ducks
10-28-2006, 08:35 AM
Tigers' success a novelty for younger generation
By JIM IRWIN, Associated Press Writer
October 27, 2006
DETROIT (AP) -- For Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, getting his twin sons interested in the Detroit Tigers once tested his powers of persuasion. Not anymore.
The 2006 Tigers of Kenny Rogers, Carlos Guillen, Ivan Rodriguez and Craig Monroe are making memories for young Jelani and Jalil Kilpatrick. For their 36-year-old dad, they're rekindling memories of the 1984 World Series champion Tigers of Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish and Jack Morris.
ADVERTISEMENT
"When I was a kid, the Tigers were good with guys like Tram, Gibby, Lance and Jack Morris," Kilpatrick said. "Now, my twin, 10-year-old boys know the Tigers as a good team for the first time.
"Before, they didn't want to go to games because they'd say, `We're just going to see them lose.' Now, they've totally flipped and they think the Tigers are the greatest and they always want to go to Comerica Park. These Tigers have made a new generation of fans of their team and the sport of baseball."
Indeed, winning baseball in Detroit is a novelty, not only to the mayor's grade schoolers but also to those in their teens, 20s and early 30s. Between 2006 and their last playoff appearance in 1987, the toothless Tigers had only three winning seasons, and none since 1993.
"I remember '84, but I was awfully young," said John Wray, 37, who supervises a General Motors Corp. account for a Troy marketing firm. "And now this year I've easily watched more Tiger games this year than I've seen in the last five years combined. Same with my dad, too. He'd gotten away from it so much. Now we watch together."
During the lean years, fans of all ages stayed away from Comerica Park. The Tigers ranked no higher than 21st among the 30 major league teams in attendance until this year, when they soared to 13th.
Frank Sumbera, baseball and football coach at Grosse Pointe North High School, said kids' interest in the Tigers never quite went away in recent years.
"They were still interested in the Tigers, but they were not as caught up in the heat of the battle as they are right now."
Now, Sumbera said, girls sport Tiger decals on their cheeks and football players wear "Super Z" T-shirts under their pads in homage to fireballing reliever Joel Zumaya.
Sumbera, who coached the Norsemen to the 2006 Division 1 baseball championship, remembers when his players offered him their parents' unwanted Tigers tickets.
"But I'll tell you what -- nobody's given me a ticket in the last three months," Sumbera said. "There are no freebies around here now."
According to an Associated Press-AOL Sports poll of 2,002 adults released last week, more Americans 35 years and older opposed to those under 35 considered themselves baseball fans. About two-thirds of Americans did not regard themselves as fans.
The Tigers' success in 2006 may have grabbed the attention of children and young adults, but it's unclear how long that will last, said Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston.
"It does take more to get them engaged, and I think the winning does that," he said. "The Tigers have had so few winning seasons. People are really trying to enjoy this to the max, and once you've done that you want to sustain it.
"There's many more distractions and options for young people (and) young families to choose from beyond baseball," Roby added. Sports like soccer, lacrosse and extreme sports "take kids away from what might have been traditionally the baseball season. You've got all the other options -- the Internet, video games, things all sports have to contend with, but baseball more so. It's seen a slow decline over the years, an erosion, if you will, of the younger generation."
However, MLB games this season drew more than 75 million people for the first time. The Tigers ranked fifth in the American League in attendance with almost 2.6 million fans, the second-highest total in franchise history after the championship season of 1984.
For years, the Tigers sold mostly the sizzle at Comerica Park. There was a carousel, Ferris wheel and animated racing bagels and doughnuts. Kids ran the bases after games. Now the 2006 AL champions have furnished the steak for hungry fans of all ages.
"All the doughnut races in the world aren't going to match the intensity of people watching the game," said Wray, the marketing professional. "We are such a great sports town."
AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.
By JIM IRWIN, Associated Press Writer
October 27, 2006
DETROIT (AP) -- For Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, getting his twin sons interested in the Detroit Tigers once tested his powers of persuasion. Not anymore.
The 2006 Tigers of Kenny Rogers, Carlos Guillen, Ivan Rodriguez and Craig Monroe are making memories for young Jelani and Jalil Kilpatrick. For their 36-year-old dad, they're rekindling memories of the 1984 World Series champion Tigers of Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish and Jack Morris.
ADVERTISEMENT
"When I was a kid, the Tigers were good with guys like Tram, Gibby, Lance and Jack Morris," Kilpatrick said. "Now, my twin, 10-year-old boys know the Tigers as a good team for the first time.
"Before, they didn't want to go to games because they'd say, `We're just going to see them lose.' Now, they've totally flipped and they think the Tigers are the greatest and they always want to go to Comerica Park. These Tigers have made a new generation of fans of their team and the sport of baseball."
Indeed, winning baseball in Detroit is a novelty, not only to the mayor's grade schoolers but also to those in their teens, 20s and early 30s. Between 2006 and their last playoff appearance in 1987, the toothless Tigers had only three winning seasons, and none since 1993.
"I remember '84, but I was awfully young," said John Wray, 37, who supervises a General Motors Corp. account for a Troy marketing firm. "And now this year I've easily watched more Tiger games this year than I've seen in the last five years combined. Same with my dad, too. He'd gotten away from it so much. Now we watch together."
During the lean years, fans of all ages stayed away from Comerica Park. The Tigers ranked no higher than 21st among the 30 major league teams in attendance until this year, when they soared to 13th.
Frank Sumbera, baseball and football coach at Grosse Pointe North High School, said kids' interest in the Tigers never quite went away in recent years.
"They were still interested in the Tigers, but they were not as caught up in the heat of the battle as they are right now."
Now, Sumbera said, girls sport Tiger decals on their cheeks and football players wear "Super Z" T-shirts under their pads in homage to fireballing reliever Joel Zumaya.
Sumbera, who coached the Norsemen to the 2006 Division 1 baseball championship, remembers when his players offered him their parents' unwanted Tigers tickets.
"But I'll tell you what -- nobody's given me a ticket in the last three months," Sumbera said. "There are no freebies around here now."
According to an Associated Press-AOL Sports poll of 2,002 adults released last week, more Americans 35 years and older opposed to those under 35 considered themselves baseball fans. About two-thirds of Americans did not regard themselves as fans.
The Tigers' success in 2006 may have grabbed the attention of children and young adults, but it's unclear how long that will last, said Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston.
"It does take more to get them engaged, and I think the winning does that," he said. "The Tigers have had so few winning seasons. People are really trying to enjoy this to the max, and once you've done that you want to sustain it.
"There's many more distractions and options for young people (and) young families to choose from beyond baseball," Roby added. Sports like soccer, lacrosse and extreme sports "take kids away from what might have been traditionally the baseball season. You've got all the other options -- the Internet, video games, things all sports have to contend with, but baseball more so. It's seen a slow decline over the years, an erosion, if you will, of the younger generation."
However, MLB games this season drew more than 75 million people for the first time. The Tigers ranked fifth in the American League in attendance with almost 2.6 million fans, the second-highest total in franchise history after the championship season of 1984.
For years, the Tigers sold mostly the sizzle at Comerica Park. There was a carousel, Ferris wheel and animated racing bagels and doughnuts. Kids ran the bases after games. Now the 2006 AL champions have furnished the steak for hungry fans of all ages.
"All the doughnut races in the world aren't going to match the intensity of people watching the game," said Wray, the marketing professional. "We are such a great sports town."
AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.