Congrats Pistons!

As I type it is 88-61 with 10:30 still to go. Therefore, let me be the first to congratulate the Detroit Pistons on winning the 2004 NBA Championship. I have to admit that I am not really a basketball fan. In fact, before this series, it had been years before I last watched a basketball game in its entirety. So yes, I've climbed aboard the bandwagon quite recently. As a native Detroiter, I started watching mostly out of a sense of hometown loyalty and obligation. Seeing this team over an extended period, however, has genuinely won me over.

It is not just that they have won the series, it's the way they have done it. This series has been about two great players and a few other guys in the same uniform being soundly thrashed by a great team. The Pistons don't have any great players, just a lot of very good ones willing to outwork the opposition and play as a team. This is a blue collar, working class team, an ideal fit for the Motor City. As I look at the TV, I see a team that scraps and works and fights with a 25 point lead just as hard as they did with a two point lead. The best thing is seeing the unbridled joy and passion that this team has brought to the Detroit area.

So, congrats Pistons and congrats Detroit! May the celebrations be long, festive, and safe.

Update: It's official now, 100-87. The Lakers made a bit of a run in garbage time, otherwise it wasn't that close.