Everyone always wants their team to improve, especially when it is clear how close that team is to competing for a title.
I was recently at a wedding filled with Detroit sports fanatics, and naturally, what better place for sports discourse than an open bar with running emotions? Whether the topic was the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, or Red Wings, there was a common theme. “I just want them to do SOMETHING”, one family member clamored, with the surrounding crowd unanimously agreeing. Not only is it rare to have four teams in one city capable of winning at the same time, but all of those teams being in a city all too familiar with failure and disappointment increases expectations, and impatience. It’s a fair request by my family, and a majority of Detroit fans these days, but one that has yet to be answered.
In Detroit, historically the city only sees one, maybe two teams able to contend at the same time. Sans the Detroit Red Wings from the 90s – 00s, a couple short eras of Detroit basketball, and some sporadic stretches for the Detroit Tigers decades ago, none of the individual team success was able to be sustained past a few seasons. Although this isn’t too uncommon in sports, there is still some expectation of continued success once it is initially found, especially in a market that Detroit finds itself.
However, in the 2020s, there has been a window of opportunity for all four major sports teams, which in and of itself is unprecedented. For the uninitiated, here is a crash course on the city of lovable losers recently turning their luck around and the consequential direction, across the board.
If older me went back in time and told younger me I would be writing an article discussing the great state of Detroit sports, and that it would all get started with the Detroit Lions, well, I wouldn’t trust that future self even if he presented the winning lottery numbers. Alas, the Detroit Lions were the first domino to fall into success.
The date is November 24, 2022. The Lions are 4-6 in Dan Campbell’s second season. Super Bowl favorites, the Buffalo Bills, are in town for the Thanksgiving game. The Bills were big favorites, yet surprisingly, the Lions were neck and neck all game. It was clear something in Detroit was changing. The Lions were now playing up to their opponent, rather than down to their opponent, which is something any Lions’ fan will tell you has plagued this franchise for generations. The Lions ultimately lost the game to last-second Josh Allen magic, but that was not a unique fate for teams who played Buffalo that year. “Moral victories” are something fans and players argue about, but this undoubtedly was one of those types of wins.
The Lions would go on to finish 9-6 despite starting 1-6 and finishing 3-13-1 the previous year. This marked the first time the Lions would finish with a winning record since 2017. The very next season saw the Lions win their first playoff game since 1991, the longest drought in NFL history. The team went from lovable losers to America’s new darling overnight.
Two seasons and a half away from a Super Bowl later, the roster that got them there has eroded. Three starting offensive linemen gone, their best corner since Darius Slay gone, and Brad Holmes filling holes with veterans on prove-it deals instead of the kind of swing other contenders are taking. While the Los Angeles Rams traded for All-Pro edge Myles Garrett and All-Pro corner Trent McDuffie and the Baltimore Ravens signed edge Trey Hendrickson, the Lions’ big, lone impact move was corner D.J. Reed. The team that had a meteoric rise, on the brink of a Super Bowl, has quietly started playing it safe.
Ask any Detroit sports fan, and they will likely tell you the heart of the city would run through a successful Lions team. They would also likely say that feeling seemed real, and infectious. Following the evolution of Detroit football, it felt as if the other teams were going to ride that wave of change. Maybe not immediately, but eventually and soon.
At the same time as the Lions turnaround in 2022, the Tigers were dead last. They were in year two of the new Scott Harris and A.J. Hinch regime. For the next two years, the league would see the new Harris and Hinch method in full effect: super utility players, finding matchups on hitting splits, and winning in the margins all became the identity of this team. With the rise of Tarik Skubal, good pitching, and excellent situational baseball, the Tigers woke up.
In mid-August, the Tigers were 10 games out of a playoff spot. Cue an MLB best 31-13 record down the stretch, and the magical turnaround saw their first playoff berth since 2014, which was the longest such streak at the time. The Tigers even continued to shock baseball fans with a first round upset against the Houston Astros. The 2025 season the Tigers had a hot start and were the best team in baseball for most of the first half of the season. They once again made the playoffs and won their wildcard round, but were unable to get past division rivals Cleveland.
The Tigers were the best story of the 2024 baseball season, and were entangled in hope. In those two years since, there is enough data to claim that the Tigers’ offense has gotten worse, alongside a pitching staff that has also gotten worse. Despite this, the trade deadline could have gone either way for the Tigers as they hung around an even record halfway through the season, only a few games out of a wildcard spot. However, in a symbolically gutting late July loss to the Orioles in extra innings (after blowing a 7-0 lead in the 8th), the vibe shift was felt throughout the fandom, and the window felt shut.
