Identity

Again, I know my blog posts have been few and far between this season. I have no real good reason for this, to be honest. I've been working a lot, and most days I don't necessarily have the creative spark needed to type up a post of any sort. But I have noticed a trend these past few days, and that's the shared identity between Detroit and its sports teams.

As I watched the Tigers today thank the fans by literally giving selected ones the shirts off of their backs, I looked out over to left field, at the Monument Wall. Motion statues depicting Tigers legends make their homes out there, with the names and numbers plastered on the wall underneath. My gaze stopped on Willie Horton and Al Kaline, two surviving Tigers greats who are still involved with the organization to this day, and I thought about what they mean to the franchise and the city of Detroit. Honestly, these two men are part of the reason that I've always been proud to say that I'm from the City of Detroit (not the suburbs, born INSIDE the City limits), and they're part of the reason that I've fought to return to Detroit, and part of the reason that I grew up feeling alone in Atlanta.

In 1968, Kaline and Horton, along with Mickey Lolich and Denny McLain, led the Tigers to a World Series championship. But just a year prior, in mid July of 1967, Willie Horton finished a game, drove a few miles to the site of the Detroit riots and stood on his car, in his Tigers uniform, and pleaded with residents to stop the mobscene. These riots did horrendous things to racial tensions in the city, and caused a lot of people to turn their back on Detroit permanently. My own grandfather was a worker for Ford Motor Company, and to this day, hates when I talk about Detroit. It doesn't matter that I've gotten so many more chances to be something in life when I've lived here, all he sees in his mind are the black people that ruined things for everyone. It's very sad, and it's something I know I'll never be able to get him to forget and forgive. Maybe it's part of the reason he still has a hard time being around me, I don't know.

The 1967 riots were horrible, yes. But the 1968 championship served to help bond Detroiters once again. For a short time, there were no black and white people, there were only Tigers fans cheering their team on to the title. It was their assumed identity.

I see that the city is hurting. The former mayor is in jail for embezzlement and other charges, there are deserted buildings in downtown that look like they could fall at any moment, and the emergency manager is struggling to find the money to turn street lights back on and properly fund fire departments throughout the city. But there's hope. Because of the sports teams, portions of the city are being revitalized. A new hockey arena is about to be built just a few blocks away from where Comerica Park and Ford Field currently reside. Businesses are springing up in the city, Fortune 500 CEOs are relocating offices downtown. And it's the Tigers, Red Wings, and Lions who are helping to rebuild the city and its image.

I look at Cleveland, which is supposedly more vibrant, more liveable than Detroit. And then I see that for their baseball team, the Indians, who are chasing a wild-card spot in the playoffs, they can barely managed to draw 12,500 people some nights? I really start to wonder if this is just more Detroit-bashing in the media, and I can't help but be offended. Maybe it's because I see 37,000 - 42,000 on a nightly basis walking through our turnstiles... or maybe it's because I'm from Detroit and those claims are an attack on me, on my identity.

Something Special

There's a lot of talk going on in the media regarding Miguel Cabrera recently. The man is just... on fire. He's nearly eclipsed his Triple-Crown winning numbers from last year, and there's still over a month left in the season. What makes him even more remarkable is that he's been continuing to produce big hits and clutch RBIs while battling injuries. He's raising the bar for athletes throughout the sport, and I have to say it's been an honor to work for the Tigers while Cabrera has decided to write his own chapter in baseball history.

On Friday night, Cabrera decided that he really didn't want to play extra innings, so he ended the game in the bottom of the 9th inning. I was working that night, and heading on my way from my spot along the Tigers' dugout to the left field grandstands in order to get into position to clear out Tigers fans once the game was concluded, regardless of the actual victors. I had been talking with another usher, and shaking my head at the seemingly simple conclusion everyone but me had seemed to already arrive towards: Cabrera was going to win the game and we would be heading home at a decent hour. We were making our way around the lower bowl walkway when Cabrera muscled-up a 3-1 pitch the opposite way and put it into the right field camera well. All I could do was smile, shake my head and clap as the stadium around me erupted in celebration.

