The Gospel According to Cowherd

[Zip Goshboots]

Today, Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio discussed the future of sports in "Rust Belt" cities such as Detroit, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and others. He went over some census data detailing the decrease in population for these once great and proud bastions of American Industry.
He went on to say that these cities will not be able to be part of the American sports scene with regard to professional teams in the coming years, and forecast that in as little as TEN years some teams currently in these cities will not be there.
He specifically mentioned Detroit as the prime example. With corporations and people fleeing Michigan, how long, he asked, can Detroit support four professional franchises? He of course went on to throw in the weather as part of the problem such states as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvani, Wisconsin, and others have.
Well, what do you guys think? Is Cowherd on "the money" with this dire prediction, or is he "off his rocker"?
I think there is alot of merit to what he was saying. The cnesus numbers and the plant closings don't lie. There is an exodus out of the Rust Belt (Pittsburgh has lost 60,000 people in six years), and many, many are moving south. Detroit has lost HALF its population in 50 years, and cities such as Omaha are reaching current Detroit population figures. What's up?

[b-diddy]

sports talk guys should stick very strictly to sports. this guy doesnt have a clue.

1) he doesnt know crap about detroit's future

2) detroit hasnt been able to supports its franchises for a while. but its metro area (5+ million) can, and will beable to forever.

3) the lions, now tigers, and pistons, are obviously financially healthy here. and the wings are the healthiest franchise in the nhl (the one sport i'd worry about contraction).

im at work right now, so im giving a tame response. if i was drunk, this message would have been littered with f bombs.

[Fool]

Dude is from Portland. How many pro teams are in that city? How many teams total in the Pacific Northwest?

This thread is why I shouldn't be a mod. I would seriously swat any thread that even contained the name "Cowherd". Dude is worse than Dan Patrick. WORSE THAN DAN PATRICK. I mean come on.

Detroit is like what? The 9th biggest media market? The whole reason the guy is bringing up the topic is to get more listeners from the mid-west which generally tunes out his nasally NFL only bullshit.

[Zip Goshboots]

Well, let me put it this way:
Currently, the Detroit market is healthy. But like he said, what about ten years from now? Will they even be making cars in Detroit ten years from now? When is the last time a major corporation moved TO Michigan? And not just Michigan, but what about the scene in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and the Ohio cities?
As for "stick strictly to sports", um, how, exactly, would that topic NOT relate to sports?
You can get all provincial if you want. But Michigan in general, and Detroit in particular is a decayong, if not dying city. You worry about baseball especially. No salary cap. No financial constraints on big spending owners, especially in larger markets such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and the growing southeastern part of the country.
As for him being from Portland or not knowing anything about Deroit's future, Detroit's future is BLEAK, baby. You can bury your head in the sand and pretend that this is your Grandpa's Detroit all you want, but those years are gone.

[Zip Goshboots]

Part of the reason midwesterners tune out Cowherd's "nasally NFL only bullshit" is that midwesterners are a stubborn bunch who still live with the attitude that they "built this country, goddammit" and still think they do. They don't want to hear the truth: That the country has changed drstically and will continue to change and the changes are unrecognizable to those who still get a boner from the fact that the Mustang used to roll off the assembly line and be gobbled up by anybody with an extra dollar in their pocket to blow.
Better face up, man: The landscape is constantly evolving, and like Cowherd says, the pretty new stadiums that the taxpayers have paid for and will continue to pay for (and be held at gunpoint under the threat of the team moving to get a new one for) will only work for so long.
YOU keep asking the shrinking wallets in Detroit to spend thousands of dollars a year just to be a Tigers, Lions, Pistons, or Red Wings fan, and to keep getting bent over by the taxman so some fucking billionaire can get a pretty new luxury box equipped stadium to satisfy his ego.
Or did you miss all the news about home auctions in Detroit just a few short weeks ago?

[Fool]

Do you really want to start this thread Zip? I mean, I'll be happy to participate if you want to flush out your "Michigan will be North Dakota in 10 years because the sports guy on ESPN Radio said so" theory.

[Zip Goshboots]

Yes, yes I do.
It's a good concept, and it is good food for thought. But can you get past your "homerism" and give it some serious thought?

[Zip Goshboots]

Michigan as Norf Dakota is not a scenario I envision. But lemme ax ya dis: Other than maybe a dislike for Cowherd (for whatever reason), what do you disagree with?
Is the economy in Michigan supporting the population it serves? Is the future bright? Are people leaving Michigan faster than coming in? Is there a "Brain Drain" from Michigan?
And lastly, is Detroit considered a "big market team" in whatever sport? In baseball it's not.
I'm not banging on Michigan or Detroit, I am merely relaying the facts concerning how things are there. It pains me, because I am from Michigan and love it, but I'm not going to pretend that the future looks anything like rosey at all.

[Fool]

I'm not banging on Michigan or Detroit, I am merely relaying the facts concerning how things are there.

You're not relaying any facts. You are regurgitating headlines. You are also making many different wide ranging statements. Its 6:20 Zip. I'm outta the office in 2 seconds. I'm taking the wife bra shopping and if Mxy doesn't get to this before I'm home we'll start in on facts.

Note: You're initial claims are much more inflamitory than your last post. No one's going to disagree with the broad claim of "Man that auto industry sucks and is in trouble, bet that hurts Michigan." But we'll talk about sports franchise viability, the overall health of the state, and the extent to which it depends on carz.

[Zip Goshboots]

You're not relaying any facts. You are regurgitating headlines. You are also making many different wide ranging statements. Its 6:20 Zip. I'm outta the office in 2 seconds. I'm taking the wife bra shopping and if Mxy doesn't get to this before I'm home we'll start in on facts.

Note: You're initial claims are much more inflamitory than your last post. No one's going to disagree with the broad claim of "Man that auto industry sucks and is in trouble, bet that hurts Michigan." But we'll talk about sports franchise viability, the overall health of the state, and the extent to which it depends on carz.

Fingerbang, I don't see where my comments were terribly "inflamatory". I have re read all my posts, and other than the "Boner for a Mustang" comment, these aren't "inflamatory" remarks. I'm not here to flame. I'm here to engage discussions. But, I will definitely argue as much as the next guy. To wit:
b-diddy: Is this thread any more ridiculous than the other 5,000 threads that generate about eight posts per day from the entire board membership?