The Sports Effect - 2024 Detroit Tigers

Having a successful sports team in your city impacts you so much more than you realize. Economic impact, media value, and unforgettable moments for fans… the sports-effect is truly remarkable.

Cheers to the year I fell in love with the game of baseball: 2024.

As someone who works in sports I thought I truly understood that impact - way more than the average person. I was fortunate to experience two NBA finals runs living in Cleveland during my time with the Cavs. I saw the packed restaurants downtown, fans high-fiving strangers in the streets, and the excited Ohioans of all generations pour into the venue with pure joy on their faces.

This was the first time in my professional career that I experienced home playoff games for a hometown team of mine.

I love my Detroit Tigers but I grew up a season ticket holder of the Detroit Lions. I sat through every single game with my Dad during the 0-16 season and you can bet I wear that as a badge of honor now that the team is seeing its well-overdue success. I was also raised by a family who was hockey-obsessed. My dad played beer league hockey until he basically needed double knee replacements, my mom played, grandpas played, great-grandpas played, and I grew up in an era where the Red Wings were larger than life.

I always rooted for the Tigers but I wasn’t ingrained in their history and I had not yet understood the depths of/had not yet fallen in love with the game of baseball. I can actually pin point the exact moment I fell in love with the game. September 27, 2024 was the day I stood in wonderment & knew that was it. I was hooked. Tigers vs. the world.

My husband IS a baseball guy so we watch every single Tigers game. 162 games. Yes, there is a 90% chance I have the Rally House theme song stuck in my head during the months of April-September.??I usually would multi-task while these games were on. August came around and I found myself on my phone less and more engaged with what was happening on my tv screen. This season changed everything about the way our fans have consumed baseball.?

I snagged tickets to the last Friday game of the season back in July. I love night games, they are comfortable temperature wise and I like seeing the city lights in the outfield.??I never could have imagined this game would come to be significant in not only my life but in the history of the Tigers.

About a week and a half out my husband and I were trying to tally up how many games we needed to win and who needed to lose and all these scenarios to see if we might see the Tigers clinch. We utilized our?MLB.TV?subscription to check in on other teams like the Twins.

When Friday night came around we were extremely lucky to have some of the best seats in the house (behind the plate just over the tunnel). The conclusion of this game was when I truly realized this team is special, this sport is special, and this city is the greatest sports town in America.?

The next week was a whirlwind. We went from miraculously slipping into the Wild Card round, to sweeping the Astros. This gritty city was set to have playoff baseball in Detroit once again.?

Moments like this get our attention, make new fans out of people who are now curious about the Tigers buzz, little kids start to experience the highs and lows of sports, and old fans are reengaged and find their passion again. It’s a beautiful thing knowing there are Tigers fans being “born” across the state right now. Fans that just bought their first jersey, will ask for Opening Day tickets for Christmas, and who will be avid watchers and radio listeners for decades to come. There is SO much value in that.?

In 2019 I worked in season ticket sales for the Tigers. I had many conversations with Tigers fans in which I always asked what their favorite memory was. If they were my parents age it was the Roar of ‘84.

If they were younger it was the Magglio Ordó?ez homer to send the team to the World Series. I had heard this story hundreds of times but I loved it. I could probably recite it and I wasn’t even there. I appreciated it and was fascinated by it but I did not get it.?

That is until Kerry Carpenter pulls off the most Disney-movie end of a ballgame you could write up. In the second round of the playoffs (at Cleveland) he hit a 3 run homer in the top of the ninth inning. There were 2 outs, two strikes, and he was up against arguably the best closer in the game.?His hit was enough to win the game and keep this playoff dream alive. What a full circle moment. I wondered if all of those fans I had spoken with years earlier were seeing the similarities as well. Kerry Carpenter just so happens to share the same number as Magglio Ordó?ez… #30. You can’t possibly write a better story than the 2024 Tigers.?

If this season isn’t the definition of grit I don’t know what is. This team has shown true passion and is an amazing representation of the city of Detroit. This is a city that is filled with hard working people who love their sports.?

Detroit earned October baseball. The energy was electric in Comerica Park, the weather was perfect, and the fans packed the place. Although we fell to the Guardians in game 5, I am beyond thankful for the extra home games and everlasting memories made.

I can’t imagine a more impactful place to invest in. This team was a topic of conversation on an international level. Skubal is a living legend and a marvel to watch. All eyes will be on us next season and I feel so fortunate to be a part of this Detroit Tigers community. Our partners, season ticket members, and fans are truly part of this team. Their success on the field is also yours. Congratulations to us all on a truly remarkable season!

I will now be one of those people that say: “how can you not be romantic about baseball?” People deserve a sense of community, something to look forward to, a place where they feel at home, a hobby to keep up with, a team's logo they love to wear, and an easy conversation starter when meeting new people. My midwestern dad would ALWAYS wear either a Michigan, Red Wings, Tigers, or Lions hat on vacation. Something so simple but all the other traveling-dads would notice and make small talk. I’m happy to know there will be many more Old English D’s worn around the world.?

I will always remember 2024 as the season where the Tigers got hot! Jason Benetti said it best:

"A city that doesn't care about the odds has a baseball team to match."

Let the countdown to opening day begin… but in the meantime #LGRW.?