It's A Cold Tigers Opening Day, Ausmus, Other Players Give Fans Credit For Braving It [VIDEO]
By: Jeff Riger
@Riger1984
There is nothing quite like Opening Day in Detroit. People say it's an 'unofficial holiday' and they're absolutely right. From the fans to the booze to the anticipation off a new season, Opening Day is the one event that never seems to disappoint. Of course every resident of every city probably thinks their team does Opening Day the best, but we here in Detroit know that's not exactly the case.
Early Friday morning the players were at Comerica Park getting ready for the unofficial holiday and were pretty vocal about Detroit doing this day the best!
"Best day ever," Tiger pitcher Shane Greene described it as while newcomer Jarrod Saltalamacchia said "Detroit is definitely one of the cities that you want to maybe not open up against but open up for, because the fans are electric, they're loud, they get into every pitch so I'm excited to be on this side of things for once and go out there and make these fans proud."
Saltalamacchia also had high praise for Tiger fans saying "this is a great fan base, it's one of the top 3 in the big leagues for sure."
From Jose Iglesias to Victor Martinez, every Tiger player seems to have a grasp on just how important and fun Opening Day is and the skipper Brad Ausmus agrees with all of them. Ausmus has seen Opening Day from both sides of the game, he played in Detroit and now he's in his third year managing the team.
Ausmus seemed impressed by the fans that come out on a yearly basis, especially when Opening Day usually features sub-40 degree temperatures. "It's like these guys are tailgating like they do in cold weather for football games, it's really identical. I give them credit, a lot of credit because I'm going to have a heater on me during the game."
