This is an interesting question, that actually is asked of me quite often. This is probably due to the fact that I currently live in Wichita, KS, I moved here from Ft. Worth, TX, yet I am a Red Wings and Lions fan. WTF, right. Well, this is fairly easily explained. I was born in Auburn Hills, MI, and a lot of my family lives in that general vacinity.
Simple geography really has nothing to do with it though. Granted geography can be blamed (more like thanked) for the fact that my first professional sporting experience was inside the hockey mecca known as Joe Lewis Arena, and a new up and comer was stealing the show, by the name of Steve Yzerman. I was four years old, and I have been a die hard Red Wings fan ever since. My next live pro game was at Tiger Stadium in 1984. I then became a Tigers fan, but that proved to be fleeting. Not so much against the Tigers, as against baseball in general. I can thank Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars for my brief stint with basketball, but after they retired, I lost all interest in basketball altogether. Then of course there is the team I really take the most crap for. The Lions. God help me I'm a Lions fan, aand that only has a little bit to do with Barry Sanders. I actually was into the Lions when we had Billy Simms, hell I even met the guy in the Kountry Kitchen that was across the street from the Silver Dome.
All these experiences may explain my love for Detroit teams, but recently, upon the death of my grandfather, I believe I have stumbled across the real reason. Other than the Red Wings game(I have my Uncle Andy to thank for that one, THANKS ANDY), my grandpa ALWAYS took me to see sports. It was mostly the Tigers, but we caught a fair amount of Lions and Pistons games as well. When I moved from Auburn Hills to Ft. Worth, it would have been easy to become a Cowboys fan. But, I couldn't do it. What would Grandpa say if I was rooting for the COWBOYS? I just didn't have it in me to defy him. Now that he has passed, I feel as though it is my duty to watch as many Detroit teams as I can stand, while drinking a beer, and swearing at the "G*D-Damned-Sonsab!tches", in his place.
I hope this sheds a little light on why some a$$hole in Wichita is as big a Lions/Red Wings fan as they come. So please stop asking.
