related items
The day is marked on our calendars months in advance.
We start prepping weeks ahead of time to determine whom we’ll hang out with and which Detroit bars and restaurants we’ll visit. We anxiously check the weather, crossing our fingers that it calls for sun and seasonable temps. We pull out the jerseys, hats and T-shirts that have been tucked away since the fall. As the day finally approaches, we can practically taste the hot dogs and warm roasted almonds and hear the distinct crack of the bat.
Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park is unlike any other celebration. It’s more than just a baseball game – it’s an undeclared Detroit holiday. Downtown is filled with Tigers fans and those simply looking to join in on the fun from early morning until late in the night. They flood popular venues like Cheli’s Chili Bar and the Detroit Beer Co. and show up hours before the gates to the park open. Fans flock from across the state and beyond.
Some fans, like 28-year-old Jason Wicha, will make the five-hour trek from Chicago.
“I’m originally from Ann Arbor and am coming home for Opening Day more for the spectacle than to simply take in a baseball game,” Wicha says. “I can’t think of another day when people from the entire region will spend the day downtown without having a ticket to an event. Opening Day may very well be the single greatest unifying event in our region.”
Berkley resident Kyle Green, 31, has been taking work off to celebrate Opening Day for the past eight years. He used to go to the game during college, but now it’s tradition for Green and a group of friends to grill brats and hot dogs and watch the game at home.
“Opening Day is our Mardi Gras,” Green says. “It’s our chance to see Detroit come alive and to eat, drink and be merry.”
If employees request a vacation day that just so happens to fall on Opening Day (this year April 9), they’re more than likely planning to celebrate the start of Detroit’s baseball season. Some local executives are such huge Tigers fans that they bring the festivities to the office.
Don Tanner and Matt Friedman, co-founders and partners at Tanner Friedman in Farmington Hills, have found ways to weave the sports experience into the workplace. “We have a plasma screen in our conference room, and the team can enjoy the game and keep up with business via WiFi and phone without missing a beat,” Friedman, 38, of West Bloomfield says.
There are also a few Tiger icons at the Tanner Friedman office, including photos of the last pitch at Tiger Stadium and the first pitch at Comerica Park, two seats from Tiger Stadium and a tiger decorated with an artist’s work that was auctioned for charity in 2007.
There are fans, and then there are diehards.
Lesley Nadeau, 32, from Ferndale is a crazed Tigers fan. Nadeau and her friends have attended Opening Day the past nine years and stick to the same schedule each year. They purchase new shirts, commence the festivities at the State Bar, move on to the Elwood Bar & Grill, head to Comerica Park for the game (which according to Nadeau, always includes getting a hot dog and taking a picture with Tigers’ mascot Paws) and hit up Coaches Corner after the game.
“Opening Day means spring has arrived and summer nights at the ballpark are right around the corner,” Nadeau says. “I think Detroiters feel more connected to their baseball team and players than to any of our other sports teams. They can make us forget our own struggles for a brief period and bring smiles to our faces as we cheer for the boys of summer.”
If you’ve ever stood by the rail near the statues at Comerica Park, you may have encountered 26-year-old Matt Barranca from Harper Woods, a Tigers fan who is notorious for taunting the opposing team. He claims that spot frequently throughout the season to dish out embarrassing stats and jeers in hopes of shaking up the challengers. Opening Day is no different.
“This is a prime spot for heckling, and there is nothing better than heckling on Opening Day,” Barranca says. “I’m excited to take it all in again – the smell of stadium food, the 40,000-plus people and the cheers. There is nothing like getting that Detroit Tigers fix after six months of not having it.”
Wherever you are on April 9, find a way to cheer on the Detroit Tigers. Here’s to a season filled with lots of runs, hits and no errors…and Magglio Ordóñez getting his groove back!
