Opening Day is here at Comerica Park and Detroit Tigers fans are ready for the season to get started at home.
After the team played six days on the road, it's a day of hope for the season and the return of a past-time tradition dating back to 1894. We tracked down some Tigers fans to hear why Opening Day is so special for them.
"What is it about the tigers that you love so much?" I asked.
"Keenan everything from the history going back to 1901, the great players that came up through the ages," Joe Swierlik said.
Swierlik's favorite players included Hank Greenburg, Willie Horton and Hall of Famer Al Kaline.
"Youngest batting champion ever. 3,007 hits, 399 home runs. It doesn't get better than Mr. Tiger," he said.
Swierlik says his love of the Tiger is a family affair. It started as a little boy watching games with his grandpa in the early 90s.
Today he shares that love with his father and his wife. They travel to other cities to the tigers in action in places like historic Wrigley Field and Coors Field in Denver.
Both of those teams have won the World Series more recent than the Tigers, but Joe isn't worried.
"I absolutely still have hope. Absolutely. It's just like a New Year's resolution, right? Every new year brings new opportunities. Same with the baseball season," he said.
That new season means more memories to make, more signed baseballs to add to Joe's collection of more than 500 and memorabilia to treasure.
No shock for a man named by Comerica Bank as Detroit's Biggest Sports fan in 2020. Though the team has been rebuilding, Joe's' love for the Tigers has only grown. So much so that he added a part-time job working for the team.
I've actually even stepped in to now join the Tigers team working in guest relations now," he said.
Working in guest relations. Sharing his love of baseball and the Tigers with fans of all ages. Joe says each of those fans in the stand is critical to the success of the players on the field. He recalls the support Team Mexico got in the World Baseball Classic when taking on Team USA.
"Team Mexico, they showed up in droves. In droves and it showed on the scoreboard. Right. So officially, you kind of are that unofficial 10th man on the field," he said.
So Joe is challenging Tigers fans to turn out at each home game to support the Tigers and make that home-field advantage count.
hen he was selected as Detroit's Biggest Sports Fan, he gave away his Opening Day tickets and tickets to 50 games to veterans and children who may not have otherwise had the chance to see a baseball game.
