Tiger Stadium

[Der Kinder]

It's only January, but I'm not looking forward to another season without Tiger Stadium.

My best memories ever are of my dad and I at Tiger Stadium and the thought of never being there again is really wearing on me.

I've got an 18 month old son now and the thought of him and I going to Comerica just doesn't excite me. I took him to Tiger Stadium this past summer to watch a girls baseball game, just so that I could get pictures of us together inside the park and to see it again.

I love the Tigers (and baseball) so much, but I'm afraid I won't be able to share that with my son the way that my dad did with me and his dad did with him. My son will be the first in my family not to see the Tigers at Tiger Stadium.

Carousels? Ferris wheels? Statues? And worst of all...a costumed mascot?!

My boy will never know the excitement of Tom Veryzer going to his left to boot a ground ball, Phil Mankowski popping up on the infield with the bases loaded, or Gene Lamont throwing out...nobody.

And worst of all, he won't know any of that at Tiger Stadium.

Then again, I never got to see the Wings at Olympia and I love the Red Wings almost as much as the Tigers.

My sons middle name is Yzerman. Maybe my grandsons middle name will be Inge or something along that line.

[Baseball Guru]

That is sad.....
While some of the new stadiums are very nice, I am of the old school mentality, that I don't need all the extras, like carousels ferris wheels, etc........I'm there to watch a baseball game and thats it.....I like the whole idea of old Tiger stadium thinking that you could walk in there and be in the same stadium as some of the greats...
Players like Cobb, Wingo, Gehringer, Heilmann, and more recent Trammel, Whitaker, etc have all graced Navin, AKA: Tiger Stadium and that now is lost......

[Trots]

Der, I miss the old place, too. I almost always pass it by on the way to Comerica Park. It's sad to see it so empty. However, don't get too upset. Yes, the Ferris Wheel and merry-go-round are worthless (I actually like the statues), but it's the time you spend with your son watching the Tigers that matters.

No, he won't remember the stellar moments you recall from The Corner, but he will remember an entirely different group of players screwing up at the new place. If the Tigers can actually win a World Series that your son can be aware of, it won't matter to him whether it's Tiger Stadium, Comerica Park or my backyard.

It's the sharing time together, watching your team (win or lose) year in and year out, that will form his memories. In another hundred years (hopefully, it will take that long) your great-grandchildren will lament the loss of the only ballpark they have ever known. They also be able to tell their friends about their family has gone to games since Tiger Stadium was around.