Who owns this town? Wings or Pistons?

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...8/1053/SPORTS05

Okay all Wings fans..email them and tell 'em why the Wings own this town. lol

You might see your letter in the paper.

GO WINGS!!

[Guest bullocks]

Toronto Raptors

[ladystanley 0]

LIONS *giggles*

[Millertime 0]

OWNS! OWNS!

Detroit is Hockeytown, Heck the Pistons play in the 'burbs

[spydrwebb 0]

both.

[WingNutt 12]

When the "Detroit" Pistons play in Detroit, then we'll talk. Until then Wings will always own HockeyTown.

[zettermaberg 0]

Who cares? Why does it have to be one or the other? At their respective heights right now, I think the Pistons own the Wings. But the Wings own me, and personally, that's all that really matters.

Am I the only one who is terribly sick of the media pitting the two against each other?

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

NFM#25 owns this town!

[OsGOD 3]

NFM#25 owns this town!

Sorry that title is for In-state people only... you LOSE by default of course

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Sorry that title is for In-state people only... you LOSE by default of course

Never underestimate the possibility of a Wisconsin takeover.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Who cares? Why does it have to be one or the other? At their respective heights right now, I think the Pistons own the Wings. But the Wings own me, and personally, that's all that really matters.

Am I the only one who is terribly sick of the media pitting the two against each other?

No. I'm sick of it too. The reason I posted this is because everyone is all "Ooh Pistons this and Pistons that." Even with the Wings being the most dominant/succesful sports team in Detroit for the last decade. I always think Detroit will be hockeytown no matter what..but yeah all of a sudden they are putting the two against each other and while it is ridiculous I think the Wings should get the upperhand.

[aarond 0]

As much as I love Detroit, I have to admit that we're kind of a fair-weather town. That's why the Hockeytown moniker is kinda ridiculous, in my opinion. Were we Hockey Town when the Joe was at 40% in the early 80s? Will we still be Hockeytown if, God forbid, the REd Wings find their way back to the cellar? Toronto sells out their arena even when they suck, and so does Montreal. Both of those towns are bigger hockeytowns than Detroit. Right now, we're seeing how powerful the Tigers are. When the Tigers are good, this is a baseball town. But I actually truly believe that if the Lions got to a Super Bowl, this town would absolutely get turned upside down. It would be as crazy as last summer's Tigers run, the 02 Cup run and the 04 Pistons run COMBINED!

Edited May 19, 2007 by aarond

[CupChamps979802 35]

Like I said in the topic of the Pistons vs Wings news article, this issue is really starting to make me angry. I don't hate the Pistons, or the NBA, but I am really not a big fan. I think the truth is the media has the strongest influence, and with the newspapers, local news, and quite a few fans, the Red Wings come second to the Pistons. I think the main reason lies in the media coverage that the NBA gets that the NHL does not get. ESPN, the major sports coverage team, could care less about the NHL and Red Wings IMO. The lockout did not help things, but the NBA is just being pushed and given to the fans a lot more than the NHL. Another thing that I think is to blame is our TV contract. I have tons of friends, that are not that big of Wings fans, but fans nonetheless, that are unable to watch PLAYOFF games because their cable provider does not carry Versus. If you can't even watch your hometeam, the fans are going to decrease.

I'm also sick of a bunch of these ignorant NBA fans who do not give the sport of Hockey at all.

Sorry for the rant, but this is something that I am truely angry about.

[aarond 0]

Like I said in the topic of the Pistons vs Wings news article, this issue is really starting to make me angry. I don't hate the Pistons, or the NBA, but I am really not a big fan. I think the truth is the media has the strongest influence, and with the newspapers, local news, and quite a few fans, the Red Wings come second to the Pistons. I think the main reason lies in the media coverage that the NBA gets that the NHL does not get. ESPN, the major sports coverage team, could care less about the NHL and Red Wings IMO. The lockout did not help things, but the NBA is just being pushed and given to the fans a lot more than the NHL. Another thing that I think is to blame is our TV contract. I have tons of friends, that are not that big of Wings fans, but fans nonetheless, that are unable to watch PLAYOFF games because their cable provider does not carry Versus. If you can't even watch your hometeam, the fans are going to decrease.