Saturday night was another absolutely memorable moment for Cabrera. Knowing that his team needed the early boost in offense, Cabrera stepped up to the plate and stared down Bruce Chen of the Kansas City Royals, waited on the first pitch, and effortlessly smacked a high and outside 85 mph "fast"ball to left field for a two run shot. 2 pitches, 2 nights, 2 home runs. Again, all I could do was smile, clap, and shake my head in disbelief. As Mario Impemba of the Fox Sports Detroit baseball broadcasting team said; "Apparently this is a video game. It's just that easy."

Maybe for him, it -is- that easy. Maybe he's holding back on us. Maybe he's found the cheat codes that don't involve PED's.  But this is his world right now. I'm just an usher at his ball park.

Inevitability

Tonight was a good night for the Tigers. The offense churned out 10 runs against a reeling Phillies pitching staff and Max Scherzer, Al Alburquerque and Evan Reed held their hitting to 2 hits and no runs at all. But that's not really what kept running through my mind tonight.

The city of Detroit lost two iconic citizens last night. "Eat 'Em Up Tigers" James and "Dreadlock Mike", two famous buskers, were killed in a hit and run incident on the east side of the city around 3 AM on the morning of July 27th. Both men were fixtures around events in downtown Detroit, and you couldn't help but feel bad for them. Mike got around in a wheelchair because he had no feet. He was always emaciated, frail, and you knew that he was actually in need of every cent he was given. James was a bright spirit, always chanting outside Comerica, his enthusiasm for the team evident in every syllable he spoke. He never had a bad word for anyone, and was always quick to bless you and your family as you walked past, whether or not you had a dollar to spare for him. Both men were gracious, even as their hard-luck forced them to panhandle, you'd never think that they were anything but thankful for the time they spent with us.

Now, thanks to someone who took the role of God into their own hands, they're gone before their time.

It's inevitable, I guess. Death. We live to die. But I think this is hitting hard for me right now, because of what I'm going through in my personal life. My grandmother is succumbing to Alzheimer's disease, and it's hard to fathom that such a beautiful soul will soon be gone. You always think you have more time...

But you don't. It's inevitable. And it's something we all have to deal with eventually. Time for me to step up to the plate, I guess.

*if you would like to help donate to James and Mike's funeral costs, purchase an "Eat 'Em Up Forever" t-shirt from www.downwithdetroit.com*

All-Star Break

The Detroit Tigers rode a strong Justin Verlander performance and some power displays by Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta to a 5-0 win today, finishing the first half of their season at a win-loss record of 52-42, still in first place in the AL Central.

There's not much I can say about these guys but I'll try. There's an ASTOUNDING level of talent present in Detroit these days. With Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson and Omar Infante playing well, Victor Martinez heating up finally, and Torii Hunter showing glimpses of the player he'd been for the past decade with Minnesota and Anaheim, the team that hits the field every day is definitely one of the most talented lineups in all of Major League Baseball, possibly one of the best lineups on paper of the past several decades. Cabrera is the first modern batting Triple Crown winner, which is an amazing feat in this day and age. And as far as the starting pitching goes, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are basically Ace-A and Ace-B while leading the pitching staff to some of the best starting pitching numbers in all of MLB. Yes, there's a few problems with the team, mainly the ineffective bullpen and lack of depth in the outfield, as well as the drastically-underperforming Alex Avila at catcher, but this team is built to win and go deep into the playoffs. I believe in them.

As far as work goes... I've seen some wonderful things lately. I see something new, something heart-warming every time I go to the ballpark. I look at kids hanging out with their parents, riding the ferris wheel or the carousel, eating cotton candy with a big smile on their face, or getting autographs from the players before the game, and I remember that this truly is a game. It's entertainment. It's supposed to relieve us of our burdens for a few hours at a time, make us happy. Kids seem to get that more than adults, who sometimes use the goings-on on the field to exacerbate their own problems in life. Alcohol also plays a factor.

