Terry Foster: The New 'Bless You Boys'
By Terry Foster
The Family Deal
Once upon a time the Tigers were one of the worse teams in baseball. And a lone local broadcaster named Al Ackerman let everybody know it.
He was bombastic and sarcastic. He'd make paint sizzle when he spoke on the air or confronted an athlete or coach with one of his hard-hitting interviews.
My co-host Mike Valenti is a teddy bear compared to Acid Al.
The Tigers were in a long losing streak in the 1980s and after a rare win Ackerman said sarcastically on the air "Bless you boys."
In 1984 the words became the rallying cry for the 35-5 Tigers that would go on and beat the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
We might have today's Tigers rallying cry as the Tigers try to overtake Cleveland for the division lead or at the very least earn a wild card spot.
During a recent FSD broadcast former Tiger and broadcaster Craig Monroe blurted: "Here come the Tigers."
He sounded almost like DMX in the way he said it. We played it on our station and I even gave my own "Here come the Tigers" shout out.
According to one FSD employee he said we should stop using Monroe's words on our airwaves. He said we were mocking him and making fun of their television station.
If that is the case then FSD does not get it. Monroe deposited a bag of gold and the station should own it and market it. This could become the modern-day "Bless you boys."
The station should put "Here come the Tigers" on T-shirts, coffee mugs and posters. Let's have some fun with it.
Going to the ball park is fun and fans love to embrace something besides the winning on the field.
"Here come the Tigers" can add a little spice to the meal.
It could become bigger than "Bless you boys."
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com. Twitter: TerryFoster971.)
