Being a transplanted Detroit Tigers fan living in Texas is alot easier than one might think. Thanks to social media sites (Twitter, mainly), the MLB TV package, and my adopted hometown's "team" moving to the American League - I often feel like I'm actually more of a fan now than when I lived in Detroit.
I live in Beaumont, Texas (an hour from Houston), a region that considers the Astros "their team". I learned quickly when I moved here from Detroit in 1998 how passive sports fans in this area are. As a baseball fan, I easily got caught up in the successful Astros' seasons of the late '90's, and at least found myself pulling for them around that time (let's face it, Tigers' teams of that period were awful). Season by season though, the Astros were eliminated from the playoffs. The Astros made it to the World Series in 2005 - and were swept. Astros "fans" thought nothing of it, and actually laughed it off - like the teams' recent success was a joke. I thought to myself - no way this would ever fly in Detroit!
I knew right away after the dismantling of the Astros team after the '05 World Series, that I could never be a fan of any other team but the Tigers. Tigers fans show passion, and often wear their heart on their sleeve. As a kid, I witnessed the hysteria of '84 Bless You Boys Season, the '87 Frank Tanana division-clinching masterpiece, and idolized Lou Whitaker. These are moments and times etched into my mind forever.
Before the Astros moved to the AL, the Tigers came to Houston a couple of times for inter-league play. My family would make weekends of these series, catching as many Tigers' games as we could. I proudly wore my Tigers jerseys, and often seen many other possible "displaced" Tigers fans at these games. Nary a word was ever said to me and my family from Astros "fans" when we openly cheered for Brandon Inge after hitting a go ahead Home Run off of the Astros closer, Jose Velverde (Oh, the irony...) Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought to myself that a road team fan would never get away with openly rooting for their team in the confines of Tiger Stadium or Comerica Park without getting a good, kind ribbing (or worse). Now that the Astros are in the A.L., I'm guaranteed to see the Tigers play in Texas at least once a year.
Watching and listening to Tiger games on TV and radio has also been enhanced for me since moving to Texas. I grew up watching games commentated by George Kell and Al Kaline, and always loved listening to the games that Ernie Harwell called on the radio. Now, with the DirectTV MLB Extra Innings package, I still get to watch almost all the Tiger games that are broadcast. I also get to hear the great, Dan Dickerson call Tiger games through MLB's "At-Bat" app on my smartphone. Twitter also has enhanced my game experience to a whole new level. Watching or listening to a game does not feel complete to me anymore without checking my Twitter feed full of Tiger fans, blog websites, and amateur analysts constantly posting (often hilarious) comments about events that unfold throughout the game. In contrast, the Houston Astros are currently under a "blackout" restriction, meaning no televised games. I don't even know who the Astros commentators or radio voices are!
I'm known to my Southern friends and co-workers as a die-hard Detroit Tigers fan, and a huge baseball fan. Major League Baseball is not even a mildly popular topic amongst my friends, but it gives me great pride whenever the topic of baseball (and especially the Tigers) comes up, when they all look to me for answers or input.
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