Tigers Fans On Opening Day: "It's Like Christmas"
DETROIT (WWJ) - "It's like Christmas." That's how many Detroit Tigers fans, like Skylynn Beno of Ypsilanti, refer to Opening Day.
"I wish we could get tickets...we're excited," Beno told WWJ Newsradio 950 after arriving extra early in the morning to the area outside Comerica Park.
As for the Tigers themselves, Manager Brad Ausmus is ready for his first opening day as the team's skipper.
"Overall, I feel very good about it...excited about, about Monday," Ausmus told reporters. "You know, it'll be fun. Looks like the weather is gonna be decent ... so, `knock on wood' and I'm lookin' forward to it."
WWJ's City Beat Reporter Vickie Thomas has been talking with fans and surveying the area outside of the park prior to the start of the game. Reporting from in front of the Fox Theater, Thomas says the marquee's sign reads, "Welcome Tigers Fans, Opening Day 2014. Who's Your Tiger?"
Looking at the ballpark, Thomas describes it as something she's never seen before: the lights are flashing Tiger blue, then they'll turn orange; and it's just a sight to see, she says, before adding that hours before the game is set to get underway, the lights are already on in the stadium. The excitement is building and traffic is picking up.
The Tigers take on the Kansas City Royals today, with the first pitch set for 1:08pm.