DETROIT – Sports fans had plenty to cheer about Tuesday night as playoff basketball, regular-season baseball, and Cinco de Mayo celebrations filled downtown and southwest Detroit.
All eyes were on the Detroit Pistons as they opened their second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena.
Fans gathered outside the arena for the pregame festivities and said they planned to be there throughout the series.
“We’re gonna be here every single night that the Pistons are playing, whether it’s game 1, 2, or game 7, we’re locked in,” Pistons fan Haidar Alsalik said.
“We gotta beat Cleveland, okay? I’m sorry, the mistake by the lake, ya’ll gotta stay the mistake by the lake,” said fan Verdell Blackmon.
Blackmon said she was able to score tickets to see the Pistons in their historic playoff run through the organization Vet Tix, which provides free or heavily discounted tickets to veterans.
“I’m a veteran of the United States Navy, and it popped up yesterday, and I was able to get tickets for me and my daughter to come tonight,” Blackmon said.
Just blocks away, baseball fans headed to Comerica Park, where the Detroit Tigers hosted the Boston Red Sox.
The game coincided with the ballpark’s “Bark in the Park,” allowing fans to bring their dogs along for the night.
Tigers fan Lisa Mausolf attended with her dog, Barney, who she said was adopted about a year and a half ago from K9 Stray Rescue League in Oxford.
“He’s 3 years old, acts like he’s 12,” Mausolf said.
The evening also included a special moment on the field, with members of the Grosse Pointe South High School choir performing the national anthem.
Choir member Veronica Jones said the performance was a memorable way to connect music and sports.
“I think it’s really nice to do because it allows us to mix sports and choir and the arts,” Jones said.
In southwest Detroit, restaurants and businesses marked Cinco de Mayo with food, music, and cultural celebrations.
At La Jalisciense Supermercado & Taqueria, crowds packed the restaurant during the dinner rush, where staff said waits stretched about two hours.
Operations manager Leslie Vargas said Cinco de Mayo is one of the business’s busiest days of the year, and preparations begin months in advance.
“We are prepping since January with our permits and logistics, getting talent recruited to come in,” Vargas said.
The restaurant also featured live entertainment, with an entirely local lineup.
Vargas said the business prioritizes working with artists from the neighborhood and often brings back familiar acts.
“This is not the first time that we’ve worked with talent around the neighborhood,” Vargas said. “We definitely have returning talent coming in every year, which is nice to see.”