The 88-89 Bad Boys, 2nd most hated team of all-time (SI)

To celebrate the Bad Boys making no.2 on the 25 Most Hated Teams of All-Time according to Sports Illustrated, I asked what are your memories of one of the greatest teams in NBA history. I have a few

1) Going 8-0 to start the season
2) Laimbeer "socking" Brad Daugherty
3) Beating the Lakers in Inglewood which would be AD's last game as a Piston
4) Isiah breaking his hand cold-cocking Bill Cartwright
5) Getting swept in the season series vs. the Knicks
6) Rodman losing the Defensive POY award to Mark Eaton
7) Pistons bring back John Long to get a ring.

There's more but 1989 will always be a special season.

I know it's 88-89. But, I have to comment on the 89-90 season.

When John Salley declared it was "Hammer Time" and they beat the Chicago Bulls in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the game, Michael Jordan ran to the team bus and cried like a little bitch.

Scottie Pippen and the infamous "Migraine".

Everyone making a big deal out of the fact that the Pistons had not won in Portland for years and Detroit wins all three games in Portland.

Laimbeer pulling the head game of all head games on the entire Portland Trailblazers team.

Joe Dumars playing his heart out even though his father had just passed away.

For 88-89.

Joe Dumars scoring 24 points in one quarter.

James Edwards posting up his old team.

Sweeping the Lakers.

The City of Detroit erupting after winning the championship.

Councilman Jack Kelley acting like a maniac during the parade because Coleman's people wouldn't allow Council Members to join him and the Pistons on the podium.

I remember 7Mile was wild the night the Pistons won the championship. June 13, 1989. My graduation was at Ford Auditorium that day [[I think 1990 was the last year they used FA for city graduations) and I knew the Pistons was going sweep the Lakers that night.

More memories from that season:

Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer visits the NBA offices in New York and leaves Rod Thorn a plaque claiming that his office was furnished with fines levied against the Pistons.

The Bad Boys photo shoot [[with the infamous photo of Laimbeer and Mahorn)

Joe D. breaking his hand for the first time [[he would break his hand again in 1990)

The Pistons was down by 23 against the SuperSonics [[who don't miss the name SuperSonics) at the half and fought the entire second half to win.

Mahorn getting fined 5gs by Rod Thorn for a vicious elbow to the face of Mark Price.

James Worthy missing the second free throw in game two of the Finals that could have tied the game.

I remember after the Piston's won the championship in 89, the first thing the national reporter's did was to interview Kareem, and ask him about his "gallant" effort in the playoffs.

That secured my belief that national reporter's carry a bias, and as long as the team is from Detroit, they will continue to ignore and bash them, as well as the city.

Don't believe me? Listen to National Sports talk radio, for a week and note how often they refer to the "riots", after the 1984 Tigers won the World Series, even though that was over 25 years ago and we have won 4 Stanley Cups, and 3 Basketball Championships since with no problems.

All the while the press has given a free pass to riots in Chicago,[[after numerous riots during Bears, Bulls, White Sox Championships) Denver[[Stanley Cup), NY[[Yankees) and L.A.,where riots occur on a yearly basis, and sports are an afterthought.

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Originally Posted by Detroitej72

I remember after the Piston's won the championship in 89, the first thing the national reporter's did was to interview Kareem, and ask him about his "gallant" effort in the playoffs.

That secured my belief that national reporter's carry a bias, and as long as the team is from Detroit, they will continue to ignore and bash them, as well as the city.

Don't believe me? Listen to National Sports talk radio, for a week and note how often they refer to the "riots", after the 1984 Tigers won the World Series, even though that was over 25 years ago and we have won 4 Stanley Cups, and 3 Basketball Championships since with no problems.

All the while the press has given a free pass to riots in Chicago,[[after numerous riots during Bears, Bulls, White Sox Championships) Denver[[Stanley Cup), NY[[Yankees) and L.A.,where riots occur on a yearly basis, and sports are an afterthought.

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You forgot to add Montreal. Those French-speaking Canadians go nuts if the Habs is sniffing the Stanley Cup.

The 1984 World Series will always be used as the benchmark to knock Detroit. I can recall Jimmy Kimmel in 2004 saying on the air that Detroit should not win the championship because they would "burn the city" down.

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Originally Posted by R8RBOB

The 1984 World Series will always be used as the benchmark to knock Detroit.

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Detroit is a cheap shot for simple-minded, lame comics...

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Originally Posted by R8RBOB

I can recall Jimmy Kimmel in 2004 saying on the air that Detroit should not win the championship because they would "burn the city" down.

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But where was Jimmy when L.A. was burning during their latest riots, after the Laker's won the Championship this past spring?

Once again, the national press gives LA a free pass.

Not that it's an excuse, but I think one of the reasons that the images from 1984 have stuck around is because the Tigers were the team that everybody had eyes on that year, and by default the city of Detroit. Most seasons, you have a bunch of different teams that share and pass around the limelight, but after starting out 35-5, all eyes were on Detroit and the Tigers for six months straight. The anticipation of them winning the World Series was high, both inside and outside of the city. Top that off with the fact that a championship would bring celebration to a city that had been down on its luck for seventeen years at that point following the riots. The city had a golden opportunity, where all eyes were cast on it in anticipation of a championship for months, and discard the images that still burned from 1967, but instead, Detroit blew it. People blame the media for holding onto this images, and while there's some element of truth to the argument that they should just let it go, the sad fact is that the 1984 celebration reinforced everything that America had believed about Detroit in 1967. The Tigers celebration was the second chance that we still think we should have, and for the rest of the country, the images of those burned out cars tells the story of what we did with our second chance.

So while it is true that we've celebrated championships without similar incidents many times since 1984, it's largely a matter of too little, too late. I think every year we move away from it but we can't un-ring the bell that was rung with those images and how they came at a pivotal time.

Bubba Helms - RIP

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Originally Posted by GPCharles

Bubba Helms - RIP

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Yes, the non-Detroiter that help paved the road to hell for Detroit in mainstream American sports.

Bubba wasn't the only jerk

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