There's been some insinuation that
Detroit no longer deserves its Hockeytown name -- which is trademarked, thank you. So back off crybaby Penguins!
Anyway, to see the crowds of Datsyuk-jersey-wearing masses downtown last night for the devastating Game 5, you'd have to say that's a bunch of hooey.
Everybody -- recent transplants from other cities (I met several), Canadians trekking over from Windsor, homeless guys my sister bought shots for at the
Detroit Beer Co. patio, non-hockey fans, and die hard people with giant Red Wings logos painted on their bald heads and flag capes -- everybody was out, bar hopping, cheering for the Wings.
A friend who spent the evening at the closest thing to the Joe outside the Joe,
Hockeytown Cafe, put it well: "Minus the loss and the weight of the work I put off to watch the game, I enjoyed the environment. A million people going crazy. I high-fived
like 100 dudes I didn't know." That, my friends, is the way to watch a Stanley Cup victory. I remember hugging tons of strangers in 1997 outside the
Old Shillelagh like it was yesterday. Alas, last night it was not to be relived. Maybe later this week we can try again?
P.S. We spotted Kid Rock paling around with one Mr. Chris Chelios at
Cheli's Chili downtown just before game time. I took a totally crappy photo of them with my cell phone that I neglected to save, so I have no evidence of it. Sorry. However, gossipy hockey fans may want to read more about their friendship here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-stanleycup-malibumob&prov=ap&type=lgnsOK, the dude from
Scrubs, I see that. He's always throwing around Wings references. John Cusak, very cool. But Tony Danza?
Who's the Boss meets Kid Rock? Bob Ritchie, if you are reading this, can you explain that?