If you don’t care about sports, move along now, nothing to see here. I just need to vent about the only two teams on the planet I care about, the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Lions.
The Pistons
I can’t complain about the franchise as a whole. They’ve delivered three championships and some truly great memories. Zeke playing heroically on one ankle, Rodman sinking two free throws after Barkley made fun of him, Tayshaun’s impossible block against Indiana. Great stuff.
Last year at a game, Mr. Davidson walked right in front of me. I tried to say thank you, but I froze up. Sadly now I’ll never get the chance. I did get to meet George Blaha though, and I thanked him profusely for everything. The Detroit Pistons were a big part of my childhood and have played some extrordinary ball over the last two decades.
All that said, what a freakin disaster this season has been! I went to the last game of the regular season which was “fan appreciation night”. Before tip off, Tayshaun took the microphone, thanked the fans, admitted it had been a rough season, and practically begged everyone in the building for support. He stopped just short of an apology for the way they had played. I’ve never seen anything like it.
But then the game started and they did the same thing they’ve done all year long, which is nothing. Sloppy passes, missed layups, zero interior defense. Worse was the blank look on their faces. There was no spark, no bounce in their step, no confidence in their eyes, so sense of identity whatsoever. They were no longer the Detroit Pistons, just a bunch of guys on the court.
I don’t claim to be a sports expert and I’m sure as hell not more qualified than Joe Dumars. I understand trading Chauncy Billups was necessary both for now, and with millions free in cap space, for the future. The team had stagnated and something needed to be done. It was a gamble that didn’t pan out short term (don’t even get me started on Mr. Punkbitch Allen “I’ll do whatever they ask me to win a championship and by the way I’m lying because I’m a spoiled baby who will never win a championship because I only care about my precious minutes” Iverson), but still may pay off in years to come.
I’ll tell you this though. When Chauncy went to Denver, the Detroit Pistons lost more than an all star point guard. They lost the Detroit Pistons. All the leadership, the swagger, the very core of their identity started with Chauncy Billups. You can argue it came from Ben Wallace, which it certainly did. However Chauncy was the general who lead them into battle every night. He carried himself like a champion and it rubbed off on the rest of the team. Now he’s gone and the guys left in Detroit look like deer in the headlights. They aren’t Pistons anymore. They’re just a group of guys playing on an average basketball team.
Technically they have two more games to play, but let’s face it the season is over. They must now go through the dreaded process every former championship team does at some point: rebuilding. I still have faith in Joe Dumars and know he will do his best. I just pray it doesn’t take as long as did during the dark days of the Teal Era.
Coming Up Next: The Detroit Lions plan to make the biggest mistake in franchise history. Again.