by: Dice
"The Breaks" was a song that Kurtis Blow made in the early '80s, and almost as soon as that song became popular, sports fans in Detroit have been craving for said breaks. Even though the meaning for "breaks" in Kurtis' opus implied a negative connotation, the "breaks" Detroit fans desire are those plays or situations that occur in a game that drastically change the outcome of not only one game in particular, but for a city's legacy and identity.
Like most midwestern, blue-collar cities, sports in Detroit is received passionately and is closer to a pseudo-religion (imagine a mega-church cult following on steroids) than a past-time recreation. Detroiters are as competitive, proud and loyal to their teams as any fan-base across the nation. People from Detroit take pride in themselves for having the ability to take control of situations and resolve problems accordingly. So when it comes to sports let-downs its especially disappointing because as a fan, you secretly feel there was something you could've done to aid your team. "Yo Chris, we have no time-outs…make a play." Or "Zeke, settle down. Don't rush, Bird is creeping." But I dream. In fact I'll do more than dream. I'll chronologically cite transgressions, tersely examine plays, and lament over repressed (biased)memories that absolutely make Detroit the epitome of a city consistently getting the short end of the stick.
Circa 1980 is when Kurtis Blow dropped his afore-mentioned classic and that was also the same year the U.S.A (led by Ronald Reagan) withdrew themselves from Olympic competition. A young guard from Indiana University (coming off a national championship) was picked as a starter for that Olympic team but didn't get a chance to win gold. Instead he entered the 1981 NBA Draft and was selected with the second pick to the Detroit Pistons. Of course that young player was the greatest point guard not named "Magic". His name was Isiah Thomas aka " Zeke."
Fast -forward six years and the same downtrodden Pistons found themselves on the brink of going to their first NBA Finals. It was Game 6 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals versus the Celtics at Boston. With less than 5 seconds to go and the Pistons clinging to a one-point lead and possession of the ball, Detroit seemed to have the game in the bag. The only thing the-up-and coming Pistons team had to do was cleanly inbounds the ball and the game was over. That's when Larry Bird decided to add another highlight to his legendary resume by stealing the ball and passing to Dennis Johnson who scored the series-winning basket.
Hard knocks were still to be endured in subsequent years for the Pistons and mainly Isiah. The year after the Boston debacle the Pistons found themselves in the NBA Finals, this time against Magic Johnson and the mighty Lakers. Despite having a career defining performance by scoring 25 points in the third quarter of Game 6, Isiah badly sprained his ankle and the Pistons lost by one point. Showing effects from the Game 6 injury, Isiah wasn't quite the same explosive player and the Pistons lost the championship in 7 games. Of course Isiah would eventually overcome the hurdle and win two championships; but if Zeke doesn't inbound the pass to Bird in 87 or doesn't sprain his ankle in '88, who knows if the Pistons would've won 4 titles in a row. Yes 4!
They say you don't make a lot of friends on your ascension to the top and that couldn't be more true for Isiah. During his run to the top Isiah happened to inherit the leagues brightest star, Michael Jordan, as an adversary. Dating back to all-star games and alleged "freeze-outs" to Civil-War-esque playoff battles between Chicago and Detroit (If you're from the Chi or the D and witnessed that era, you know how heated that rivalry was), there was always tension between Mike and Isiah. When it came to selecting the basketball Olympic Team in 1992 aka the "Dream Team", it was almost a cinch that Isiah would make the cut. But bad blood with the league's "Golden Boy" wasn't a good PR move for Isiah, and he was coldly left off the greatest basketball team ever assembled.
Bad luck in hoops didn't stop there. If UM's Fab-Five would've won the title their freshman year of 1992 or at least the following "Time-Out" year, they would've been mentioned amongst UNLV and other teams as the greatest college team of all-time. (One of those greatest teams were the Duke Blue-Devils of the '90s led by Grant Hill. Once maligned as a villain, Hill was embraced as a hero playing for the Pistons but even he broke hearts when he decided to leave via free agency). On the football side, UM had many of blue chip athletes to make plays at "The Big House" in the '90s. Names such as Tim Biakabutuku, Tyrone Wheatley, Desmond Howard, Tom Brady, and Ty Law come to mind. With all that talent, Michigan only won one title in the '90s. In that era, perennial powerhouses such as Miami, Florida, Florida State and Nebraska were dominating collegiate football. So if you were a top team in contention and suffered an early season loss, you were pretty much done. No early season loss was more memorable then Kordell Stewart's heartbreaking last second Hail Mary that theoretically ended the Wolverine's season and title aspirations. And if you want to add an "insult to injury" highlight for Big Blue, they were the first BCS team to lose to a sub-division team in Appalachian State University 2005.
