Detroit Tigers & Lions Give Michigan Amazing Sports Weekend
It was a pretty good weekend to be a Detroit sports fan.
On the diamond, the Detroit Tigers stayed in the playoff hunt by taking back-to-back games from the Oakland A's on Saturday and Sunday, ending their road trip on a high note. After Sunday's 9-1 rout, they return home two games over .500 and 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot (tied with the Seattle Mariners) with 18 games to go.
The Detroit Lions followed their lead, kicking off their 2024 season with a thrilling 26-20 Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. The Lions treated their fans at Ford Field to an overtime victory against old friend Matthew Stafford on David Montgomery's walk-off touchdown.
David Montgomery runs it in for the @Lions win! pic.twitter.com/iKUEHAvgMK
— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2024
The Michigan Wolverines' embarrassing 31-12 loss to the Texas Longhorns at the Big House notwithstanding, the Great Lakes State couldn't have asked for a much better sports weekend. Even the Michigan State Spartans got in on the fun, taking down the Maryland Terrapins 27-24 on the road to improve to 2-0.
But for the state's professional sports fans, they haven't had this much optimism in years. The Tigers are playing meaningful September baseball for the first time since 2016. Even if they don't make the playoffs, they've surpassed expectations this year and seem to have a bright future ahead of them.
Meanwhile, the Lions are coming off their best season since 1991 and have legitimate Super Bowl hopes this year. Fiery head coach Dan Campbell has transformed them into one of the grittiest teams in the NFL after leading them to the NFC Championship Game last season.
It's been 10 years since both teams made the playoffs in the same season, which is also the last time the Tigers reached the postseason. They still have three weeks left to try to end that drought, so the rest of the month should be fun for Detroit fans.
TYLER MAHER