Story by
Detroit sports is having a moment: Here are 29 reasons why
- Story by
- Detroit sports is having a moment: Here are 29 reasons why
Detroit sports teams are having a moment.
Seriously, look around. The Pistons rose from the ashes like a phoenix in just one season. The Lions – once a laughingstock – went 15-2 last season. FIFTEEN WINS, TWO LOSSES. The WNBA announced an expansion team coming to Detroit (though not till 2029). And then there's the Tigers , who somehow have combined their magic pixie dust of last season with the 2002 "Moneyball" Oakland Athletics , winning all the margins in a seemingly mystical way.
Advertisement
As for the Red Wings? Well, at least those centennial jerseys are pretty cool.
Long story short, there are a lot of cool things going on in the Detroit sports vortex right now, and being that it's my 29th birthday on Thursday, July 10 (pretty unremarkable, I'm aware), I thought I'd ride the positivity wave and list off 29 reasons why Detroit is having a sports moment.
WHAT A TURNAROUND: Detroit's next pro champion? Not so long ago, that was a laughable concept
Let's get weird (in no particular order):
-
Dan F'ing Campbell: Even in the middle of July, Dan Campbell is going viral for his profanity-laced speech that was featured on Netflix's "Quarterbacks." People just can't get enough of him.
-
Tiger power: After finishing 24th last year in home runs, the Tigers are a certified bomb squad this year. Entering Wednesday, the Tigers were sixth in the majors in home runs, with Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson each having at least 21 homers. Who doesn't love the long ball?
-
Win now, win later: The Tigers have the best record in MLB. A roster filled with young and improving players. And in May, MLB Pipeline announced they now have the top-ranked farm system in the league. That's pretty, pretty, pretty good.
-
Brewing college basketball battles: With Michigan making it to the Sweet 16 and Michigan State going to the Elite Eight, plus both teams loading up in the transfer portal, we're heading towards a heck of a college hoops season.
-
Pistons on the rise: While it hasn't been the offseason Trajan Langdon dreamed of – losing Malik Beasley because of a gambling investigation (for now) hurt – but still, the Pistons went from 14 wins to 44 last year. It'd be hard not to be excited for next year.
-
Tarik Skubal : Have you watched him pitch? Need I say more?
-
Little Caesars Arena: Say what you want about the lack of playoff wins, but who's complaining about LCA?
-
The Winged Wheel: Timeless. Classic. Instantly recognizable. What more could you want from a logo of a team in your city? And now we've got a fresh new variation for the 100th season of the team to remind everyone.
-
Mize mania: The Casey Mize that fans in Detroit have been waiting for since Al Avila drafted him No. 1 overall in 2018 has finally arrived. Mize was shaky in 2024, his first year back from Tommy John surgery, but has been unreal in 2025, posting a 9-2 record and 2.63 ERA through 15 starts.
-
All-Star dominance:The Tigers have not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but SIX representatives heading to Atlanta for the MLB All-Star Game, including bat boy Frankie Boyd and CMU alumnus Zach McKinstry , both of whom were named to the team Wednesday.
-
Summer Colt Keith is different breed:Last July, Colt Keith had an impressive 1.048 OPS for the month and seven home runs. Through seven games in July this year, Keith has a .478 batting average, a 1.452 OPS and two clutch homers. Christmas is forver in July for Keith.
-
Cade Cunningham is a building block:Cunningham showed last year that he's good enough to build a team around, making the All-Star Game and third-team All-NBA. And there's still so much room to grow.
-
Dylan Larkin is willing to speak up: Whether or not it was the right answer, Larkin has been clear that he and the Red Wings' locker room felt general manager Steve Yzerman let the team down by not doing anything at the trade deadline. No matter what, at least Wings fans can know that he will speak his mind if he feels he needs to.
-
Pistons youth movement:Even though the Pistons are already in win-now mode after being the No. 6 seed in last season's playoffs, they still have so many young players who can still improve, from Ausar Thompson to Ron Holland to Jalen Duren – and of course, even Cunningham.
