First came the announcement two years ago. Then came the preparation and the hype. Finally All Star week arrived and 3 days later it is all done. I know all the events are just an exhibition (whether or not This One Counts), but they are still significant. It was the first time the game was held here in my lifetime, and the next time it comes back I’ll be an old man – and it will probably be in a brand new stadium. And because it is all over, I’m a little bit sad today.

That’s not to say we didn’t have a great time…

• We got down to Comerica around 2:30 yesterday – not with the express purpose of attending the Red Carpet Show, but just to get a spot in the Grand Cirus deck and take in some atmosphere. We ended up snagging a piece of fence at the beginning of the carpet and had a pretty good view of the festivities. The players seemed to really be enjoying themselves, and it was a good chance for fans to get up close and see their heroes (and their heroes wives – wow!!). While the TV portion of it may have been cheesy, for the fans attending it was great.
• While the police were out in force, we had a heck of a time finding a taxi. After the Red Carpet Show we were planning to cab to Marios for a BBQ Buffet. We started off walking that direction and taking in some of the blight Detroit didn’t get cleaned up. By the time we saw a cab a mile and a half later, we were only 6 blocks from the restaurant and it hardly seemed worth it.
• After stuffing ourselves on pasta and kabobs we shuttled down to the game, and used our favorite entrance. It’s our favorite because there is never a line and it has close proximity to beer.
• Brian McKnight performed a very simple and appropriate rendition of the National Anthem. As with any major sporting event it came with a flyover which is always a thrill – especially so when it is a B-2 Stealth Bomber. Other festivities included first pitches by Willie Horton and Al Kaline.

  At the stadium we weren’t privy to the rude treatment that Ernie Harwell received on the national broadcast. It wasn’t being simulcast in the stadium, probably due to whatever delay they had built in. That was probably for the best because if you thought Kenny Rogers got it bad, it would have been ugly had someone disrespected Harwell. It’s one thing to prevent Jeremy Bonderman from pitching in front of his hometown fans. It’s a whole other thing to mess with Ernie. I think Bat-Girl may have said it best…

  I mean, do you remember the pregame? Your broadcasters got to interview one of the greatest baseball announcers of all time. They got to talk to Ernie Harwell! And you know what happened? He talked for a bit and Jeannie Zelasko cut him off. She cut him off. It was sort of like when I cut off a Yo Yo Ma performance of Bach’s “Prelude to Cello Suite No. 1” to play “When the Saints Go Marching In” on my recorder.

  And you know why she cut him off? So they could show some schlub from Texas participating in the Taco Bell Throw The Ball At The Damn Target. Jeannie Zelasko cut off Ernie Harwell to sell freakin’ chalupas.

• Since you all probably had a better view of the game than I did, I’ll skip game details and share some other stuff. For example, in between innings they ran a feature called “Off the hook with Dmitri Young.” Basically it is Dmitri talking to different players. In other words – high comedic potential.

  Young to Mark Buerhle: “If you were a super hero, who would you be”
  Buerhle: Probably Superman
  Young: Uh-uh. You can’t be Superman. Kyle Farnsworth is Superman.

  Later, Torii Hunter is asking Dmitri about a certain look he had while with the Reds.

  Torii: (I have to paraphrase here) So when you were with the Reds you had all this (pointing to the beard/goatee type growth on Young) and all this (pointing to Dmitri’s hair) dyed yellow. What was up with that?
  Dmitri: Just kind of sheepishly giggles
  Torii: You know who you looked like? The dude from the Kentucky Fried Chicken
  Dmitri: I was just representin my love of fried chicken

• The longest ovation of the night was for Ernie Harwell. After playing a video, with Harwell’s “A game for All America” as the narration, they showed Harwell in the booth. The ovation went on for at least 3 minutes. It felt like it was 90 degrees and I still had goosebumps
• After Kenny Rogers gave up the home run, the fans had a hard time expressing their emotion. It was a mix of boos as just a signal of the displeasure with Rogers mere presence. Combined with cheers of joy to see Rogers failing miserably.
• I just want to point out how great the city did. We all wanted Detroit to represent itself well, and it turned out better than I could have hoped for. The city of Detroit and the Tigers organization did a tremendous job. Everybody I came in contact with was extremely friendly and great ambassadors. Great job volunteers, great job Detroit.

After the game, we weren’t really in a hurry to leave, so we lingered in the park for about 25 minutes. We eventually left and made it to our car in the Grand Circus parking deck. As we were driving down Bagley none of us were really anxious to see the night end. So we decided to head over to Casey’s. If you’ve been reading this blog a while, you know that Casey’s is my favorite place to go before a game. However, with all the craziness, we hadn’t made it there at all during the All Star goings on. A pitcher with friends was probably the best way to cap off the night and unwind.

On the way, we crept past Tiger Stadium. We drive past there all the time, but the fact there was so much excitement a couple blocks away while she sat there all alone, dark and desolate…it was just really sad.