Buddy loves the Detroit Tigers.

He has to.
He belongs to a family with a long tradition of being Detroit Tigers fans.

I remember the voice of Ernie Harwell on the transistor radio at my grandfather’s house in Detroit in the ‘60’s, when sports reporting was no-nonsense. There were no announcers in peach suits with matching handkerchief and ties then, just Ernie’s grainy voice telling the triumphs of Mickey Lolich, Denny McClain and Willie Horton.

In 1968 the Tigers played in the World Series and we were allowed to bring in our own transistor radios to school. As we listened at our desks, no-one really cared about doing their long division, including the teacher. The Tigers won the World Series that year – the year after the Detroit 1967 race riots. Detroit needed something to cheer about – and the Tigers gave it to them.

In the 80’s my husband and I were living in Philadelphia, but we drove down to Baltimore so we could see the Detroit Tigers team of 1984 play. They won the World Series that year too.

The Tigers are a no-nonsense team. No frills and trash talking. They are a tough playing, straight shooting team, and just like the tough Midwestern town of Detroit, they put their heads down and go do their job. Nothin’ fancy here. Just baseball.

Tonight the Tigers will play the first in a series of games against the San Francisco Giants.

Buddy and I will have our Tigers gear on tonight and will “root root root” for the home team!

The Tigers!

We love the Detroit Tigers!