Children brought their gloves. Adults played cornhole. Die-hard fans told stories.
Much like any other Opening Day.
On Friday night, Canterbury Village in Lake Orion brought fans together for the first time in a long time. They packed the lawn to watch the Detroit Tigers on a 14-by-32 foot LED screen, albeit doing so from the trunk of their vehicles to maintain proper social distancing. The Tigers lost the opener, 7-1, to the Cincinnati Reds.
As the tune of Tiger baseball carried through the wind, emotion swelled within Bill Hake.
Just thinking about Ernie Harwell's voice puts tears in his eyes.