Personally, I've been having issues with my own life. Fatigue has set in from working two jobs. Stress is everywhere, with a car that's been needing its fair share of repairs lately, and a family that seems to be falling apart. My grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer's and might not have much longer to live. It's sometimes hard to gather myself together to work day in, day out. But then I remember that when I get to the ballpark, I'm surrounded by Tigers fans, and I'm getting paid to be a part of the Tigers. That helps make me happy, regardless of the outcome on the field.

I Feel Awful...

Today was a good day for the Tigers. Today was a bit of a letdown for me, however, as I came to the realization that I'd neglected this blog for too long. I did have (do have?) several good reasons for the neglect, however. I've been working two jobs. One is at Comerica Park, naturally, and the other is as a delivery driver for Jimmy John's. Between working both jobs on a near-daily basis, and dealing with a nasty tension headache/loss of vision/pinched nerve in my back causing me a lot of constant pain and forcing me to curtail my hours worked and leaving me on my back for a lot of time, I've been dealing with a lot.

I was finally able to work a full game today. The Tigers hosted Photo Day, which allowed fans to gather on the playing field and take pictures with a good number of players. I think the only players that didn't show were Alex Avila, Jose Valverde and Austin Jackson, and each had their reasons for staying out of the spotlight. But before the fans got a chance to hassle the Tigers, I had my shot. As I walked down to field level to start checking out the seats and manning the gate that would allow (or disallow) fans access to the hallowed grounds, I got a wild hair up my rear and started chatting up the pitchers as they were finishing their pre-game workouts. Max Scherzer was my first victim; as he finished his long-toss and walked over to the dugout, I took the opportunity to talk with him about hopefully seeing him out in public for a charity appearance. He seemed really cool about it and actually talked with me like a regular person rather than dismissing me like they would a typical fan. Next was Rick Porcello, fresh off of his quality start on Saturday and a stint of wind sprints today. I congratulated him on his performance the day prior and he had a surprised smirk on his face before answering. I guess people don't talk to him as much. Finally, I shot an innocent Taco Bell-based question to Justin Verlander. He grinned and said something about a Gordita Crunch. Figuring my luck was running out, I went back to work much as they did.

The game was a blast to watch. It's pretty rare for the Tigers to have a rookie come out and pitch a quality start on their first time out, but that's exactly what we got today thanks to Jose Alvarez. Unfortunately, we had to deal with Ryan Raburn hitting a home run again and ruining the kid's no-hitter. Thankfully, Don Kelly had a rare burst of power and put the Tigers up 4-1 for good. The brooms were out, the kids got to run the bases post-game, and everyone but the Indians left happy.

I'll get back to updating this blog more often after I complete my move at the end of the month. It's gonna be a trying time around here until then.

Rainy Days

Tonight, the Tigers were originally scheduled to take on the Kansas City Royals. Mother Nature had her say, however.

Rain delays are more of an annoyance for us ushers than people think. We're expected to just stand out in the rain, helping people get up to the concourse to stay dry. People also think that we are the source of all weather-based info that comes into the stadium, when in fact, we know just as much as they do IF we have a smartphone or a fellow usher nearby can get an update on the weather from theirs. We're honestly trained to tell people to watch the scoreboard because those guys tend to get all the info needed to delay or reschedule the game before anyone else.

I was downstairs taking my break when the decision to reschedule the game was delivered. At that point, I just went back to my post and chatted with my supervisor for a bit, and then headed back to my car. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Now, the tricky part is that it's expected to rain throughout the next couple days. We might have some more rain outs. Oh well.

The End Is The Beginning...

Well, today was the end of the series with the New York Yankees, and I'd be lying if I said I expected a sweep to happen. And it didn't. The Yanks ace C.C. Sabathia outdueled Justin Verlander and the Yankees finally got some offense going, and the Tigers had to make do with a 2-1 series win after losing this game 7-0.

