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Some of the best memories I have was sitting in the balcony at Cobo Arena for Piston games.
There wasn't much in regard to entertainment other than the game itself. No "Quick Change" or acrobats flying through the air or "Automotion."
Just Gus, this vendor in the balcony, who would do this ridiculous dance.
I loved Gus. Had a lot of neighbors, who looked just like him. They couldn't dance, either. It didn't stop them, though. He was very Detroit.
Being a Pistons fan back then was having your own little secret. Nobody else cared, except me and a couple buddies I played with on my school's basketball team.
The Pistons rarely made the playoffs. When they did, it didn't last long. I've heard people talk about the Pistons "epic" playoff matches with the Bulls in the 1970s. Yeah, it was fun, but mostly because it was unique for the Pistons at the time. In truth, it paled in comparison to what happened later with "The Bad Boys" and "Going To Work" versions of the team.
The Pistons were the fourth wheel in this town. The Red Wings, Tigers and Lions had tradition. The Pistons had Dave Bing, Bob Lanier â€" and Gus.
The fear, in light of the death of owner William Davidson, and the subsequent dominos that are beginning to fall â€" like the resignation of longtime team president Tom Wilson this week â€" is that the Pistons are to be relegated to "fourth wheel" status indefinitely again.
It's happened already. The Pistons might not be able to sell out 10,000-seat Cobo Arena for some of their games, much less The Palace. The Pistons are not only an awful team, the hope for the future is being sucked out of the franchise by a perfect storm for apathy.
It's not bad to go into rebuilding mode, but the Pistons still have veteran players from their salad days, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, who would clearly benefit
from a change every bit as much as the Pistons would by unloading them.
The Pistons have a lot of guards. They have no inside presence. This is a team that clearly needs patience from its fans. President of basketball operations Joe Dumars needs time to work his magic once more. But is he going to around? All we know is Joe won't run for governor.
Will the Pistons still spend money now that they are for sale? Isn't the first order of selling a business to clear the books for potential buyers?
Wilson's sudden departure is disturbing. There are those who have perceived him as a used car salesmen, because he was so willing to be the face of the franchise, but in truth, one of Wilson's greatest strengths is being able to pull that off.
His record as an executive is a matter of record. Like Davidson's ownership, it couldn't be much better. The two went hand-in-hand.
Wilson had a steady grip on the wheel. So he smiled a lot and tried to sell you on the Pistons and The Palace. You bought it, and there hasn't been much buyer's remorse about the Pistons the last quarter century, has there?
When Wilson began in the ticket department in 1977, the Pistons still had Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, whose off-the-court problems were legendary even by NBA standards. They were a laughingstock.
The Pistons went from Cobo Arena to the Silverdome to The Palace. The Pistons went from off-the-radar in this town to owning this town. The Pistons went from chumps to champs to chumps again to champs again.
From dancing vendors to, "You have to go to The Palace. Even if the game isn't that good, the Pistons put on quite a show."
Hey, I still enjoy the pyrotechnics. The big boom from atop the backboards. The shooting fire. It's Oakland County's version of flaming cheese.
It's just it used to symbolize the start of the big race, especially come playoff time.
Now the big boom seems more like the franchise, that was so carefully crafted and branded for decades, is about to go up in smoke.
Trust me. The good old days of the Pistons, as much as I loved Dancing Gus, weren't so good.
Full circle would equal a disaster for those of us who love basketball in this town.
Pat Caputo is a columnist for the Journal Register News Service. Contact him at pat.caputo@oakpress.com.
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