Fanhood Legitimacy: Is it Legit or Too Legit

I write this mainly because I am bored.  But also, because I have been having this Sick feeling in my stomach when it comes to my Pistons.  I call them my Pistons because I am the first person that remembers anybody claiming them as his/her own.  I'm not saying that they were mine first, but I didn't know any of you before or now, so, there.


I was born in '85, so I was pretty young when the Bad Boys were making their mark.  But don't worry, I saw all of the Motor City Madness DVD's (or VHS's) and even had the Hammer Time T-Shirt.   

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My fandom was at its peak during the mid 90's, I don't think a lot of people like him, but Grant Hill was and still up there as my favorite Piston.  I thought the team that surounded him was aweful, and I think he gets a lot of blame for that, unjustly. 

The first Pistons game that I ever attended was in 2000, it was against the Vancouver Grizzlies, I believe it was Joe Smith's debut and he scored 20 points, and I think the Grizzlies were just finding out how much of a Bust Stromile Swift was.

Fast forward through some Uncle Cliff, Malice, Darko, Mehmeht, glorious years, Iverson, and Meltdown until you reach today.  Am I still a fan?

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I think so.  It's been hard for me.   It became difficult after leaving the Metro Detroit Area for the Navy.  It was hard to follow rollow what was going on, and that's for everything, Not just the Pistons, all the trades, all the stats, the up and comers, the old guys on the down swings, the injuries, and that's for all the teams, and I love all the sports.  There just isn't enough time for all that, when you have to tend to needy Marines and go out to the field on training ops for weeks at a time. 

That was when I fell off, I still kept up, a little, and wore my Pistons Jacket everyday I could, admittedly with a little guilt.  I am no longer In the Navy, I'm out, I'm Free, sorta, I'm married.  My wife is in the Navy, and we've been in Japan on Military orders for the last 4 years.  We just got orders to come back to the states, for this July.  YAY!!!!!!!  NO MORE EARTHQUAKES!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!!  Well, being in Japan has made it more difficult than ever to keep up with my Stones.  The Time difference, the lack of AFN (Armed Forces Network) showing any Pistons Games because all they show are the Celts, Heat, Lakers and Magic.

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At this point, I don't know a lot about the pistons, I don't know how Summers or Daye look on the court, I don't know how much Rip and Tay have deteriorated.  I can only guess that Ben Gordon is still short, takes bad shots and can't play defense.    A lot has happened since I have followed the Pistons religiously.  I would like to get back on track.  I know I've only given a bunch of excuses, technology should've allowed me to catch more games on the internet, and yaddayaddayadda, but I want back in DAMMIT.

Please accept me as a Pistons Loyalist.  I have come from a far land, and I wish to contribute what little I know to your great community.  I understand the game has changed since I left it, you will have to forgive me in advance, like a long forgotten TimeChild.

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I know some of you may scoff at this, you may lable me a Groupie, a Bandwagoner, or you might just shower me with Red Panda's.  I don't care. 

Now, for a couple of tidbits I'd like to throw out there.  The Pistons are not good, Joe D is a part of the reason, but, he did save us from the Teal, so I think there is a possibility he still could build a solid team, somewhere down the road.  Well, that's one tidbit....

 This post is long overdue, but I'm pretty lazy and like I said I'm just now coming back to the States.  Oh, and sorry for all the pic's I'm just learning how to do this and I might've gotten carried away.  Thank you for your time.