A Coming of Age Story of a Detroit Pistons Fan Part III

We went back inside and I reached into my wallet and pulled out my trusty phone card.  I dialed all the numbers it took to use a phone card and my home phone number.  This time when my mom picked up, I spoke to her with confidence.  I said, “Mom, I need you to listen.  They are not going to let us stay at the hotel and we really need some good advice.  Are you ready to help me now?”  Wow, I can tell you that I never spoke to my mom that way before.  She was calmer now too.  She suggested that I call my Aunt Dorothy who lived in Detroit.  That would have been helpful two hours ago, but I didn’t complain.  I took down her number.  My mom had already told her the situation.  I spoke with Aunt Dorothy and she came to pick us up and we arranged to get the car back to her house with us.

To say we were grateful is an understatement.  We were safe!  We had a good night’s sleep and she made us breakfast.  Like I said, we were almost adults.  There’s nothing like when family comes through and feeds you as well.  We managed to get the Horizon to the mechanic and got the car fixed.  Funny thing, they were willing to take my brother’s credit card information over the phone.  Oh well!  We all hugged Aunt Dorothy goodbye and thanked her for saving the day.  We jumped back into the car and got back to I-75 and headed north.  We were all starving.  Again, we were five teenage boys.  However, this time we were not going to make another stop in Detroit.  Maybe we could find some place a little further north.  We went to Little Caesar’s® and ordered two Pizza Pizzas®.  We were so hungry and to this day that was some of the best pizza I had ever eaten.  In another hour, we had reached our goal.  We were home safely in Bay City.

I turned 40 not to long ago and I remember that day like it was yesterday.  I’m sure the story has changed over the years and between the five of us, there were many versions.  I hope that I did the story justice, for it was certainly one of the great adventures of my life.  However, I really told you that story to tell you this story…

Four months later I moved to Minnesota to go to college and I have lived here ever since.  Until Facebook, I hadn’t spoken to any of those guys except for Joe.  Joe moved out to Minnesota for awhile with his family.  Still once again, we lost touch.

Me?  My life turned out nothing like I planned and has been so much more than I could ever have imagined.  But Todd and I were right, we were ready for whatever the future provided.  I have loved, laughed and had more friends and wonderful memories than really one man deserves.  Of course, their have been tough times with more tears than I thought I could cry.  I am happy to say that even when life knocked me down, I always got back off the mat and got back into the game.  When you come from an auto town like Detroit, Flint, Saginaw or Bay City, that’s how you learn to live your life.  I have scars on my face, my hands, on numerous other places on my body and in my heart.  The town that I grew up in and the city I love have their share of scars too.  I think that’s why Detroit fans are so passionate.  We all have our scars and we all get right back into the game.

You see when you are raised in a blue collar town, life is sometimes harder than you think you can bare,  Trust me when I tell you I know men and women who are so much more tough than I could ever be.  The thing is we don’t quit.  We never quit!  Even when they are at their worst, the Lions, Pistons, Red Wings and Tigers never quit.  How could they?  They’re from Detroit!  When I think back, some of my best memories I’ve had are with friends cheering on our hometown favorites.  Sports give us the opportunity to escape from the difficulties that life throws at us, even though it’s only for a little while.  Detroit fans are forever thankful for the athletes who give us that escape.  We expect nothing less than their best effort and we show our appreciation every time they give it to us, win or lose.

I’ve been in Minnesota for 22 years now and I still love Detroit sports.  I love my friends and family who helped shape me into the person I am today.  This story has allowed me to get back in touch with Todd.  From the looks of it, his life is nothing like he planned and more than he could have ever imagined.  I can’t wait to find out more!  Clarence, he owns his own business in Bay City.  Chris lives just outside of Bay City and is a technical genius.  Joe is not with us anymore. 

Joe recently passed away tragically while he and his wife were getting their children to safety from a severe storm.  Now we often talk about athletes as heroes.  They rise up to the challenge of the moment and deliver victory.  That’s why we love them.  That’s why we cheer.  Joe gave his life while making sure that his family was safe.  He rose to the challenge and he delivered.  That is heroic!  That makes me proud to say he was my friend.  I’m proud to have all four of those guys as friends and cherish the misadventure we took on that April night in 1989.  No matter how close we are to our friends as adults, we are never quite as close as we were with the friends we had as kids.  Back then, we lived in the moment.  That’s all we knew how to do.  For that one night, Todd, Clarence, Chris, Joe and I were as close as we could be!  That was our moment!!

In the end, family and friends will always take priority over the Detroit teams we love.  We’re raised that way.  We do what we have to do to get the job done.  It’s our legacy and as Detroit fans it’s who we are.  So why do we love our teams so much?  That’s simple!  It’s because for those few hours they allow us to live in the moment, just like we did when we were kids.  They allow us to relive the memories of friends like Todd Berner, Clarence Pearson, Chris Sharon and Joe Spegel as we cheered our team to victory and created our own moments when nothing was more important than right there, right then.  We know that we will have future moments with friends we have yet to meet.  Our teams from Detroit bring us together because of a common bond, but it’s the friendships we develop that enrich our lives.  That’s what it means to be a fan in Detroit, even if you now live in Minnesota or wherever else the adventure of life has taken you.  Live in the moment and live it with friends and family close by.  You are a fan of Detroit; give it your best every time.