The Spirit of Detroit sculpture, dressed in a Red Wings’ jersey for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, embodies what Detroit is all about.
Andrea Joyce, a sports broadcaster who is a woman (worded as she would have it) has covered the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the P&G Gymnastics Championships, and at least 12 Olympic games. I learned, at her event on October 30, she earned her degree from the University of Michigan and has ties to the Detroit area.
When asked, what is it with the proud tradition in sports business in Detroit, she responded with “It’s Hockeytown. You’re in Detroit and sports are so much part of your life.” Because sports are “so much part of life” in Detroit and have been for years, does this mean that the sports culture in Detroit is conservative or liberal?
Lions fans supported the team, like always, but not Suh’s actions on Thanksgiving Day 2012.
The Detroit Tigers, Lions, and Red Wings have all been operating in Detroit for over 75 years. That’s an eternity in sports. The fan base has always been there, supporting Detroit, even in times of crisis. The addition of the new 450 million dollar stadium for the Red Wings shows the support from the fans and from the local and state government. Although sports have somewhat evolved in Detroit over the last 75 years, the sports culture is conservative.
Edmund Burke, an opponent of the division between the United States and Great Britain, wrote the book, Reflections on the Revolution in France, because he didn’t believe the French should be overthrowing their government. In his book, he states, “A spirit of innovation is generally the result of a selfish temper and confined views. People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.” He’s saying that new ideas come about because people are thinking about themselves, not anyone else. People are greedy, so they aren’t thinking about the history or the future of their actions, just the selfish present. One example is the building of Comerica Park, where there were some obvious benefits to managers and investors, but it wasn’t built for them. Comerica Park was built so Detroit Tiger fans could further enjoy a baseball game, like they had been in previous years at Tiger Stadium. While there have been some selfish managers in Detroit sports, the majority have focused on providing a fun experience for the people.
The beloved Tiger Stadium was deteriorating and the choice to build Comerica Park was highly debated. To preserve Detroit sports, this was a necessary step for the future.
Providing a fun experience hasn’t changed over the years, but the method of getting to the experience has evolved. Even Burke says this is okay and is still conservatism, “A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.” With the addition of a new Red Wings stadium, brings the preservation of the Red Wings. As a community we are investing in the sports culture through new stadiums, apparel, attending games, and watching on television, to keep the sports culture in Detroit the way it’s always been, because that’s what people have grown to love. Without these additions, we wouldn’t be able to conserve Detroit sports, like Burke alludes to.
Andrea Joyce addressed that there are few women in the press box, and it’s been like this in Detroit for awhile. This is definitely a conservative aspect of sports in Detroit because there is not a balance between men and women sports broadcasters. Andrea encouraged those of us at her event to get out there, and be those women in sports broadcasting that Detroit so badly needs. However, the process of integrating women into the Detroit sports culture is very difficult because there has always been a majority of men sports broadcasters in Detroit.
Similarly, I attended Maize Night Madness, on the diag, about 40 minutes from Detroit, earlier this fall and one emcee was a woman and the other was a male. Both of these jobs, an emcee and sports broadcaster, include speaking in front of people, entertaining spectators, and informing the audience about athletes. The female and male emcees added to the event and it made the occasion even better with the variety of hosts. The emcees are like the sports broadcasters, so I question why Detroit is stuck in its conservative ways in sports broadcasting, other than the fact that it’s always been that way.
The history of sports in Detroit has shaped the city and people believe in the safeguarding of the memories they made in Detroit. Burke’s views coincide with keeping Detroit sports the way they are. But, drastically changing sports culture in Detroit “just because” has me like “Lions and Tigers and *Wings*, oh my!”
Touchdown Theory 