I'm also sick of a bunch of these ignorant NBA fans who do not give the sport of Hockey at all.

Sorry for the rant, but this is something that I am truely angry about.

It's a waste of energy to get mad at something that boils down to simple economics. Hockey is a regional sport. Basketball is universal in America. It's going to get better ratings regardless of how many southern markets Bettman tries to force the NHL into. Also, don't think the Wings are totally blameless in this. They haven't done the fans a lot of favors lately. And the Pistons as an organization do a lot more in the department of fan relations (especially for their season ticket holders).

[Barrie 900]

NFM#25 owns this town!

Good one Mac

If you ask me, I think the Tigers own this town. However, Detroit is an excellent sports town all around. Each team is well supported.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Good one Mac

If you ask me, I think the Tigers own this town. However, Detroit is an excellent sports town all around. Each team is well supported.

Which is why they need to stop comparing them all and just unite and say hey we've got the best sports city in the world!

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

Sorry that title is for In-state people only... you LOSE by default of course

Awwww crap !!! does that mean that I can't have a say ???

To hell with it RED WINGS own everything.

[Pucker 0]

Tigers?

[Barrie 900]

Which is why they need to stop comparing them all and just unite and say hey we've got the best sports city in the world!

I agree

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

The Mafia owns the town. *shrugs*

[Barrie 900]

The Mafia owns the town. *shrugs*

Mike Ilitch and Ford Motor Company owns the town.

[RedRockit 0]

Sorry that title is for In-state people only... you LOSE by default of course

Well, hmpf--if Michigan only would have "finished the check," I'd BE in-state too!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War

Instead........GO BUCKS!!!!

(sorrysorrrysorry, impossible-to-resist impulse)

(pre-emptive move: please don't mention about C'bus Blue Lightweight Outerwear)

[Guest jaytan]

Every city is a fair-weather town to some extent. When there's a garbage product on the ice/field/court/diamond, nobody's going to get too excited. The Wings sucked when I was a little kid, but the Detroit area and the Windsor area still produced a bunch of great players at the time. There's a hell of a lot of rinks there. People know about the sport. I have no problem with Detroit being "Hockeytown, USA"....

Even though Minneapolis probably ought to have the title.

[eva unit zero 271]

Every city is a fair-weather town to some extent. When there's a garbage product on the ice/field/court/diamond, nobody's going to get too excited. The Wings sucked when I was a little kid, but the Detroit area and the Windsor area still produced a bunch of great players at the time. There's a hell of a lot of rinks there. People know about the sport. I have no problem with Detroit being "Hockeytown, USA"....

Even though Minneapolis probably ought to have the title.

Minneapolis and its hockey history of having lost an NHL club to disinterest? Despite popular legend that has been re-hashed in this thread, Detroit never suffered anywhere near the less than 50% attendance numbers the North Stars saw in the 80s and 90s.

Detroit has been top five in the NHL in attendance for over twenty years, and has had better than 90% capacity every year for 20 years and averaged basically a sold out house for most of that period.

[zettermaberg 0]

Minneapolis and its hockey history of having lost an NHL club to disinterest? Despite popular legend that has been re-hashed in this thread, Detroit never suffered anywhere near the less than 50% attendance numbers the North Stars saw in the 80s and 90s.

Detroit has been top five in the NHL in attendance for over twenty years, and has had better than 90% capacity every year for 20 years and averaged basically a sold out house for most of that period.

Errrm, aren't those precisely the sort of attendance numbers the Wings suffered in the 70s? Granted I don't know totals, but I was under the impression they couldn't get more than a few thousand butts in the seats.

Their strength in attenance is due to two things: winning, and Steve Yzerman. I guarantee that as soon as Lidstrom and eventually, the rest of the 90s Cups core depart, we will see the numbers fall. We already can't sell out the stadium for the WCF, and that's not because prices are high. If this team had the Yzermans and Shanahans on it, I think people would find a way. And so we'll slip back into oblivion, and we'll be OMG BASKETBALLTOWN for a few years, until they suck again and the Wings attain new glory. Then people will be saying "We were really a hockey city all along....."