Tigers fans throughout Mount Pleasant celebrate World Series berth
The Bovee University Center was silent. Student employees shifted in and out of their offices quietly.
A handful of students non-chalantly walked out of the building, until the lobby was comprised of two men silently watching the TV, which was turned down low.
And then Jhonny Peralta blasted a home run, the first of his two of the game, in the fourth inning.
"It's going, going, going, gone," Taylor Phillips bellowed, performing his best impression of a baseball broadcaster. "The Tigers take a four-nothing lead, Peralta with a home-run blast."
He proceeded to walk back and forth in the middle of the lobby, grinning with excitement.
The Lake City junior described himself as a Tigers fan from birth. He was born in 1984, the last time the Tigers won the World Series. He was dressed completely in Tigers memorabilia. The jacket he was wearing was given to him from his grandpa, who passed away four years ago. Phillips said his grandpa owned a grocery station in his home town, and was also a Tigers fan.
"This is the biggest event in Michigan. Everybody is watching this," Phillips said.
Phillips' words rang true across town as Tigers fans throughout Mount Pleasant watched the Tigers beat the New York Yankees 8-1 Thursday, earning a berth to the 2012 World Series.
Sam Smith watched the game at O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grille, 2000 S. Mission St. Every TV in O'Kelly's was playing the game.
"I think they started playing as a team," Smith said. "That's why they've been so successful in the playoffs; they build off each other."
Smith said a large part of the excitement was due to the fact that the Tigers were beating such a prestigious, historic team team like the Yankees.
"If you beat a bad team, it just isn't as impressive," Smith said. "But beating Oakland and New York, that's impressive. That's a source of Detroit pride."
Josh Hartge, a Canton senior, said he had his doubts about the Tigers at the beginning of the season.
"I was reserved about the team ... they had some hitting troubles, they've consistently have had some pitching troubles," Hartge said. "But them getting this far is just proof that they are a really good team."
Hartge, along with West Bloomfield senior Max Lowe, Clarkston senior Will Thompson and Ann Arbor senior Nick Nickodemus, went out Thursday afternoon on a journey to find a decent burger and fries, and it ended with them at Buffalo Wild Wings, 1904 S. Mission St. With the exception of Nickodemus, they were all avid Tigers fans.
"Our starters have been insanely good," Thompson said."As long as we keep Valverde off the plate, we're going to keep killing it."
Hartge agreed that the Tigers' success depended on continued strong pitching.
"I think we still have a little work at closer," Hartge said. "But if (Phil) Coke can pull it off, we're going to do well in the world series. We're going to be a nasty team."
The Bird Bar and Grill, 223 S. Main St., was one of the most popular places in Mount Pleasant Thursday night, which had a line out the door after the fifth inning. Kyle Osborn, a Rockford senior, who bore a resemblance to Detroit pitcher Doug Fister with his baseball cap on, said that it was because of the $2 drink special for the night.
"It seems like the Yankees just gave up," Osborn said. "Once (C.C.) Sabathia went down, it seems like they just stopped trying."
Jacob Jacobs, a Mount Pleasant resident, said the atmosphere at The Bird was perfect for a baseball game.
"I love it in here, it's great," Jacobs said. "It's just really, really rowdy."
The game ended with Prince Fielder catching the final out, and The Bird erupted in applause.
