I grew up in the Detroit area, became a sports writer in part because of the Isiah Thomas-Joe Dumars-Vinnie Johnson Pistons and spent many an argument defending the city’s dinning/entertainment options to out-of-town friends. Which makes what I’m about to say painful.
It is no surprise that Detroit (or actuallyAuburn Hills) turned into brawltown. This wasn’t just coincidence that the worst sports riot in memory happened here. There is plenty of precedent, plenty of warning signs that went unheeded for years. This isn’t a bad twist of fate sulling Detroit’s image. It is a black eye well earned.
Say what you want about ticking time bomb Ron Artest. The truth is Detroit’s sports spectator culture has been a powderkeg of its own for years.
When I was in college I hesistated to take my 10-year-old little brother to Lions games at the Silverdome because of the don’t-look-at-me-wrong culture in the stands. Drunken louts wouldn’t just yell vile things. They wouldn’t just throw things. They would challenge anyone and everyone they wanted with physical intimidation. You could have a guy in your face for not booing when he wanted you to boo. And you know what? We put up with these Miller Lite tough guys for years. Security was a joke. I watched Silverdome security guards cheer on fights rather than step in. Heck, it became such an accepted part of the fabric that Lions players were known to keep themselves interested during the really down years by turning to watch all the unchecked mini brawls in the stands.
And anyone who’s been at the Palace in recent years knows the culture lives on. Auburn Hills is actually a mostly white suburb and like most NBA arenas the Palace is filled with an overwhelming majority of white fans. This isn’t a racial thing. It’s a punk thing and the Palace, like the Silverdome before it, has a large share of punks who’ve never been put in check. They’ve hurled vile insults and beers for years with impunity.
So please can people pretending they know Detroit sports get off TV with their woe-is-our-disrespected city rants. Our city earned its infamy as Brawltown. It might hurt. But it’s the truth.
Almost as soon as the brawl broke out on Friday night, my little brother called me. He’s in college now, yet his response came straight out of his experiences as a young fan. “You know it had to happened here. You knew it was going to happen here.'’
Anyone who’s spent any time in Detroit’s stands knew. It’s time to stop denying, time to stop shifting blame. It’s our city and it’s our well-earned shame.

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