There are certain cities that have all four of the major professional sports teams to root for. Take for instance, here in the great city of Phoenix, Arizona. The "Valley of the Sun" has been blessed with having that. If you look at all of the four franchises in the state, at least a few seem to be turning the corner.
-The Coyotes enjoyed a brief playoff run and the franchise looks as they are turning that corner despite the GM going Johnny Paycheck on the team.
-The Suns went 8-0 in the "bubble" and coach Monty Williams is the right coach to steer the team in the right direction. Also, they seemed relaxed for some reason.....Google it. I'm not saying anything.
-The Cardinals have high expectations with Kyler Murray performing well and the addition of Deandre Hopkins.
-The Diamondbacks, well, they are in supposed "rebuild".
So, I hate to throw this city as an example. Hey, I live here and have to deal with 118° temperatures. The point is, cities with the four major professional sports teams have at least one team or even all of them that are in position to turn that corner.
Unfortunately, there is one city in which all four of their sports franchises have hit rock bottom with a slow rebuild coming.
In the past decade, it has been well-documented that the city of Detroit has gone through hard times. With the auto industry being boom or bust, the city still is "motoring" along. The four franchises in the city: The Tigers, Lions, Pistons and Red Wings are in a state of last-place finishes, high draft picks and wishful thinking of a bright future. I mean, the rebuild is painful for fans of the four to witness as long as the endgame is fruitful.
TIGERS
The late Mike Ilitch began to focus more on his baseball team after they went 43-119 in 2003. Three years later, the Tigers won the AL Pennant. As time would go by, Detroit was a contender while stockpiling elite talent to help bring a World Series title to the Motor City. They went to the Fall Classic twice, only to lose to teams that were inferior. The bottom fell out in 2017, when Ilitch passed away and the organization had to trade away key parts for pieces for the future. So far, the rebuild has been slow and torturous. However, there are glimpses of the future with former #1 overall picks Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson. The only resemblance of the glory days is Miguel Cabrera, whose contract is too much for a player on the down swing of his career. They at least have building blocks to start with.
LIONS
One season, the Lions were dominant. They clinched the NFC Central and rode that momentum to the NFC Championship game, only to lose to the team formerly known as the Redskins. That was in 1991, almost 30 years ago. Since then, the Lions have been really bad (0-16 in 2008) to mediocre. They had some winning seasons along the way, but nothing that jumps out. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is a loyal one. He is the face of the franchise and does a lot for the organization and the city. Yet said organization couldn't give him a decent offensive line, a decent running game or a decent receiving core since Megatron retired. Coach Matt Patricia has tried to install the Patriots' system to no success so far. The Lions still have a lot of work to do to get out of the hamster's wheel they are currently on.
PISTONS
Joe Dumars retired from playing and began his role of President of Basketball Operations in 2000. In the few years after, Dumars would make acquisitions to field a title contender. 2004 was the culmination of these acquisitions as the Pistons shocked the basketball world by destroying the heavily favored Lakers to win the NBA title. Towards the end of the 2000's, the Pistons were headed to lottery pick land as the magic ran out. The 2010's weren't kind to the franchise that eventually had Dumars step down in 2014. The Pistons you see today are back to the drawing board. A team starting from scratch after trading Andre Drummond away. Despite Blake Griffin being on the roster (I think he's on the move.), the Pistons have young pieces to build with, but the question is if they can develop.
RED WINGS
Mike Ilitch's other major sports franchise became a dynasty in the late 90's and early 2000's. In a city fittingly nicknamed "Hockeytown", the Red Wings were build by GM Ken Holland, Hall-of-Fame coach Scotty Bowman and led by captain Steve Yzerman. After Yzerman retired, he decided to join the front office and learn under Holland. Ilitch asked Holland to accept a position as President and have Yzerman become the GM. He refused the promotion and Stevie Y left for Tampa Bay, building a Stanley Cup contender there. The team would to hang on to the veterans for too long and the prospects not developing as they hoped, which is why the Red Wings are in the situation they are in. Stevie Y has come back as GM to bring the franchise back to dominance.
All four of these franchises have indeed hit rock bottom, but all four have bright futures ahead. Take the city, for instance. Detroit has shown some improvement since the beginning of the decade and were able to build a sparkling new venue for the Pistons and Red Wings called Little Caesars Arena in 2018. The franchises of Detroit have to go through adversity to hopefully get successful again.
Or will they forever spin the hamster wheel?
(Photo by Getty Images)
(For more content check out our Facebook page, our website @www.realsportsaz.com and the Wix mobile app)
Comments