"What if I told you that sometimes you've gotta be bad to be good?"
Those words have been burned into my brain for weeks as the trailer for ESPN's latest 30 for 30 documentary "Bad Boys" has been running on ESPN nonstop.
The Bad Boys will define the Detroit Pistons organization for as long as it exists. The indelible image of blocked shots, quick steals and especially hard fouls created one of the defining legacy's in professional basketball.
Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, John Salley. Nobody played tougher, nastier, hell, dirtier, than the Pistons.
And it also defined the team's fans. Not that they have dirty fans, but that Pistons fans know what a winner looks like and if they had their choice, the winner would be all about hard-nosed defense, a tireless commitment to win and playing as a team.
That's what made the Bad Boys so fun and so easy to love (provided you weren't a fan of another team). And that legacy carried on through the Going to Work era of the early to mid-aughts. And it is that kind of teams Pistons fans hope can be built around young Andre Drummond, who could use a little more Bad Boy in his burgeoning game.
ESPN's latest entry in its 30 for 30 series is all about the Bad Boys and it debuts tonight on ESPN at 8 p.m Eastern time. There will be an open thread at Detroit Bad Boys (naturally) so come enjoy the film with the rest of the family.
Following the film ESPN will be airing "Grantland's Bad Boys Remix." The special is a panel discussion lead by devoted Boston Celtics fan Bill Simmons and Detroit native and lover of all things Bad Boys Jalen Rose. Doug Collins and Isiah Thomas are slated to be among the guests.
Here are some clips to whet your appetite.