| This Is Who We Are Authored by Tommie De Riemaecker - June 22, 2005 - 1:24 pm
As the waning seconds ticked down in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio last night, the raucous Palace of Auburn Hills crowd of mostly teenagers and twentysomethings cheered and whooped and jumped up and down, anticipating the Detroit Pistons’ win.
Having joined in the PalaceVision viewing for the game, I couldn’t help but sit quietly and look around. The nearly full arena – with no game to be played. The thousands of Pistons jerseys on fans. The amazingly hot AutoMotion dance team… but I digress. Oh, and yes – the defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons taking it to the heavily favored San Antonio Spurs in their own building.
Looking around, it was hard to imagine how far the franchise has come in just five years. At 22, it’s difficult to call me a veteran of NBA spectatorship but to some degree, it’s true. I was too young to enjoy the first pair of titles the Pistons brought home in 1989 and 1990. It wasn’t until 1992, at the age of 9, that I discovered the NBA game after watching the Pistons dismantle the New York Knicks at the Palace. All through the steady decline and then rise back into mediocrity, I followed the Pistons then like the rabid fans do now. When the Detroit Red Wings were hoisting Stanley Cup trophies, I was still smarting from first rounder ousters to the Atlanta Hawks or Miami Heat. While kids today adorn themselves in Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, and Tayshaun Prince jerseys, I remember the days I was the only one rocking the teal or maroon Grant Hill, Jerry Stackhouse, Terry Mills or Bison Dele jersey. I won’t even discuss the ancient Allan Houston jerseys.
It’s times like this that really make me realize how fickle the sports-watching public is, quick to adopt any winning team as its own.
So as the seconds ticked off, and the Detroit Pistons calmly and efficiently bounced back from what could have been a devastating Game 5 blow, I couldn’t help but sit quietly amongst the madness and appreciate what’s ours. For some, the love here is real and tangible. The banners that hang above and surreal feeling when one steps inside the Palace of Auburn Hills are proof.
The Pistons rained on San Antonio’s parade scheduled for Thursday. Their surreal ability to just bounce back after anything ranks them, at least in my book, as one of the most amazing, even if not outright talented, teams in NBA history. I think I even spotted a headline today somewhere that said “Larry Brown Returning to Detroit?”
Win or lose in Game 7 (although I have a very good feeling that the champagne from San Antonio’s locker room at the SBC Center will have to be handtrucked down a few doors), I will sit there quietly as the seconds tick down. I will smile and appreciate everything the Detroit Pistons have done and for which they stand. Bandwagon fans or not.
Because this is who we are. |