Ultimately, it appears they are the first Detroit team to punt on their current window as they sent back to back Cy Young winning pitcher Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers and starter Casey Mize to the San Diego Padres. Two moves that only underscore how long the team sat on the fence before finally admitting the window had closed, or that they were not willing to buy to keep it immediately open.
The Red Wings have been in turmoil ever since their 90s-00s run ended. The former regime did everything they could to prolong that record 25-year playoff streak, and that came at the cost of having any sort of future when the wheels eventually stopped turning. The wheels stopped turning in 2016, and the Red Wings went 7 straight seasons with a losing record.
In 2019, the Red Wings hired franchise legend Steve Yzerman as general manager to turn things around. The “Yzerplan” had seen great success with his previous team the Tampa Bay Lightning. With how long it can take for NHL players to develop, and for a team to find success after so much turmoil, another full rebuild was expected. Fast forward several years and Yzerman had built a team that had suddenly re-earned playoff expectations. All signs did point to the Red Wings finally making a playoff push.
Although the last three seasons have resulted in the Red Wings finally finishing with a winning record, the team is still on the brink and has been unable to break their playoff woes. After the recent season and the blown playoff spot the Red Wings held, there are rumors about trading captain Dylan Larkin and soft resetting again. The front office continues to stay conservative during the season when they are within arm’s reach of a playoff spot. Yzerman was the one candidate the fanbase believed would be the opposite of complacent. The Yzerplan in Detroit is reaching a crossroads.
The Detroit Pistons were the most pitiful of the four teams in the early 2020s, seemingly setting some kind of losing record every season. In 2022, they lost 65 games, and in 2023 they set a new team record with 68 losses while giving coach Monty Williams $65 million just to stop coaching the team. The following season J.B. Bickerstaff was hired to turn things around, and immediately changed the culture and future outlook of the franchise.
The team saw an unlikely turnaround, and the Pistons earned the 6th seed and their first playoff appearance since 2019. With the new culture and arrival of budding superstar Cade Cunningham, the Pistons became a huge threat. The following year and most recent season saw the momentum continue, as the Pistons finished with the 1 seed and their first playoff series win since 2008. The Pistons were one game away from a rematch with the Knicks, but it was clear Cade did not have enough help and the team’s limit was reached.
Of all four teams, the Pistons are the ones who can “most afford complacency”, and should be looked at as more of a guide than a warning. The Pistons necessary next steps are a lot clearer than the other Detroit teams. Batman needs a Robin, and one has yet to be found in the Motor City. With superstar Cade Cunningham, the best on-ball defender in the NBA Ausar Thompson, the resurrection of Detroit basketball identity, and great roster flexibility, the Pistons are poised to be great for a long time. Above all else, the Pistons are in the position where their main priority is to go out and get a running mate for their franchise player if they want to avoid a “LeBron leaving Cleveland” moment in a few years.
Now is the time for a pivot to focus towards Chris Ilitch, the owner of both the Tigers and Red Wings.
Chris Ilitch gained control as owner of the Tigers and Red Wings in 2017. Since then, the Tigers have 592 wins and 761 losses. That’s an average of 66 wins and 85 losses without counting the current season, but that actually helps him as of this writing (COVID-shortened season causes this to not be a 162 game average). The Red Wings have 256 wins and 291 losses in that span as well. That’s an average of 32 wins and 36 losses. He has earned a reputation amongst Detroit sports fans everywhere of being the kind of owner who is unwilling to spend or make major moves to improve.
Since his takeover, the Tigers payroll has averaged 19th in the league. The Red Wings payroll is currently the 6th lowest in the league and big spending has been mostly reserved for veterans on short term deals.
Whether it’s no money, or bad money, the Ilitch who was handed the team doesn’t seem to be great at handing out good deals. For one owner of two teams in the same city, he is essentially the major representation of Detroit sports ownership, at least optically.
The failures of the Tigers’ short window fall squarely on the complacency of Chris Ilitch and his hand-selected, “moneyball-esque” general manager Scott Harris, who had done nothing meaningful in two years to improve a young, exciting team. When logic cannot explain why someone is sitting on their hands at their job when a task needs to be completed, the only logical explanation remaining is indifference/complacency. Scott Harris has been notoriously labeled a bargain bin shopper. Chris Ilitch is not well-liked by the city of Detroit, especially because he isn’t his father Mike Ilitch, who originally bought the Red Wings and Tigers with the actual desire to win; a true Detroit city legend. The city as a whole does not perceive that same intention from his son.
