After 19 years of silence, fans roar with playoff pride

Francis X. Donnelly and George Hunter / The Detroit News

They cheered the national anthem. They cheered player introductions. They cheered balls and strikes.

These weren't mere whoops of joy.

These were guttural sounds borne from two decades of silence.

It was as if Tiger fans had waited 19 years to celebrate their team.

The Tigers then proceeded to give their faithful plenty to be happy about Friday, easily shutting down the Yankees 6-0 to take a two-games-to-one lead in their best-of-five series.

"This is great," Ameer Gaston of River Rouge said as Yankee Hideki Matsui struck out to end the game.

"We're not afraid of the evil Yankee Empire," added his older brother, Shannon.

Detroit area residents had waited a long time for October baseball to return to their fair metropolis.

It was 19 years since the Tigers were last in the postseason, 13 years since they had a winning record, and just three years since fielding one of the worst teams in baseball history.

After such a long absence, Tiger fans could be forgiven if they had forgotten that baseball is a lot cooler in the fall than the summer.

Friday night's cool climes were similar to the weather during the beginning of Tiger seasons. While Opening Day is about hope, however, the playoffs are about redemption.

And fans were positively spiritual when the Tigers did well Friday, jumping to their feet, waving blue Tiger towels, and high-fiving and fist-punching strangers all around them.

Some were so happy they just kept jumping up and down like small children, shaking the stadium.

Julie Clapp of Linden is seven months pregnant, but that wasn't about to keep her out of Comerica Park for a playoff game.

"If he comes early, I guess we'll just have to go," she said about the pending birth of her son.

Clapp said she already has the baby's room all painted, in Tiger colors.

Fans showed up early for Friday's game, reveling in their team's successful year.

Some took half-days from work and school.

Some took no-days.

One of the first people to arrive was David Witt, 32, of Oxford, who arrived with his 10-year-old son at 1 p.m., seven hours before the game started.

"This is the first time they've been in the playoffs for years," said Witt, who manages his father's classic car dealership.

"I wouldn't have missed this for anything."

Several hours before game time, fans outside the stadium were already booing the Yankees, at least passersby with the misfortune of wearing the team's colors.

Nearby, several hundred people waited in line in the slight hope that a ticket to the sold-out game would become available.

In far-flung parking lots around downtown, fans tailgated and talked about their Tiger bona-fides. They proved their allegiance by recalling starting lineups from their childhoods.

Fathers and sons -- a lot of fathers and sons -- posed for photos inside and out of the stadium.

Some fans came without tickets, just wanting to soak up the atmosphere.

The ticket-less staked out spots along a fence beyond centerfield, where part of their view was blocked by the stands.

You can reach Francis X. Donnelly at (313) 223-4186 or fdonnelly@detnews.com.