Personally, I had a pretty good day. I was placed in charge of helping to train a new hire, a guy in his 50's who had some friends already working at Comerica. We had a good day, got some attaboys from our supervisors, and enjoyed a nice day in the sun while grown men played a child's game for millions of dollars in front of us.

I had a lot of time to sit and think while the game played out, and I chose to simply take it all in. I get paid to watch baseball. That's an amazing thing to ponder. I mean, I don't -just- watch the game. I take my duties seriously and I try to do my best every day. I take care of the people who sit in my section, I chat with fans, and I make recommendations and provide answers to their questions. Speaking of fans, I met two today who were in the ballpark from Edinburgh, Scotland. I told him that while we might not have any Irn Bru, we do have some good craft brews, and he got a kick out of the word play. He told me that even though the Tigers lost, that he was a big fan and that he and his wife would follow the Tigers for life, and he couldn't wait to come back to Detroit and watch them play again.

Also, I met two little guys who were in the section behind me. Both of them were carrying Nintendo 3DS game systems. I noticed this, and walked up to them and asked them what games they were playing. Both looked a little shy until I showed them my 3DS, and then the biggest grin came over their faces. Suddenly I was their new favorite person. I told them that if they had Streetpass, then a little Mii would appear on their system with my name (Colin) and he'd say to them Go Tigers! and they couldn't stop talking about that when he/I showed up. Their parents thanked me for making their kids' day truly memorable for all the right reasons. That definitely put a smile on my face. I love making people feel happy and special while they're visiting Comerica, 'cause that's how I feel every day I get to work there.

So if anyone reading my blog wants to come visit me in Detroit, I'll go out of my way to try and make sure your day is just as great as theirs was.

Opening Day

Have you ever heard of the saying "Ain't no party like a Detroit party 'cause the Detroit party don't stop?" Well, for the majority of Detroiters, Opening Day is THE Detroit Party. I was up at 7 AM this morning with my girlfriend, who went tailgating with her friends downtown. The game started at 1 PM, but parties started around 7-8 AM. For this special day, the majority of us event staff were required to show up at 9:30 AM, and so I arrived at my normal parking spot around 9 AM. I park in what's called the Michigan Building, which is an amazing building that's withstood the tests of time, much like Detroit itself. It started life as the home of the Ford Motor Company, and was turned into a theater after Ford moved to River Rouge, and now is an office building with the strangest parking garage. The ceilings still have the elaborate decorations that were commonplace in the 30's-40's, but they're decayed, like a lot of other things in Detroit. It definitely gives off that urban explor-porn vibe, and it's my favorite place to park downtown. I also like the exclusivity; only ushers and office workers in that building can park there, so I know I'll always have a spot.

I then take a 10-15 minute walk from my car to Comerica Park, which winds through Grand Circus Park, passes the Fox and Fillmore Theaters, and side-skirts Cheli's Chili Bar (not necessarily in that order) before entering the stadium. While I walked today, I took it all in, because last year I was too nervous to really enjoy the moment. Blocks that normally are deserted were vibrant, full of life and sound and feeling. People were strolling through the streets, the waves of navy blue and white and orange ebbing and flowing to the thumping bass from the nearby stages. That's right, we had techno concerts and polka performances and hip hop and rock concerts for our opening day. It was truly impressive to see so many people get so excited about something I'm a part of, if not really that big of a part.

I made my way through the sea of tailgaters to the stadium, gathering the occasional look and hearing people exclaim "Wow, he works for the Tigers... that's cool." I don't hide the fact that I work where I work, I take pride in it, and it's the exact same pride that everyone else has. It's the same pride that makes us all sad when the Tigers fail, and the same pride that gets us all on our feet when Prince Fielder hits a no-doubt, uppercut moon shot that falls halfway up the bleachers in right field. It's unlike anything else I've ever felt.

