visits back. But this last year in particular, we had a lot more time together, and some of it was spent in front of his TV, this time watching Prince Fielder, son of Cecil, play for that same team. Tiger Stadium down on Michigan and Trumbull was long gone, but my Dad stayed a fan all through the years.

This year, my Dad had hopes for the Tigers. He'd have loved to see them sweep the Yankees and earn that World Series shot. And I know that he'd be in his glory watching them take the Series this year.

So while I applaud the San Fransisco SF Giants for their sterling effort this year, I pity them and their die-hard fans (Six and Nancy Pelosi). Sorry Giants and Giant fans, you've had a good run, but this just isn't your year. Maybe next year. This year belongs to the Detroit Tigers and my Dad.