Detroit - With the Pistons long departed from the NBA Playoffs and the Tigers playing well below .500, the focus of Detroit sports fans is centered on the Red Wings. The excitement of a run at another Stanley Cup has fans rockin‘ in Hockeytown - the bar that is.
For those who couldn’t attend Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena, the Hockeytown Cafe, 2301 Woodward Ave., was the next best thing.
“I don’t have the money for tickets to tonight’s game,” Clinton Township resident Mike Filliccia said Friday night. “Besides, I’m with more friends here. Anytime you go party with Red Wings fans, it’s a blast.”
The Game 7 hype had fans eager with anticipation, and the intensity at Hockeytown was evident well before the opening face-off.
Red Wings’ faithful were booing at the mere sight of an Avalanche player during the ESPN pregame show, while cheering wildly for any Red Wing.
Those unfamiliar with confines at the Joe would find it hard to differentiate between the atmosphere of the bar and the arena. The crowds were just as loud and full of energy, with only the public address announcer missing from the bar.
Royal Oak resident K.T. Sammons attended Game 5 at the Joe, but said Hockeytown was the next best thing for those would couldn’t pin down the elusive Game 7 ticket.
“It’s a close second,” Sammons said. “It’s cool to be at the game, but this is as close as you can get without being there.”
As the game drew closer the fans got louder. The outside decks cleared as Detroiters made their way to the nearest television and chants of “Let’s go Red Wings” wailed through the bar.
Just how loud the Wing’s faithful could get was answered quickly, as Detroit scored on its first shot on goal. And within the first four minutes of the game, the Wings possessed a commanding 2-0 lead.
Amidst an endless sea of Wings’ fans covered in red and white, a Colorado supporter could be found. Despite being a sell-proclaimed “Patrick Roy fan” not a spec of Avalanche paraphernalia could be found on Sterling Heights resident Jeff Grobaski.
Dressed in a gray Polo Sport T-shirt and bleached blue-jeans, Grobaski’s undercover approach was soon betrayed by his circle of friends after the game’s second goal.
But despite the deficit, Grobaski refused to give up hope.
“When Colorado ends up pulling this out, nothing beats me rubbing it in to thousands of fans,” he said. “And I don’t have to find them.”
Grobaski never got his chance to rub in an Avalanche victory, as the Red Wings advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals behind a dominating 7-0 performance. Instead, he became the target of chastising as friends and other Wings’ faithful started chants of “Patrick Roy sucks.”
Perhaps making the chants worse, Roy was pulled in the second period after yielding six Detroit goals.
Moving Roy to the bench seemed to symbolize defeat, and another Stanley Cup to Wings fans.
“I came all the way from Dallas, Texas,” Kathy Richards said. “I think we’re going to get the cup, baby.
“You know whoever wins this series is going to get the cup.”
The finals start Tuesday, and the Wings will be heavy favorites. But as the Eastern Conference representative, the Carolina Hurricanes can be expected to make Detroit fight for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
After the win, the mood of downtown Detroit was festive. Horns blared from passing vehicles as if the Wings had already won the Cup.
While walking through Cobo Hall, One Washington Blvd., a group of fans summed up the feelings of the Detroit faithful everywhere.
“I want Stanley.”