Once I made it downstairs, I was greeted by a nice long line to clock in, which I felt was ridiculous. Thankfully people remembered that there are now 3 time clocks downstairs instead of just the old one, and the line started to move quickly. I clocked in, and headed a few steps away to the men's locker room, stashed my headphones and keys, and headed back upstairs to my meeting place. I found out today that the head supervisor of the lower bowl seating area specifically asked for me to be assigned to his area throughout the year, which was a surprise. Most ushers have to fight to be assigned to an area or a section, and you normally have to have at least 10 years of seniority, so for me to already have supervisors requesting me for their areas does make me feel good about the work I do on a daily basis.

We met up and found out which sections we'd be handling throughout the day, and I was assigned 136-137, which is a thru-aisle that runs right next to the Tigers dugout. It's a high-profile area with a lot of foul balls hit there, and sure enough, right from the get-go, the first and second foul balls came right at my area, which requires us to hustle down to the area where the ball entered the crowd, check for any injuries, and report them or report an all-okay to the supervisors and paramedics that are constantly moving around to assist guests. Thankfully, no one was injured. One guy did have the ball bounce off his head, but he said he was fine. I would've said the same if I were in his place... no one would want to miss Opening Day.

Through the innings, I'm required to go down to field level and survey the crowd, checking for anyone who might be causing trouble or maybe has had too much to drink. On a day like today, that's easily possible. Detroiters LOVE to pre-game and can easily be tanked by the time they enter the stadium. Part of my job is to make sure that they don't over-indulge and can get home safely, so we do these checks to get ahead of the game and spot problems before they happen. We also go down to the bottom to prevent people from getting onto the field and going after the athletes. So far, we've been 99% successful in that regard, the one recent mess-up being a guy who got on the field and went after one of the Yankees last year. We put him in Comerica Jail until the cops put him in Detroit Jail, which isn't nearly as nice. So we're pretty good at what we do.

I was able to do a lot more talking with the fans, and on the whole, they feel great about the Tigers, they love Comerica, they love us as workers, and they were delighted to see the power hitting on display today. Everyone left the stadium with a smile on their face. Well, except housekeeping... those poor guys have a lot of cleaning to do before tomorrow.

Part Deux

Tonight was the second part of the job training for the Tigers. Not much to say, to be honest... a lot of the slides were repeats of part one of job training, but we did get our annual security briefing, given to us by our wonderfully paranoid security director, who I think is awesome. "Hank" even added in some extra slides about how to escape an active shooter in the ball park, which is something that most civilians wouldn't consider but something that people with military/police first responder training would go over repeatedly in their heads until they've planned for all eventualities. Hank is definitely one of the latter, and I was tempted to yell out "WHO TRAINED YOU?!" in the middle of the presentation. Seriously, it was like reading a Tom Clancy novel, with how detailed the response plans were. I was definitely in awe.

In other news, our union contract was ratified with a vast majority of people voting yes. I spoke with one of our union representatives tonight before the training and he passed on the info to me. I was seriously afraid of what our job would look like if we'd had to go through the season on a bare minimum contract with no perks whatsoever. Having a union to back us is definitely important, especially here in Michigan which is now a Right-To-Work state. In other states with the Right-To-Work laws enacted, employers can hire cheaper labor, there are less restrictions on who can work, and there are no defenses for a worker who loses his job for any reason. It's a scary way to operate. Kinda like driving without insurance on your car. You just know that at any moment, it could all fall apart with a vengeance.

I have to return to the "great" city of Detroit on Thursday to pick up my uniform for the season. I believe we'll also find out what hats we get to wear for the season, since they've decided not to let us wear the same ones we did last year. For informational purposes, the hats we wore were generally the Tigers' standard navy blue with a white olde english D. I wore the batting practice hat, navy blue with two thin white stripes from the center-top of the hat, down the sides of the front fascia and along the sides of the bill, with the white olde english D. Apparently, that isn't allowed this year. Ah well, I'll have another hat on which to pin my collector's pins. Sparky's 11 will see a full season of action no matter the cost!