Michigan Wolverine Football is a big deal in Detroit. If they're not doing well, then it's not going to be a good or happy football season in the city because when Barry Sanders left (i'm still waiting for a comeback or apology to fans from Mr. Sanders) the Lions, it's been one horrible season after another. But when one speaks of Michigan Football, you have to trace their successful roots to a coach named Bo Shembechler. Bo installed a mentality, way of winning and tradition that endured to his last day, which was November 17, 2006. That same weekend a top-ranked and undefeated UM team were scheduled to play also undefeated and 2nd ranked Ohio State University at Columbus. In a story-book ending, the Wolves beat their arch-rivals and win the championship in honor of Bo. Instead, reality dictated we lose the game and get a new coach (Rich Rodriguez) who cluelessly and arrogantly changed generations worth of tradition that have resulted in 3 losing seasons. And my superficial side is still upset he switched our endorsement contracts from Nike to Adidas. What a failure (I'm a firm proponent in 'When you look good, you play good').
And most recently the baseball team has gone through a rough patch. After failing to win the World Series in 2006 and imploding in an unprecedented way last year by losing the division title on the last day of the season to the Minnesota Twins, the Tigers' bad luck would be summed up in one play. Of course that play would be the missed call by the umpire to grant Tigers pitcher Andres Galarragga baseball's 20th perfect game in history. I guess the umpire of that game sent a memo to the ref of this year's Lions-Bears game to screw the Lions, because the outcome of that game was tragic. There has to be a way where the NFL can employ a rule that allows common sense to supersede the letter of the law. Anyone with eyes saw that wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught the potential winning touchdown, broke the plane and secured possession. As soon as he broke the plane with possession of the ball, it should've been a touchdown! All of that "you must finish the catch" mess is BS especially when the ground can't cause a fumble. But I digress.
I don't want to come across as Detroit campaigning for a pity-party. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But if a team called the "Patriots" can win a Super Bowl out of nowhere following '9/11', why can't Detroiters expect the Spartans to win the championship during the first year of the Recession? That's because we don't get breaks. And it makes Detroit fans numb now. It's sad, but when bad things happen to Detroit sports teams, it's almost expected and uneventful. How many times have you seen the sports highlights tapes, and the victim of someone's good game represented Detroit? Hell, Larry Bird's top ranked play was the "steal", the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary always ranks in top 10 lists, and every other Jordan highlight (or any NBA star) is against the Pistons.
But just as Detroit was once known as a prominent automobile industry, its sports teams will be just as flourishing again some day. A vital part of an automobile are the brakes. And once we use ours to put a stop to the bad luck , then we will see signs of Detroit getting back to where it's supposed to be.
"The Breaks" was a song that Kurtis Blow made in the early '80s, and almost as soon as that song became popular, sports fans in Detroit have been craving for said breaks. Even though the meaning for "breaks" in Kurtis' opus implied a negative connotation, the "breaks" Detroit fans desire are those plays or situations that occur in a game that drastically change the outcome of not only one game in particular, but for a city's legacy and identity.
Like most midwestern, blue-collar cities, sports in Detroit is received passionately and is closer to a pseudo-religion (imagine a mega-church cult following on steroids) than a past-time recreation. Detroiters are as competitive, proud and loyal to their teams as any fan-base across the nation. People from Detroit take pride in themselves for having the ability to take control of situations and resolve problems accordingly. So when it comes to sports let-downs its especially disappointing because as a fan, you secretly feel there was something you could've done to aid your team. "Yo Chris, we have no time-outs…make a play." Or "Zeke, settle down. Don't rush, Bird is creeping." But I dream. In fact I'll do more than dream. I'll chronologically cite transgressions, tersely examine plays, and lament over repressed (biased)memories that absolutely make Detroit the epitome of a city consistently getting the short end of the stick.
Circa 1980 is when Kurtis Blow dropped his afore-mentioned classic and that was also the same year the U.S.A (led by Ronald Reagan) withdrew themselves from Olympic competition. A young guard from Indiana University (coming off a national championship) was picked as a starter for that Olympic team but didn't get a chance to win gold. Instead he entered the 1981 NBA Draft and was selected with the second pick to the Detroit Pistons. Of course that young player was the greatest point guard not named "Magic". His name was Isiah Thomas aka " Zeke."
Fast -forward six years and the same downtrodden Pistons found themselves on the brink of going to their first NBA Finals. It was Game 6 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals versus the Celtics at Boston. With less than 5 seconds to go and the Pistons clinging to a one-point lead and possession of the ball, Detroit seemed to have the game in the bag. The only thing the-up-and coming Pistons team had to do was cleanly inbounds the ball and the game was over. That's when Larry Bird decided to add another highlight to his legendary resume by stealing the ball and passing to Dennis Johnson who scored the series-winning basket.
Hard knocks were still to be endured in subsequent years for the Pistons and mainly Isiah. The year after the Boston debacle the Pistons found themselves in the NBA Finals, this time against Magic Johnson and the mighty Lakers. Despite having a career defining performance by scoring 25 points in the third quarter of Game 6, Isiah badly sprained his ankle and the Pistons lost by one point. Showing effects from the Game 6 injury, Isiah wasn't quite the same explosive player and the Pistons lost the championship in 7 games. Of course Isiah would eventually overcome the hurdle and win two championships; but if Zeke doesn't inbound the pass to Bird in 87 or doesn't sprain his ankle in '88, who knows if the Pistons would've won 4 titles in a row. Yes 4!
