There Is No Dancing in Detroit Streets for Piston Fans

DETROIT — The last time a Detroit sports team won a world championship, thousands of rowdies burned police cars and trashed the streets, sending an ugly image of the city around the world.

But even if the Detroit Pistons had beaten the Lakers in the National Basketball Assn. Finals Tuesday night, there was little chance for a repeat of the riot that came after the Detroit Tigers’ 1984 World Series victory over the San Diego Padres.

Unlike the night Detroit won in Tiger Stadium, Game 7 of the NBA Finals was played out of town. For the most part, Piston fans watched the game at home or at local bars. At least one radio station sponsored a large party at a local nightclub to watch the game on large-screen television.

“When it is an away game, you don’t have the (outdoor) gathering that you do when a team plays at home,” said Bob Berg, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, before Tuesday night’s game. “We don’t expect anything like 1984.”

Another factor, however, was the fact that the Pistons no longer play in Detroit; they play 30 miles north in suburban Pontiac.

Detroit police, who did not think they needed to take special precautions against a possible violent outburst, said they did not increase personnel Tuesday night.

“I guess if it was in Detroit, you might have a problem with the immediate crowd, but I don’t expect any problems tonight,” Detroit Police Sgt. George Anthony said before the game. Pontiac police were also confident that they would avoid any problems.

Immediately after the Pistons lost to the Lakers, 108-105, just before midnight in Detroit, the downtown streets were virtually deserted, with only the sounds of a few car horns and firecrackers being set off to break the calm.

But the absence of a public outburst can’t diminish the fact that Piston fever has gripped the Detroit area over the last few weeks.

The Pistons, once perennial losers, were until recently mostly ignored by Detroit sports fans, who doted instead on the successes of the Tigers and the Red Wings, the city’s newly revived hockey franchise. The club’s move out of downtown Detroit a decade ago, some critics say, left many of the team’s inner-city fans behind, and it took time for suburbanites to begin to support the team.

This year, the team became the first NBA franchise to draw more than 1 million fans in a season, and the Pistons’ victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals led to a tumultuous celebration, as thousands of fans poured onto a packed Silverdome court and tore down one of the backboards.

During the championship series against the Lakers, “Go Pistons” signs sprouted around town, and “Beat L.A.” became a crowd chant even at Tigers games.