I Tip My Beer To 2003

[Hongbit]

We may have choked out and limped in, but we are still in and that is all that counts. This is a great day.

This board has had more great members than I can count who have joined in the last two years. You help make this place the best Tiger board on all of the web.

However, on this night I must tip my beer to the many of us that were here in 2003. We spent our time posting in game threads and living and dying every day with the 2nd worst team in baseball history. I can't believe that this franchise has come so far in such little time. I won't bother naming names as you all know who you are. Times like those make this day even sweeter. Cheers to the Motown Sports alumni of 2003.

A special thanks to our esteemed mods and MWG for making this place great in both good times and bad. I would also be remiss for not mentioning Al Gore for creating the internet.

Hey Yankees, you can take your apology and your 27 trophies and shove them straight up your ***. Starting Tuesday, We're taking out 20 years of frustration out on you.

Go Tigs!

[tigersfan25]

I think we can all agree with this.

[AlaskanTigersFan]

amen. I became a fan in 02. then 03 happened. Wish I was here for that...

[estrepe1]

Cheers Hong!

[slim pickens]

I'll Drink To That!!!!


http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/319/beer1wo8.png

[IdahoBert]

I didn't follow the Tigers too closely for many years before 2004 because I lived far away, I didn't realize how extensive resources on the web were, and I didn't know about online communties like this one. I couldn't have lived through that 2003 season by myself and I'm glad I didn't try. Those of you who did live tough it in any intimate manner really have cajones. I wish I'd been here in 2003.

[DET Mr Malefic]

Here here!

[StarCityTiger]

I didn't join here until '05 but I started lurking on this site in '03 and it was oddly comforting to read the posts of all the other Tigers fans during that long season.

Those times are what makes years like this one worth it.

Here's to the past...and the future.

GO TIGERS!

[tiger337]

Perfect post Hongbit.

[FloridaTigers]

Wheres my free drink?

[TonyJM]

Great post, HB. I really think I watched 90 of those losses in '03...And the scariest part, was how little we had to look forward to on the farm: only a couple good prospects - Granderson and Zumaya...No depth, etc. Whew.

[JCinSummerfield]

I don't know about you, but I've already tipped many a drink because of the 2003 season :-)

[Brent]

then 03 happened. Wish I was here for that...

I wish I'd been here in 2003

The only highlight of that season was the last weekend. When we pulled a 2006 Royals on the Twins.

[pfife]

I would also be remiss for not mentioning Al Gore for creating the internet.



lol. Great post Hong.

[keglerv]

I look back fondly on the 2003 season now. I attended about 30 games that year, and while the team was bad, I enjoyed being at the park with a few thousand other diehards. 2003 being as bad as it was helped kick start towards this playoff berth in my opinion, so I also tip my beer to 2003.

[TonyJM]

The only highlight of that season was the last weekend. When we pulled a 2006 Royals on the Twins.


Agreed...Though I'd toss an honorable mention to Brandon Inge's walk-off home run off of Troy Percival. I'm pretty sure it was that season, and I'm pretty sure I was watching it thinking "Man, why am I still watching this game? It's over..."


-Tony

[DTroppens]

I remember back then that people here said that the 2003 season would make the eventual season like this even more special. To the people that said that, do you still believe it? I really don't think it makes it any more special. I think I would be feeling just as good about this year's team if that 2003 team lost just 110 games. Just wondering.

[blue]

Here's to Andres Torres starting in center field.

And Gene Kingsale and Ben Petrick.

[FloridaTigers]

My most vivid memory of 2003 was Carlos Pena's walkoff homerun. Or I think it was him. I was jumpung up and down and shouting with joy. I miss Ben Petrick...didn't he develop some form of cancer or disease?

[rhino]

I tip my beer to Hongbit, who, when lucid, is an above average poster!
Nice post!

[snoogit]

Even though I only joined two years and three days ago, I still remember lurking during the '03 season as well...

Infact strangely enough it was the '03 season that got me more interested in the Tigers then ever in my short history.

Why? Because I knew that in a few years some of these guys would get their chance to be part of something special, and by god it only took em three years to do it! THAT is something special :)

I know I don't participate much in game threads, mostly because my PC and my TV are so far apart. But they are great reads (most of the time) when I get the chance :)

[TonyJM]

I tip my beer to Hongbit, who, when lucid, is an above average poster!


Well said...Those two or three posts a year are always some of my favorites:classic:

[Charles Liston]

2003 was, in its own way, a lot of fun too on this messageboard. A year like that really brings out the hidden lunatic in people. Following the minor leagues was different too, you could spend a lot of rewarding hours browsing the minor league free agent scrap heap for guys who could help the Tigers instantly.

So when you have some good friends to follow the team with, the winning and losing doesn't matter quite so much.

[DaYooperASBDT]

95 wins is still a lot better than 43, even with the final week tanking.

And come Tuesday, we are back to 0-0 anyway. Bring on the Wankees !!!!

[whitecapwendy]

I didn't follow the Tigers too closely for many years before 2004 because I lived far away, I didn't realize how extensive resources on the web were, and I didn't know about online communties like this one. I couldn't have lived through that 2003 season by myself and I'm glad I didn't try. Those of you who did live tough it in any intimate manner really have cajones. I wish I'd been here in 2003.
Wish I had been here in 2003 as well. I didn't know about this board back then, and suffered that season alone. I tip my Diet Pepsi to those of you that were here to support each other and help each other through a difficult season.

[Tyrus]

I don't know if I'd found out about this board by 2003; I was one of the regulars back on the old alt. Tiger newsgroup, along with One Man's Fool, Casimir, and a guy named Dick Long who I think is here with a different nickname. I think I joined that newsgroup in 1997 or so. Wow...has it been that long?!!?

[tiger337]

2003 was, in its own way, a lot of fun too on this messageboard. A year like that really brings out the hidden lunatic in people. Following the minor leagues was different too, you could spend a lot of rewarding hours browsing the minor league free agent scrap heap for guys who could help the Tigers instantly.

So when you have some good friends to follow the team with, the winning and losing doesn't matter quite so much.

I enjoyed the 2003 season and this messageboard helped. I follwed the 2003 season differently than I am following the 2006 season but it was still fun.

[tiger337]

I tip my beer to Hongbit, who, when lucid, is an above average poster!
Nice post!

Hongbit has amazing stuff when he can harness it. He's got a 110 mile per hour fastball and a filthy slider but he doesn't know where they're going half the time.

[Yoda]

I enjoyed the 2003 season and this messageboard helped. I follwed the 2003 season differently than I am following the 2006 season but it was still fun.


The 2006 season was more fun for watching the games, but the board was more fun in 2003.

[estrepe1]

The 2006 season was more fun for watching the games, but the board was more fun in 2003.

There was still a lot of tension on the board. But there was a lot of good analysis going on back then. Some of that gets drowned out now.

[beek_27]

Wish I was on here in '03, because it would have made that miserable season much more enjoyable for me.

There have been some great memories from '06, on the field and in this board! Kudos to my fellow Tigers fans who make this board the best Tigers forum on the web!