Mitch Albom: Detroit Opening Day tradition embraces the local perfectly
Seven games into the 2026 MLB season, the city of Detroit took the day off to party with the Tigers in a perfect local tradition.
To many people, it makes no sense. Here was the seventh game of a 162-game baseball season, the Detroit Tigers had lost four of the six already played, yet seemingly the entire city converged on downtown Friday, April 3, to get into the stadium, or sit outside the stadium, or just hang around the stadium. They stuffed bars and restaurants.
They drank beer despite the early hour. They wore orange or blue clothing and caps with an Old English "D. " There is no way to count how many total people swarmed the streets, or how many of them had called in sick to their jobs to be here.
SCENE AND HEARD: 'A different atmosphere': Tigers fans flock Detroit for Opening Day We call it Opening Day, and in Detroit it is virtually a holiday. Not elsewhere. Other cities don’t make this fuss.
To many of them, going wild for the seventh game of the season makes no sense. And that’s OK. In fact, it’s perfect.
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