11/05/24
September 21, 2006
The Hex: Every sports city has a city that antagonizes them. Tigers' fans worst nightmare is on their tails. A column by sportsfilter member TheQatarian.
Jays and Tiggers used to be a rivalry - but really no longer. Same with Red Wings / Leafs. Now we're too mediocre in all pro sports to have anything resembling a decent city-city rivalry. I did not know that history between Minny and Detroit, though. Now that's a historical ball-kicking. That was damn edifying. Thanks Qatarian.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:58 AM on September 21, 2006
As a life long Tiger fan, my hope is that they pull their crap back together and win it all. My fear is that they'll end up with the wild card, play the Yanks in round 1, and get an early start on Christmas shopping during round 2. When you follow the Tigers for long, you learn that the glass half empty approach is best for your sanity. If you get more, it's a pleasant surprise. If you never get a full glass again...well, you weren't counting on it anyway.
posted by ctal1999 at 10:22 AM on September 21, 2006
Excellent article. It's funny that used the 1987 American League playoffs as an example of Minny pwnting Detroit. Couple that with chico mentioning that Detroit is Toronto's hex and you've got the 1987 American League story right there. Detroit was [x many] games behind Toronto with right around that many games to go in the season. Well, what do you know? Detroit ran the table on Toronto to squeeze into that year's playoffs. Of course, just to meet the Twins. Ah, fate!
posted by NoMich at 10:39 AM on September 21, 2006
Well, if its any consolation, Willie (the Guillermo) Hernandez did get the MVP instead of Kent Hrbek in 1984. After going to the Twins-Tigers game on 9/7/2006 and seeing the Tiger's four homer shelling of Baker, I did not think the division was within reach. What a difference a couple of weeks makes. A few years after that, while the Cowboys were still winning Super Bowls with the haul from that trade, things got worse for Minnesota sports fans as the State of Hockey lost their pro hockey team to - of all places - Dallas... You are right about that, taking the North Stars away made me dislike Dallas even more. Thankfully, Minnesota got another NHL franchise with the Wild.
posted by chris2sy at 10:53 AM on September 21, 2006
Very nice piece. There also exists the NHL's modern-day Philadelphia can't beat Ottawa can't beat Toronto can't beat Philadelphia in the playoffs, which will remain unresolved until they design some sort of three-way best-of-seven series.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:49 AM on September 21, 2006
Or a new ice surface, with three offensive zones! How about it, "New NHL"?
posted by chicobangs at 12:25 PM on September 21, 2006
And two pucks. You'll need two pucks.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:54 PM on September 21, 2006
With New York and Tampa being rivals I think it is fitting that the Bucs have Ronde and the Giants have Tiki. That solidifies that rivalry for me.
posted by kidrayter2005 at 02:50 PM on September 21, 2006
I appreciate the compliments. It's just one of those ideas that swims around in your head for a while, and then you eventually have to spill it on to virtual paper. Thought it might spark discussion. All of that being said, being a Minnesotan myself, I've never really had much animus for the Cowboys. The "Hail Mary" happened when I was three months old, and the Herschel thing was all about the Vikings' front office being run by chimpanzees more than Dallas doing anything wrong. Plus, they beat the Packers a lot in the 1990s, which only built up goodwill with me. :-) The hockey thing did stick in my craw, though. There was nothing worse in the mid-90's than having to endure a Tampa Bay-San Jose hockey game on ESPN2 while Minnesota didn't have a team. Thankfully, we have a team back here now. Now we'll just have to see if the tradition continues with the Twins and Tigers. Thankfully for the Tigers, they have 3 games with the Jays left.
posted by TheQatarian at 03:12 PM on September 21, 2006
Now we'll just have to see if the tradition continues with the Twins and Tigers. Thankfully for the Tigers, they have 3 games with the Jays left. Three games against the Jays, they get to finish with three games against the Royals. If the Tigers can't manage to win their division then they don't even deserve to make the playoffs.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 03:40 PM on September 21, 2006
(Bucs/Giants... well, I'm fuzzy on that one.) Bucs 6-9 against the Giants, so not so much. The Bucs lost a lot of games for many years, so the teams that the Bucs have a winning record against are few and far between.
posted by bperk at 03:44 PM on September 21, 2006
I just moved to Northern California (Chico State!!) for college and found that although Lakers fans don't really care about the Sac Kings, Kings fans despise the Lakers and anything or anybody that has anything to do with them. Its actually kind of funny, Considering that Sacramento has finished second to Lakers and been eliminated from the playoffs by the Lakers for soooooo many years. Its no wonder that Lakers fans don't think about the Kings, because no one remembers the losers.
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 06:31 PM on September 21, 2006
Regarding the Lakers, it is more of a Pacific Division hates the Lakers. I grew up in Oregon when Clyde, Terry, Jerome and Buck were constantly going up against the Lakers in the playoffs and the battle cry was always, 'BEAT LA'. After living in Sacramento for 15 years my adopted hometown Kings rose to face the same challenge using the same time tested battle cry. Now, couple that with most Laker fans being either casual fans, (SoCal is notorious for it), or simply big name bandwagon jumpers. Simply put, it is easier to sell an impact player on the perceived benefits of playing in LA or NYC and recruiting free agents becomes easier.
posted by geekyguy at 06:30 AM on September 22, 2006
with most Laker fans being either casual fans, (SoCal is notorious for it), or simply big name bandwagon jumpers See what I'm talking about. Haters!
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 10:13 AM on September 22, 2006
So cal fans are always being blamed for being late to arrive and early to leave. The truth about it is that in LA we have TRAFFIC. I mean real traffic, not cows or tractors on the road. Im talking about moving 3-10 miles in an hour type of traffic. Also, in LA they won't let us tailgate at the stadiums anymore so you can't get there early and party. Another reason that LA fans are not as die hard as the rest of the country is because we actually have other things going on here.
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 12:05 PM on September 22, 2006
Another reason that LA fans are not as die hard as the rest of the country is because we actually have other things going on here. Yeah, because no other city has anything else to do but weave in and out of the cows and the rows of corn on their way to a game. I mean, there's just nothing else going on outside of L.A. What a bunch of crap.
posted by lex2000 at 03:57 PM on September 22, 2006
Dude, if you lived in Los Angeles, you'd be so busy with traffic and stuff to do, you wouldn't even have been able to post that comment. Dude.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:40 PM on September 22, 2006
yeah dude!
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 05:09 PM on September 22, 2006
Yeah, because no other city has anything else to do but weave in and out of the cows and the rows of corn on their way to a game. Actually in downtown Detroit basically the only thing to do near Comerica and Ford Field is go to the Hockeytown Cafe, see the homless guy who sings and plays the drums, and if you're lucky park in a spot where they let you tailgate. Besides that there are a few clubs and casinos a couple blocks away. That's about it.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:24 PM on September 22, 2006
You know, that's kind of true about every city having a nemesis city. Of the two cities I've lived in, both have nemesis cities that come to mind. In Toronto, actually, it's been Detroit, with the Red Wings and the Tigers killing the Leafs and Jays pretty consistently. (Raptors/Pistons comparisons are on hold until the team puts together two good years in a row, which until now has never happened.) I'm wondering if New York's nemesis city is Tampa. As bad as the D-Rays have been, they've killed more Yankee winning streaks than all the A-Rods and Knoblauchs put together. The Lightning have beaten the Rangers more than a few times, even as the blueshirts have gotten good again. (Bucs/Giants... well, I'm fuzzy on that one.)