Tigers' Fans Find Deliverance In Cleveland; The Drought Is Over
By Will Burchfield
Twitter: Burchie_kid
Joe Ginis and Chris Dempsey, friends and longtime Tigers' fans, drove from Detroit to Cleveland on Wednesday to watch their favorite baseball team put an end to a season-long drought. The Tigers were a whopping 0-for-11 against the Indians entering play, their futility against the Tribe pushing the bounds of comprehension.
Among the scattered Tigers' fans at Progressive Field, optimism was beginning to dry up.
"I started having my doubts," said Scott Lavoy, from Toledo.
"Honestly, man, they're due, but I didn't think it was going to happen after last night," said Detroit-native Tony Battistelli, referring to Cleveland's 12-2 drubbing in the game prior.
"I was nervous," said Jessica Gutierrez of Ohio, smiling and shaking her head. "I was nervous, for sure."
But in the seventh inning of the final game of this series, as Joe and Chris swigged beers in the upper deck above third base, the scoreboard in left field shimmered in the sultry Cleveland air: Tigers 12, Indians 2.
"It just feels good to win. Both of us have been watching baseball for a long time, so one win or loss isn't a big deal," said Joe.
Then he paused, and added, "Unless you've lost 11 in a row."
The baseball season is a long and winding road. Games are won and games are lost. There are 162 of them in total, and they all count the same. But sometimes, even in July, even before the All-Star break, even in the dead of summer when one game blends into the next, there are moments that stand for something more.
"This," said Jim Etchill of Detroit, "is a BIG win."
The Tigers needed yesterday. So did their fans. All season long, they've received conflicting signs from this team, the outlook swinging wildly from hopeful to bleak. But through all the uncertainty, one trend was becoming painfully clear: the Tigers couldn't beat the Indians.
So much for that.
"It feels so good – what a relief, man," Tony said. "We came down here just for this."
"Man, I'm loving it, me and my fiancé, we're just loving it," beamed Jim. "That's why we came here – to break this jinx! It's all going to turn around now, it's over for Cleveland!"
That was likely the adrenaline talking (urged on by the beer), but Jim's giddiness spoke to the magnitude of Wednesday's win. To see their team break through against the Indians was a deliverance of sorts for Tigers' fans, a collective purging of their mounting frustration.
"It's been very depressing," said Scott.
"Extremely disappointing," said Darrell Hurely, in attendance with his son, Darrin.
"Painful," said Joe.
"Just to watch this Tigers team do so well and then come play the Indians and just struggle, man…," Tony explained, and then shook his head at the unfathomability of it all.
The Tigers were bound to turn the tables eventually. And Wednesday seemed like their best opportunity yet, with Michael Fulmer taking the hill.
"We planned on it happening," said Chris," because statistically they couldn't keep losing and we had Fulmer on the mound."
Darrin and Darrell figured the same thing.
"When we looked up the schedule, we said today will be the day. We liked the matchup," Darrin said.
Then the Tigers fell behind 2-0 in the third inning, and those unshakable doubts crept back up.
"It wasn't panic," Joe laughed, "but I did say, 'We're gonna lose.'"
"Concern" Chris added. "Justifiable concern."
Finally, though, after months of hibernation against the Tribe, the Tigers' offense came to life. They scored three in the fourth, five in the fifth and then a cathartic four in the seventh, delighting the fans who journeyed down I-75 and across I-90. As the Indians' faithful trickled toward the exits, the voices from out of town rang across the ballpark.
They cheered partly in celebration, partly in defiance.
"It's been tough," Jim explained. "My brother moved here to Ohio and has sons in their 20's and 30's and they're putting the stuff on me pretty good."
Derek Studans, of Ohio, can relate.
"Sometimes it's rough, ya know, all my friends are Indians fans, and they've been giving me a hard time, especially my wife's family," he said. "But now I finally got a chance to give something back to 'em."
Standing outside the stadium after the Tigers' win, Derek gestured toward his niece, Aubrey. She had her arms draped around her Mom's neck and her face nestled against her shoulder. After a long, hot day at the ballpark, Aubrey was tired.
"This was her first Tigers' game," Derek said. "She's 1-0."
That, by definition, makes Aubrey a good-luck charm.
But don't forget about Scott.
"It's my first game of the year so I feel like it's me. I gotta go to every game now," he said.
And don't forget about Joe.
"I take full credit for breaking the streak," he grinned.
And don't forget about Tony, or his friend Craig, who have a track record of success at Progressive Field.
"I told my buddy we gotta go back to Cleveland to get the wins back, so we came back and now they're winning," Tony said.
But by all means, feel free to forget about the Tigers' futility against the Tribe. At long last, the drought is over.
"It's about time," said Darrin, as his Dad nodded in agreement.
Tony, for his part, is already looking ahead.
"I hope we take the rest of 'em from here on out."
