More than a Team

If you ever heard the term “Detroit against EVERYONE” it was greater defined by this team here, but also lived deep in the spirit of every soul that live up and down I75 from Pontiac to Detroit! Let’s not leave Flint out (much luv coming from a kid that use to carry bottles for cash in Pontiac).

Yes, hard times were great times growing up and trying not to be a statistic on the streets that offered drugs and not too much of a promise in a future! The city of Detroit developed as an eyesore to the rest of the community of the United States with a decreasing economy and a hardship of the automotive industry pulling out, there was not much on the horizon.

However! This lonely basketball team that played pickup ball in a gym that was once called the Pontiac Silverdome, gave hope and symbol for a new tomorrow. Very much like the Michigan way, this team took pride in working things out and believing in longevity and putting things together, while working with less.

This has been the spirit of the people of Detroit and Pontiac as well! Being alright with not being so popular and learning how to stick together during tough times.

The staple which molded this team together was a not so popular time in the NBA which caused a great deal of pain for Isaiah Thomas when he agreed to a comment about Larry Bird that Dennis Rodman made. The media had a field day with the comment and I caused Zeke a great deal in his career in my opinion. Despite the negative spin, the Pistons embraced this event and molded together and became a stronger team to have later put together one of the greatest championship runs with a cast of uncommon characters. Doing the best, with the least. We lived that and it reflected in our team, and no matter the circumstances, we were going to get the job done!

We stuck together in tough times and looked out for each other! Friendships were solid and like some of these flaky and shady guys in the other puts of the country. If someone needed a ride, charging that person money was not in our character! There was a close knit with this team and they did not hang each other out to dry like some of these players do today!

I would never mess with a friend’s woman or wife! That was code for people of character. Not to say that things like that in Michigan never happened, but our way of life resembled togetherness and family. These Pistons were tough as nails and the bond they had was the greatest I have ever seen in sports history!

Yes, everyone hated them for their mentality to adapt to the way of the NBA. We got even and played on everyone’s level, but was ridiculed and shamed for it! That was the city’s grit! Mess with us, and we were gonna mess with you back! Just don’t cry about it afterwards, it was the stage you set, we just performed on it!

The economy gave Detroit a stage to perform. Yet this stage has taken many lives with drugs and crime being the primary factor. A dismal job market! Yet, Detroit is on the rise with a new tech industry! Making a way like that Piston team in the late 80s and early 90!

Hats off to the Palace Guards, Spider, Worm, Lambo, Rick Mahorn and the rest of the crew for sticking it out and showing the world not to mess with the people of Detroit!

Very much like anyone you meet from Detroit today! We are solid people and we do what it takes to get the job done, with the cards we were dealt in life! Bad Boyz!