HOME

Last week two iconic arenas hosted their last games: The Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills.  As I heard the announcer say, “Their next game will be at Little Caesar Arena; the new home of the Detroit Pistons”.   I thought about it for a moment.  New Home? Just like that?  Do the players see it that way; the fans?   

Can an Arena be Home? 

Let’s think about “The Joe” and “The Palace” in particular.   

Home is where you are FAMILY; where you are ACCEPTED.  Anyone, and Detroit fans especially, feels like family watching your team play.  We come from the same neighborhoods, the same schools, the same employers (often the Big 3 auto makers).  We eat the same foods (Kellogg Breakfast Cereal) and drink the same drink (Vernors).  However, if you are coming from out of town, that is okay, just wear your Bad Boys or Hockeytown shirt and we’ll know who you are.  Strangers can often feel like family and if you have ever seen a game winning score the high fives getting handed out are to anyone within reach.   

Home is where you show RESPECT.  I remember when the Wings lost game 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009; the home fans were upset.  However, when longtime hockey great, cancer survivor, and partial Penguins owner Mario Lemieux hoisted the Stanley Cup on our ice, fans cheered.  Gone were the goals he scored against us and instead we saw someone who loved hockey as much as we did.  We give credit where credit is due.  

Home is where you GRIEVE.  Win or lose you share it with your fellow fans, but this goes beyond the game.  The Palace lost owner Bill Davidson, Mr. D, after 25 years and 3 championships.  The Joe lost owner Mike Ilitch, Mr. I, after 25 years and 4 championships.  Both were honored in very moving tributes and how often did former players say their owners made them feel ‘like family’.

We all believed

Home is where you CELEBRATE.  Watching Steve Yzerman hoist the Stanly Cup or Isaiah Thomas kiss the Larry O’Brien Trophy causes a deep sense of pride. How about when Vladimir Konstantinov and other players were severely injured in a limo crash following the 1997 Stanley Cup?  Fans gave other fans updates on his coma, his recovery, and when he finally made an appearance back at the Joe he received a family’s welcome and still, though he never played again, there was a locker at the Joe made up for him.  Family is there the most when times are toughest.



Sporting the Jersey of another team from
the city during your parade = class

Home is where you learn VALUES.   There could not be better owners than Mr. D and Mr. I.  Both Detroit natives were known philanthropists.  They had more money than imaginable, yet they remained true to their humble beginnings, their military service, and their love of Detroit.  It was never about flash with them, it was about hard work, hustle, and a never say die attitude.  If you watched the 2004 Pistons defeat a heavily favored Lakers team in 5 games or the  Wings bring the cup back to Detroit after 42 years you saw their owners’ values in their style of play. Also, I will never forget hearing Coach Chuck Daily on TV being asked a question after he was done coaching along the lines of ‘What happened to Dennis Rodman?’  While the news craved gossip about the wild life of Rodman, the sharp dressing ‘Daddy Rich’ showed me how to have class.  His response was something like, “I don’t talk to Dennis as much as I should these days, but what I do remember about him is that he was the only player I had that every Christmas, even in a snowstorm, showed up at my house to give my wife a present.  We don’t talk bad about family in front of others.

Home is where you GROW.  We have seen countless seemingly unknown players become stars, but Detroit is blue collar town with blue collar players.  Can you tell me who played college ball at McNeese State or Southeastern Oklahoma State? Probably not, but I bet you know Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman.  Steve ‘The Captain’ Yzerman was drafted out of high school at the age of 18 and became the captain at age 21; a position he would hold for the next two decades in The Joe. 

THE CAPTAIN

When he left to be the GM of Tampa Bay the first thing he did was visit the Ilitch’s so he could explain his decision to leave the Red Wings in person; Mr. I understood passion and drive….his wife Marian left the room to cry.

Home is where you can DREAM.  The Palace was the first NBA arena financed with private funds and the first to showcase lower-level suites.  As a young boy infatuated with Basketball the Palace was a second home.  I remember during the run to the 1989 Finals, the ‘Palace Vision’ was turned on so fans could come and watch, together, the pistons play away against the Lakers.  I could have watched from the comfort of my couch, but the Pistons were in a dogfight and fans came together to show their support.  They would be in that fight far away, but not alone.  

Thinking about it, life causes us to change homes at times.  I grew up in the same house my Dad still lives in, but 16 years in the Army and 7 different addresses later I am set to move again; all home to me.  As I watched and heard the Joe and Palace fade to black I must have felt like those watching the last games at the Olympia or the Siverdome.  Yet, we move on to our new home together once again.  The location of the home may change, but the family goes with it. I like the saying ‘Home is where the heart is” because in the end ‘Home’ is about the spirit people not the walls .  I cannot wait to move into and visit my new home at the Little Caesar Arena!

                                                               "I feel home,
                                                                When I'm chillin outside with the people I know.
                                                                I feel home,
                                                                And that's just what I feel."
                                                                                                                      -O.A.R