What's in a Name? There comes a time when change is inevitable in our lives. Moving homes, changing schools, moving out, getting married, changing jobs, buying a new vehicle, retirement. One thing we have found guaranteed in life is change, and adjusting to it is an essential skill. Take the latest development with the Detroit Tigers, a team that has called Navin Field, Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium home. When Tiger Stadium closed, the Tigers moved to Comerica Park, built on the original grounds of the Detroit College of Law. Ground was broken on October 29, 1997, and at a cost of $300 million, the park opened on April 11, 2000, with a 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Fast forward to now: Fifth Third Bank bought Comerica in a $10.9 billion deal, and starting with the 2027 season, the home of the Tigers will be Fifth Third Park. When you throw around a figure with a "B" in it, as in billions, you pretty much get to name it anything you want! Change? Adjusting to it is essential, just as it was going from Navin to Briggs to Tiger to Comerica, and now to Fifth Third. For this short stretch people will notice, and they will voice a complaint or an opinion. Then it will pass, and you will walk in and out without ever noticing the writing on the side of the building. We can still recall when the Red Wings played at "The Joe," as fans called it. The actual name was Joe Louis Arena, after legendary Detroit heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis. Built for $57 million, it opened on December 12, 1979, hosted its final Red Wings game in April 2017 and closed its doors on July 29, 2017. Little Caesars Arena took its place and now hosts both the Red Wings and the NBA's Detroit Pistons. I still slip and call it "The Joe," as I'm sure many of you do. Just as the "Gulf of Mexico" became the "Gulf of America" and "Lake Ontario" became "Lake America," names change, some for the good and some for the bad. Either way, unless ownership keeps improving the product and titles are played for inside, it won't matter what name is on the outside. There won't be anybody downtown to care about the name or the product. - MI Sports Chat