New Beginnings

Well, here is the start. I don't know how long I'll go with this, but the first step is the most important one, or some other inspirational bull-crap. I dunno, fill in something here.

Yesterday was the first part for me of a two-part job training session. The ball club calls this module "Job-Specific Training" and my boss "Jessica" (I'm not using real names as per the Social Media Policy of the club) was there to go over a powerpoint presentation with us peons and answer any questions we might have. The small group met in the bowels of Comerica Park, in the Auxilliary Clubhouse which we affectionately refer to as the "Dollar Store". I'd say specifically why we call it that, but I'm not sure that divulging such information is allowed, as it might give other clubs a competitive advantage...? I don't know for sure but I don't want to risk the wrath of the higher-ups just in case they find my little slice of the Internet, because I can say after working a full season, that it's honestly one of my favorite jobs I've ever held. Anyways, I'll move on.

The powerpoint contained general information about being an usher at Comerica, what the bosses expect from us as far as how to associate with guests to the park, how to handle incidents, how to dress and when/where to go in different situations. The presentation was definitely geared towards new hires, but was actually a good refresher for those of us returning for another season. It also allowed us to air our grievances with some of the proposed rule changes, none of which are really back-breaking. Some rules are a definite change, though, and I can see a lot of ushers leaving because of them. If that happens, I do know of a few people that might want an awesome job working for the defending American League Champions.

Also yesterday, my union held a vote on the final contract offer given to us by the ball club. I heard from my union representative that originally, the club wanted to come down on us hard due to a couple of bad apples doing bad things during last season. We weren't offered any bonuses or raises initially. Thankfully, our negotiator was able to save us from being completely wrecked and it looks like we got a decent deal out of the talks, which is what I'd hope for from a union negotiator. I do hope that the majority votes for the acceptance of the proposal, because I don't think I'd like to see the bare minimum levied against us.

As for the second part of the job training, called "General Session Training", that will be held for me on Monday, the 25th of March at my favorite restaurant in Detroit, the Hockeytown Cafe which is across the street from Comerica Park. There's a theater attached to the cafe where the presentation will be held, and once I sit through it, I'll be cleared to work this season.

Let me end this initial post with some enthusiasm, and try and set the stage for anyone that might be reading. I was born in Detroit in 1984, the last time the club won the World Series. I suffered for years by living in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area and being forced to watch the Atlanta Braves day in, day out on TBS. Once I moved back to Michigan and got the job with the Tigers, I was ecstatic. I love the game of baseball. I played throughout my childhood and at one point, was being pre-scouted by a couple of MLB teams before personal issues dragged me away. I feel thankful that life has given me another shot to be involved in this noble sport, even if it isn't by playing it on a professional level. I get to say that I work for a wonderful team, a team with its own rich, unique history, a team that's been a part of MLB since the beginning. This team has won it all 4 times, and seems poised to make another run at championship number 5 this season. This team has produced legends like Ty Cobb and Mickey Cochrane and Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg. This team witnesses greatness step onto the field these days, in the forms of Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson and Max Scherzer and Doug Fister. Verlander won both the Cy Young and MVP in 2011 and the Rookie of the Year in 2006. Cabrera was the first man to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. All I'm saying is that this team has an amazing amount of talent put together under the Olde English D. And I'm proud to walk through the employee entrance, step out onto the concourse and see the luscious expanse of green grass before me, look around and take in the Detroit skyline in right-center field, the gigantic scoreboard in left-center that reminds everyone that the Tigers won the ALCS last year, the twin tigers on top that have glowing green eyes during "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. I see the millions of people that wear the navy blue and white and orange in support of the team. I see that it is an absolutely gorgeous place to be and I smile, 'cause I get paid to be here and I wouldn't have it any other way.