There's little joy in Detroit these days. The Pistons seized up in the NBA finals, the Red Wings flew out of the Stanley Cup Finals, and Forbes magazine recently listed My Fair Birthplace dead last in the country in terms of metropolitan housing markets (Seattle, I will note, was first).
But Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter at Comerica Park last night and the Tigers entered into a tie for first place in the AL Central.
There is some hope left in Motown after all.
I remember watching the last no-hitter thrown by a Tiger -- Jack Morris' gem back in 1984. That was the first and only no-hitter I've ever seen personally. I've always wanted to see a perfect game -- the mere thought of which causes me to choke up as I try to imagine what it must be like for someone to accomplish the absolute pinnacle of achievement in one's profession.
Think about it: there are very few jobs in which "perfection" is a definable metric. Even in sports, there's, what, baseball and bowling where the concept "perfect" makes any sense. There have only been fifteen perfect games in the modern era of baseball, which makes it a much rarer feat than a perfect game in bowling, in which a 300 game has become somewhat commonplace.
You must, therefore, understand how excited I was when I first heard about the movie For the Love of the Game. Kevin Costner (not my favorite actor) plays a Detroit Tiger who throws a perfect game. While he's on the mound, the story flashes back to cover his entire career and personal life. Man! A movie about a perfect game pitched by a (fictional) Detroit Tiger! And directed by Sam "Army of Darkness" Raimi!! What could be more awesome?!?!
I dragged a protesting friend to see this movie when it hit theaters back in 1999. To his credit, he didn't say much during the show. Afterwards, he observed "Well, that's two hours of my life I'm never getting back."
I had to reluctantly agree. The film was godawful. Avoid it at all costs. Just thinking about it now makes my brain hurt.
But, Go Tigers!
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