This complacency is felt throughout the city, and it is one of the reasons the city has clung so hard to this version of the Lions. Sheila Ford Hamp, is widely considered the best owner the Lions have ever had. She took a lot of quick action, and outwardly exclaimed she is not a football expert, but she will find and hire the experts. Any sports fan will tell you, this is a breath of fresh air and a recipe for team success. They made big moves, actively worked to change the roster composition, and were intentionally building something that any astute fan would get giddy about.
Going back to the prior section on the Lions, that action has since simmered down, quite a lot. While other teams are adding All-Pro, Hall of Fame, even Pro-Bowl level players, the Lions are adding veterans at the end of their career, players with injury history on “prove-it” deals, and still relying mostly on the draft for improvement. Not only has the top of the league made more significant moves to get better, but the Lions own division has significantly improved; as well with the Bears’ lurking as the potential usurper for the future of the NFC North. Relying primarily on the draft, on the margins, on the matchups, etc, has moved the perception from that Lions team being a half away from a Super Bowl two seasons ago, to many fans wondering if the window is already closing (or already outright closed).
As previously noted, the Pistons can afford the most complacency, but it is still essential to mention owner Tom Gores. Someone who was viewed as a Chris Ilitch-type of owner, someone nobody trusted had winning intentions. This was an owner who was up to odd things, such as setting up dates for his players, all on the cusp of the worst stretch of basketball this city has ever seen.
However, for all of Gores’ shortcomings, there was more believability to his words. Even more importantly, he did what all owners should do. Put their money where their mouth is. When the Pistons paid Monty Williams $65 million to stop coaching after a complete disaster of a season, it was in fact the owner who absorbed the costs. Of course, this SHOULD be the expectation, but all sports fans know that is not the case and many owners will stand idly by as their team crashes and burns, all in the sake of saving money.
Additionally, the Pistons have actually made moves every year, increasing the impact and size of the transactions. Two years ago, it was the return of veteran Tobias Harris. This off-season it was about saving their assets while the rest of the Eastern Conference went all in, knowing they have time on their side. Despite that, the Pistons signed forward John Collins to a great three year contract with team options after the first and second year. This is by far the second best player Cade has played with in Detroit, and it is on an extremely-friendly team deal. The Pistons are being vigilant AND they will be able to more easily pounce at the next available disgruntled star.
Not even a magic wand could be waved to fix this kind of issue. A problem like this is systematic. Ilitch continues to strike out on choosing people to run both the Tigers and Red Wings, and continues to shell out bad money. Detroit fans might want an ownership change, but realistically someone is not going to sell two professional sports teams that were gifted to them.
Although this isn’t going to happen, that doesn’t mean a spade can’t be called a spade. The Lions have gotten stagnant during the peak of their franchise’s success. The Pistons are on the fringe of being accused of not doing enough and pushing their superstar away. Issues almost always come down from ownership in every business avenue, but especially in sports.
Complacency is a feeling; it’s indifference. Complacency stings more than failure, as complacency is a willingness, whereas failure is merely a result. There is a ton of disconnect in our world these days and sports are a unification point. Fans become frustrated because of the lack of care, the indifference shown, not necessarily because their team doesn’t trade for LeBron James every couple of seasons, or win a title every year.
The Detroit teams do not need to win a title all at the same time. The teams do not even necessarily have to win a title. These are not required to quantify a properly run team. The Detroit teams need to show the city they genuinely care about success and improvement. Not through trophies, but through effort. The owners and management need to understand what the teams mean to the city, to the fans. An owner sitting on their hands while riding on their private jet, as your favorite team’s division rival trades peanuts to improve, is outright insulting and infuriating.
The attitude of complacency or effort rings through a city. Winning players do not go to cities or teams that are not serious about improving or competing. Players want to come to a place where there is something unifying in the air, progress towards a common goal. Players don’t want to play for a team that doesn’t care, just like you wouldn’t want to work for a boss who never shows up physically or metaphorically, but they still consistently deliver bad news.
The fans, the city, the teams deserve the care that the fans and city put into these teams. That effort is what carries fandom, it is what carries hope in a city striving for a championship. As Rebecca Welton from Ted Lasso said, “Just because we own these teams, doesn’t mean they belong to us.“
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