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Quest for 31
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See my other visit to
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DET - October 15, 2006

Stadium Review - Black Sabbath

Detroit, Michigan is a great sports town that's starving for a quality football team. With representation in all four of the major professional sports leagues, and incredible success among three of the franchises, the Detroit Lions remain the red-headed stepchild of the bunch. Over the last eight years (since I've been living in the metro Detroit area), I've watched the Red Wings hoist Lord Stanley's cup twice, the Pistons win an NBA title, and the Detroit Tigers play in the World Series.  So with the Lions on life support, conventional wisdom would indicate that the local fanbase might abandon their inclement weather tailgating roots, but I'm happy to report that the spirit of die hard NFL tailgating lives on at the Eastern Market, a short walk from Ford Field.

For my Week Seven Quest for 31 encounter, I hooked up with Kevin Nowak from www.DetroitTailgate.com, the premiere tailgating entity in the Motor City. The folks at DetroitTailgate.com put on an impressive blacktop experience that harkens to the glory days of Honolulu Blue tailgating back when the Lions played at the Pontiac Silverdome and #20 was the epitome of the human highlight reel. When Ford Field was built downtown, the vast expanses of fan parking that surrounded the Silverdome were gone and Detroit Tailgaters were forced to setup in multiple hotspots all over the city. The collective may have broken up, but these tailgating nodes continue to thrive thanks to the dedication of die hard fans like DetroitTailgate.com with their universal fan matra. "Stand Clear and Get Me a Beer".

Our day began at 8:00am as we rushed toward Lot 1 at the Eastern Market to park in pole position next to the Detroit Tailgate Asphalt extravaganza. The Detroit Tailgate crew was hosting a Halloween themed tailgate party complete with Halloween decorations, including a Cadillac Hearse covered in blood, and a Black Sabbath cover band, Banned from E.A.R.T.H. that played live music throughout the day.  As everyone was setting up, myself, Crystal, and Anna got to the business of breakfast ... eggs and Apple Martini's, a nod to Houston Texans SuperFan, Wayne Spake ... thanks again Wayne. After breakfast, Marion showed up and the brew began flowing as the fellas from Banned from E.A.R.T.H. kicked off Ozzfest in Detroit with a little Iron Man. Banned from E.A.R.T.H. put on an incredible forty-five minute show worthy of the Prince of Darkness himself. 

The Detroit Tailgate Crew has a fairly impressive thing going on at the Eastern Market.  They pull in multiple RV's and custom tailgating cruisers to setup what is an exceptional tailgate each week.  Grills are burning fresh meats, a full custom bar serves up an excellent selection of ice cold beverages, and a different live band is on site for each home game.  Tailgaters show up early to maximize celebration time and maybe minimize the sting of the string of losses (these fans need a little extra to help soften the blow) and the people are top notch. We spent most of the day chatting with fans about the debacle that is Detroit Lions football and taking in some much deserved R and R.  So if you're looking for a great group of friendly, knowledgeable fans that know how to tailgate, look no further than the Eastern Market and DetroitTailgate.com. Even visiting Redskins fans were welcome within the warm confines of this premiere tailgating experience and I, for one, am definitely looking forward to the next one.

Switching gears to the bane of every Detroiter's existence that is the Detroit Lions Franchise. It was a brilliant display of 0-6 mediocrity as the Lions took the field for four quarters of what some might term "football", but I certainly would not. Unfortunately, I was on hand to take it all in, while most folks were fortunate enough to benefit from the gameday blackout.  The Lions held tough for most of the first half with a strong defensive performance and led 10-6 after two quarters. After halftime, the ugliness of the "Oh fer" showed up like a drag queen on prom night. Defensive breakdowns along with a totally inept offense spelled the end of the Lions lead and the promise of a first win on the season. The Lions punt coverage unit let Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss loose for a touchdown on an electric run to the endzone. After fielding the punt at his own five yard line, Moss crashed into his own man and then squirted through Lions defenders en route to a game breaking score. It was embarrassing.  All day the Lions were flagged for inopportune penalties, they didn't convert on third down, they didn't tackle or cover well. they made all the mistakes that you'd expect from a winless football team. Thank God I have the Bills ... who also lost today (Dammit!).

The truly unfortunate thing in all of this is that the Ford Field one of the finest facilities in the National Football League. It is truly a modern-era facility built with a recycle and renewable mindset driving the construction of an ideal football operations headquarters. It's a massive complex housing state of the art practice facilities, administrative offices, and an impressive array of luxury boxes.  For the fans, the site lines are exceptional due to the placement of the luxury suites on the visitor's side, allowing a lower vantage point from the upper deck and there is more than adequate restroom facilities.  Detroit's commercial past is also represented in the incorporation of the historical Hudson's warehouse as part of the stadium design and the enclosure of the intersection of Adams and Beaubien Streets allowing for a traditionally styled set of shops and restaurants featuring an old world euro appearance complete with cobblestone concourse.   Many of the building materials are made of recyclables and even the floors are made from renewable bamboo rather than hardwoods.  It's a beautiful stadium, someday a team worthy of this facility will inherit it.
 

2008 Detroit Lions "Face Value" Ticket Prices

 

Detroit Lions
 2008 NFL Schedule

    1 Sun, Sep. 7 at Atlanta 1:00 PM
    2 Sun, Sep. 14 Green Bay 1:00 PM
    3 Sun, Sep. 21 at San Francisco 4:05 PM
    4 Sun, Sep. 28 BYE
    5 Sun, Oct. 5 Chicago 1:00 PM
    6 Sun, Oct. 12 at Minnesota 1:00 PM
    7 Sun, Oct. 19 at Houston 4:05 PM
    8 Sun, Oct. 26 Washington 1:00 PM
    9 Sun, Nov. 2 at Chicago 1:00 PM
    10 Sun, Nov. 9 Jacksonville 1:00 PM
    11 Sun, Nov. 16 at Carolina 1:00 PM
    12 Sun, Nov. 23 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM
    13 Thurs, Nov. 27 Tennessee 12:30
    14 Sun, Dec. 7 Minnesota 1:00 PM
    15 Sun, Dec. 14 at Indianapolis 1:00 PM
    16 Sun, Dec. 21 New Orleans 1:00 PM
    17 Sun, Dec. 28 at Green Bay 1:00 PM

NFL Football Stadiums
 

Ticket Prices: $7 Adults, $5 Students/Seniors
Phone Number: 313-262-2100
Hours: 11:00am and 1:00pm Mondays & Fridays (Jan – May)11:00am and   
1:00pm Mondays, Thursdays, & Fridays (Jun - Dec)
Areas Covered: Facility, Ford Field Suite, Locker room, Field and much
more.  Following your tour for $5 more per person, you can add a mini-clinic. 
learn to pass, catch, and kick like the pros on the field during your 30-minute
mini-clinic.

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