Black Ice:  Why Brothers in Detroit seem to dig hockey more so than any other sports town.

By: Ray Payne 

June 12, 2009- - It was a little after 10:00pm this past Tuesday night.  So there I am on the sofa in the middle of watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals: Kobe vs. D. Howard, tight game, electric crowd in Orlando, cold beer in left hand, remote in the right.  The Magic are up but the Mamba and his boys are fighting to cut into their lead.  A commercial comes on and instead of watching another highly entertaining episode of Nike’s Kobe & Lebron puppet series, I quickly switch over to the NHL playoffs, Game 6 - Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, and my son & neighbor both stand up immediately and look at me like I'd just interrupted a State of the Union Address by President Obama or something.  As I heard a simultaneous "Yooo man, what are you doing!?!?" coming from them, it was at that moment I realized I just committed an act that was sacrilegious to most NBA fans, especially African-Americans.  I turned the big screen TV from the NBA Finals to watch HOCKEY. 

So I thought to myself why was I the only one in the room that actually cared who won Game 6 of the NHL Finals? Clearly race wasn't a factor. My neighbor is roughly ten years older than me, and my son is only 12 so maybe it was a generation gap?  Then it donned on me.  I was born & raised in “The D”.  Unlike any other sports town that I've ever visited, brothers from Detroit appreciate the sport of hockey. Since moving to Atlanta in 1997 I have supported the local sports teams including the Falcons, Hawks, Braves and Thrashers.  However I have noticed that when attending Thrashers games, I’m usually in the extreme minority.  I have occasionally had friends ask the question:

 

“What’s up with you brothers in the D and hockey?"

 

I guess it’s a reasonable question.  During my many travels across the United States, I must say I haven’t come across too many other Black men who share the same enthusiasm for the NHL as most of us.  We've got love for the Red Wings as much as we do for the other franchises.  Why is that? Well there are several reasons.

First of all don't be surprised, I can assure you I'm not alone. If you thought comedian Cedric the Entertainer’s skit in Kings of Comedy on brothers playing hockey was just a silly idea… think again. Being the ripe old age of 33, I had the pleasure of growing up in Detroit, MI during what most of us consider the ‘Golden Era’ of sports, where sports franchises in the Detroit area were at their pinnacle.  Consider this, in the last 40 years in Detroit, we have seen…….

 

·        The Detroit Tigers win the MLB World Series in 1984.

 

·        The “Bad Boys” Pistons win back-to-back titles in 1989-1990, then again in 2004.

 

·        Although they’ve never won a Super Bowl, we watched the Detroit Lions climb unexpectedly to the 1991 NFC championship before losing to eventual champions Washington Redskins. 

 

·        Had the pleasure of watching two of the greatest NFL running backs of all-time in Billy Sims and the immortal Barry Sanders play for the Detroit Lions until a sudden retirement in 2000.

 

·        Michigan Wolverines win the NCAA men’s Final Four basketball championship in 1989.

 

·        The “Fab Five” totally re-invent basketball fashion, making baggy shorts, bald heads, and black socks cool in ’92 and ’93 en route to making two Final Four appearances. (damn that timeout still hurts)

 

·        Michigan State Spartans win the men’s Final Four and saw the birth of two Legends in 1979 with Earvin “Magic” Johnson defeating Larry Bird, and again with the “Flintstones” Mo Peterson, and Mateen Cleaves in 2000.

 

-       We watched great fighters like local heroes Tommy "Hitman" Hearns, James Toney, and Michael Moorer win title fights and numerous other talented fighters hail out of the famous Kronk boxing gym founded by yet another local product Mr. Emanuel Stewart.

 

And this is just a short list of the pleasures we’ve had over recent years as sports fans. But more importantly in addition to all that, we’ve witnessed a dynasty in hockey.  The Detroit Red Wings have been the gold standard in the NHL for success for almost the entire existence of the franchise.  They are arguably one of the most successful sports franchises in the world.  With a total of ELEVEN Stanley Cup Championships, 24 NHL Finals appearances, and 28 Division Championships, not to mention a list of Hall of Fame players a mile long, it’s not hard to understand why people love the Wings. Simply put, sports fans love a winning team.  Comparable to other successful organizations like the Lakers, Celtics, Cowboys, and Yankees, the success of the Detroit Red Wings has transcended many barriers such as geographical location, gender, socio-economic class, and most importantly….  Race.

 

Part of it is the fact that they were one of the few Detroit franchises that didn't “sell-out” and abandon the inner-city fans and move to some plush, fancy, new high-tech arena out in the suburbs like the other local teams.  Many native Detroiters were pissed when they "stole" our beloved Pistons once they started winning and becoming popular in the late 80's/early 90's and relocated the team from Joe Louis Arena (downtown) out to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Most people outside of Michigan don't even realize Auburn Hills is nowhere near Detroit, it sits about 30 miles away from the Downtown area, outside the reach of public transportation.  It would be the equivalent of the Atlanta Hawks playing in Macon, or the Los Angeles Lakers playing in Santa Ana.  Detroit fans were also aggravated that in order for us to watch Barry Sanders we had to drive all the way out to the Pontiac Silverdome (also 30 miles away).  Had it not been for the historical significance of the old Tiger stadium (replaced by Comerica Park in the spring of 2000) we may have seen the same trend continue with the Tigers.

Another reason is the sport of hockey is very representative of the city of Detroit and the fans respond to it.

 

Cold, hard-nosed, blue-collared, no-nonsense, and tough. 

 

The sport embodies a lot of what traditional hockey cities like Detroit, Chicago, Boston, and Pittsburgh are all about.  The majority of the fans in Detroit work in an industrial capacity.  Many of them work for the “Big Three” (Ford, Chrysler, and GM), who the franchise has done an excellent job in partnering/marketing to their employees.  I remember growing up seeing uncles/cousins/friends of mine that worked in the plants and on the assembly lines often be rewarded by being given tickets to the games.  Which was part of the reason the Piston’s “Bad Boys” campaign worked so well.  Amidst layoffs, high crime, high unemployment, record foreclosures, and dozens of other problems, through it all the Red Wings organization has done an excellent job in embracing all of it’s fans and keeping the team inside the city limits playing at the famous Joe Louis Arena.  In return, the city and our fans thrive off the success of its sports franchises.

 

Due to the above model for success, other local franchises like the Lions have followed suit and constructed Ford Field (opened in 2002) next to the Tigers Comerica Park in the heart of downtown.  They quickly realized what Red Wings franchise owners already knew. While the deeper pockets of the upscale corporate/suburban fans may support you for a while, when the lease on their luxury box runs out - it’s the dedicated blue-collar fan carrying a lunch pail and wearing a hard hat will support you for life.

 

So the next time you meet a Brother from Detroit and you wonder why the hell he’s sporting a Red Wings Jersey, or frantically waiving a plastic octopus over his head, just remember we are a rare breed of sports fan in the Black community.  We love our hockey just as much as we love our assorted collection of wildly colored gator-skin loafers, three-piece suits, and Marvin Gaye CD’s.  It’s part of our sports heritage, and it’s all good when you come from “The D”.  So when you turn on the evening news this Friday, and see a bunch of brothers partying in the streets of Detroit, dancing amongst flaming garbage cans, broken glass, and overturned cars… don’t worry they haven’t announced OJ being freed from prison, it’s just my homeboys celebrating another Red Wings Stanley Cup championship.  Or at least I hope so. 

 

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