They say you don't make a lot of friends on your ascension to the top and that couldn't be more true for Isiah. During his run to the top Isiah happened to inherit the leagues brightest star, Michael Jordan, as an adversary. Dating back to all-star games and alleged "freeze-outs" to Civil-War-esque playoff battles between Chicago and Detroit (If you're from the Chi or the D and witnessed that era, you know how heated that rivalry was), there was always tension between Mike and Isiah. When it came to selecting the basketball Olympic Team in 1992 aka the "Dream Team", it was almost a cinch that Isiah would make the cut. But bad blood with the league's "Golden Boy" wasn't a good PR move for Isiah, and he was coldly left off the greatest basketball team ever assembled.
Bad luck in hoops didn't stop there. If UM's Fab-Five would've won the title their freshman year of 1992 or at least the following "Time-Out" year, they would've been mentioned amongst UNLV and other teams as the greatest college team of all-time. (One of those greatest teams were the Duke Blue-Devils of the '90s led by Grant Hill. Once maligned as a villain, Hill was embraced as a hero playing for the Pistons but even he broke hearts when he decided to leave via free agency). On the football side, UM had many of blue chip athletes to make plays at "The Big House" in the '90s. Names such as Tim Biakabutuku, Tyrone Wheatley, Desmond Howard, Tom Brady, and Ty Law come to mind. With all that talent, Michigan only won one title in the '90s. In that era, perennial powerhouses such as Miami, Florida, Florida State and Nebraska were dominating collegiate football. So if you were a top team in contention and suffered an early season loss, you were pretty much done. No early season loss was more memorable then Kordell Stewart's heartbreaking last second Hail Mary that theoretically ended the Wolverine's season and title aspirations. And if you want to add an "insult to injury" highlight for Big Blue, they were the first BCS team to lose to a sub-division team in Appalachian State University 2005.
Michigan Wolverine Football is a big deal in Detroit. If they're not doing well, then it's not going to be a good or happy football season in the city because when Barry Sanders left (i'm still waiting for a comeback or apology to fans from Mr. Sanders) the Lions, it's been one horrible season after another. But when one speaks of Michigan Football, you have to trace their successful roots to a coach named Bo Shembechler. Bo installed a mentality, way of winning and tradition that endured to his last day, which was November 17, 2006. That same weekend a top-ranked and undefeated UM team were scheduled to play also undefeated and 2nd ranked Ohio State University at Columbus. In a story-book ending, the Wolves beat their arch-rivals and win the championship in honor of Bo. Instead, reality dictated we lose the game and get a new coach (Rich Rodriguez) who cluelessly and arrogantly changed generations worth of tradition that have resulted in 3 losing seasons. And my superficial side is still upset he switched our endorsement contracts from Nike to Adidas. What a failure (I'm a firm proponent in 'When you look good, you play good').
And most recently the baseball team has gone through a rough patch. After failing to win the World Series in 2006 and imploding in an unprecedented way last year by losing the division title on the last day of the season to the Minnesota Twins, the Tigers' bad luck would be summed up in one play. Of course that play would be the missed call by the umpire to grant Tigers pitcher Andres Galarragga baseball's 20th perfect game in history. I guess the umpire of that game sent a memo to the ref of this year's Lions-Bears game to screw the Lions, because the outcome of that game was tragic. There has to be a way where the NFL can employ a rule that allows common sense to supersede the letter of the law. Anyone with eyes saw that wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught the potential winning touchdown, broke the plane and secured possession. As soon as he broke the plane with possession of the ball, it should've been a touchdown! All of that "you must finish the catch" mess is BS especially when the ground can't cause a fumble. But I digress.
I don't want to come across as Detroit campaigning for a pity-party. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But if a team called the "Patriots" can win a Super Bowl out of nowhere following '9/11', why can't Detroiters expect the Spartans to win the championship during the first year of the Recession? That's because we don't get breaks. And it makes Detroit fans numb now. It's sad, but when bad things happen to Detroit sports teams, it's almost expected and uneventful. How many times have you seen the sports highlights tapes, and the victim of someone's good game represented Detroit? Hell, Larry Bird's top ranked play was the "steal", the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary always ranks in top 10 lists, and every other Jordan highlight (or any NBA star) is against the Pistons.
But just as Detroit was once known as a prominent automobile industry, its sports teams will be just as flourishing again some day. A vital part of an automobile are the brakes. And once we use ours to put a stop to the bad luck , then we will see signs of Detroit getting back to where it's supposed to be.
Dice is a native of Detroit, MI by way of Chicago, New York, and Durham, NC and a graduate of Morehouse College. He's a contributing sports analyst for NPR's "Michael Eric Dyson Show" and creator of "TheLegendofDice.blogspot.com." Dice currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
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