-
Welcome back, Comerica Park:Not that long ago, it felt like we'd never see a packed Comerica Park for regular season showdowns again. That sentiment is long gone. The vibe at Comerica has been fantastic all year long and doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
-
WNBA coming to town: Sorry, Sophie Cunningham , but the WNBA is coming to Detroit, and if we know anything about this sports town, it'll get a lot of support.
-
Lions aren't just good, they're fun:From the fourth-down conversions to the electric weapons such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams (and we could go on), the Lions don't just win a lot of games, but they have fun players that everyone knows.
-
From Belleville to the Big House:Bryce Underwood has been one of the most talked about recruits in recent Michigan history, and will have a chance to be starting games at Michigan Stadium this fall. If that's not something to watch, what is.
-
JA-RED GOFF! JA-RED GOFF! Detroit's adopted son seems to have a knack for the moment and with the Lions' loaded schedule this year, he'll have plenty of opportunities to earn the city's most famous chant.
-
A.J. Hinch:This weird, chaotic, better-than-the-sum-of-its-parts Tigers team would not be what it is without the skipper who pulls all the strings. And now that fans are watching more of the regular season, they're seeing what a huge difference it can make.
-
Quality front offices:Detroit has a base level of competency right now that is hard to argue with all four front offices. While Yzerman hasn't broken the playoff drought, he has proven that he's more than capable of nailing the NHL draft. It's still early days for Trajan Langdon and the new Pistons front office, but going from 14 wins to 44 is not nothing. As for the Tigers and Lions, the results are already speaking for themselves. It'd be hard to find a time in the city's history where the decision makers for all four teams are in better standing, even if the ice Yzerman is standing on grows ever thinner.
-
Ford Field fanatics:Every nationally televised Lions home game, it's impossible to avoid the conversation about how loud the stadium is. And no matter how many times it's brought up, you can feel the city collectively smile every time it is.
-
Super Bowl-less:Speaking of the Lions, there's nothing like the first one, and the fact that the Lions still haven't won a Super Bowl – much less made one – just gives every game, every season and every playoff run that extra bit of unquantifiable juice. It's not like anyone in the city wouldn't trade that for a Super Bowl, but from an excitement standpoint, it's impossible to ignore.
-
Spartans in the 'D':For the second time in three seasons, Michigan State football will play its season finale at Ford Field, giving fans on the east side of the state a chance to see the Spartans play (not in Ann Arbor). MSU was mollywhopped by Penn State in the finale in 2023, but draws a much better matchup in Maryland this time around.
-
Promising prospects:Although the Wings took a step back last year and didn't build on their 2023-24 campaign in which they narrowly missed the playoffs, they do have one of the most promising prospect pools in the game. According to The Athletic's prospect pool rankings that came out in January, the Red Wings have the fifth-best farm system in the NHL.
-
House of Hutch:How can fans not root for Aidan Hutchinson ? The guy seemingly does everything the right way and dominates on the field while doing it. After his brutal injury last year, good luck trying not to get chills when he's introduced for the first time again at Ford Field.
-
Speaking of guys you can't hate:Spencer Torkelson? Riley Greene? Tarik Skubal? Kerry Carpenter ? Zach McKinstry? Comeback Javier Báez ? Find me a more likable young core.
-
The legends are back:It took time, but nearly every big Lions game now you'll see two of the faces most synonymous with the franchise: Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson. Time heals all, as they say, and if you're someone who believes in good vibes and karma, having those two guys back in the mix certainly doesn't hurt anything.
-
The teams feed off each other:"I believe we're next." That's what Cade Cunningham said last September when discussing the absurdly-hot Tigers at the time. It sounded like a bold statement at the time, but then sure enough, they were. All across the city, you see the athletes embrace each other. Lions safety Kerby Joseph at Tigers games. The Red Wings rooting for the Lions. The Pistons inspired by the Tigers. Does it win games? It's hard to say that. But it's darn fun for fans who root for all the teams here.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit sports is having a moment: Here are 29 reasons why
