Eight grand. Eight grand was what it cost one enterprising  radio man to buy an Ohio football team, and move it to Detroit. 

Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans, the Detroit Lions come to the city in 1934 and begin a 10-game winning streak that is cut off at the knees during the last three games of the season. 

Sandwiched into the middle of Detroit's '35-'36 'City of Champions', the team's 1935 World Championship places them in amongst the Detroit Red Wings' 1936 Stanley Cup win, and the Detroit Tigers' 1935 clinch of the World Series.

~

Peanuts, popcorn, Cracker Jack. If you see Lily Black working a soda pop booth, give her a wink and a knowing nod. She'll hook you up with an ice-cold home brew of hers that's been bottled in good old-fashioned root beer bottles. No one will ever be the wiser, and it sure pairs nicely with the stadium hot dogs.

~

Game One, Scheduled for September 23rd, against the New York Giants! Come on down, bring the kids, or bring your sweetie, this promises to be a great inaugural year for our Lions!

Arthur decided to stop by LilyBlack new place of business. He was hoping she wasn't too busy with the opening of shop. He sees her working the soda pop booth & just stares at her working. His mind starts to wander off anytime he looks at Lily. He snaps out of it & says

"Looks like you're busy. Think you can get someone to cover you? I would love to watch the game with you."

Kevin loves him some football.  And stadium hot dogs.  He makes his way down to the stadium even though the start of the season is months away.  

He enters the empty stadium and sees LilyBlack tending to one other customer.  He waits his time and then steps up to the counter.

2 hot dogs and a home made brew please.  So what's the team looking like?  We get a top notch quarterback?

At the stadium, just like at the blues club in Chicago, it just didn't feel like work to Lily Black. Someone had once told her that the most successful careers were those in which you were doing what you loved, and Lily loved both music, and games. 

She loved making beer, too, and people sure liked to drink it, especially on a hot day, and with stadium food. Lily spotted ArthurFleck and was suddenly ready to take a break from sales when another customer walked up. As she grabbed the things he asked for, she grinned, all too happy to tell what she knew about Detroit's new team.

"I've watched some practices, Sir, and it sure looks like it's shaping up to be a good year! That Dutch Clark, I've heard the other fellas call him 'The Flying Dutchman', he's something else! Whole team looks good, I expect a good year," she said, passing over the beer bottle after popping the top off of it, then grabbing two more from the counter below and popping the caps off of those, too. Another girl would be working the stand as the game played, Lily had made sure she wouldn't be missing the first one. Now that Arthur was here, she definitely wouldn't be missing it, but if concessions got too busy at halftime, guilt would be drawing her back here to help, most likely.

"A little secret," she said as she rounded the counter and pointed to the left, "is those seats right there? They look like good ones, Sir, but in about two hours, the sun will beat down on them something fierce, and you won't be able to see. These over here are better, trust me. Enjoy the game, go Lions!" She smiled, then turned to hand Arthur one of the beers in her hands. She couldn't resist giving him a quick kiss on the cheek first, though. One day, she might be brave enough to try for his lips, if he didn't try for hers first.

"Shall we go get one of those good seats, Arthur?"

With a fresh 9-0 against the Giants, the future was looking bright for the Detroit Lions. Week 2 would bring the Chicago Cardinals to University of Detroit Stadium.

Despite the win of the week before, Lily noticed a large drop in attendence. What had been 12,000 last week, would only amount to about 7,000 ticket sales this week. Lily showed up for her shift regardless, going through the motions of selling beverages and tipping stadium security to ensure the beer she sold in root beer bottles would continue to be sold without issue. 

Arthur was gone. She knew it had been a real possibility, but it hadn't hurt any less when she'd received the news of his death. Lily had become very efficient at tucking these terrible events away, ignoring them as she continued on.

Today was no different in that regard. The sun was out, the day promised to be a nice one, and the Lions wouldn't disappoint. Lily watched what she could see of the game from concessions, and near the end of the first quarter, the home team was up by a touchdown, and there was another type of animal standing before her.

"Two root beers and two Cokes, please." 

Lily stared for a very long moment. Sure, he might just resemble Mickey Cochrane, but the three other Detroit Tigers standing behind him.. Schoolboy Rowe, Chief Hogsett, and Elden Auker clinched it for her.

"Leaded or unleaded?" Lily asked, her voice barely above a whisper. These boys were only three days away from the World Series.

"Come again?" Cochrane leaned forward to hear her better. He was so close to her now that she could smell his aftershave.

"Y- you fellas prefer an ice-cold beer?"

Four Tigers walked away with four of Lily's home brews, and the Lions won the game 6-0.

Games three and four of the season were played away, at Green Bay and Philadelphia, respectively. The fifth game would be played here at home, against the Redskins. 

There'd been a recent upheaval across the country, but business was back on the climb. By the time Lily made it back out to Detroit, the last mob-related war was nothing but a distant memory. People wanted to forget the nonsense for a while, and 12,000 filled seats on this warm evening was certainly evidence of that.

Lily ran clean out of her bottled home brew before the game even started. As she sold sodas and water, she began to think. Kinky_Roger , he had a lemonade place. Eddie_Stobart , he had booze for days. What if she asked both to sell their product here, or let HER sell their product here? She could even combine two of the products... lemonade and vodka, that was a cocktail, was it not? Vodka looked like water and could be brought in the easiest...

As Lily's brain whirred away with the potential possibilities, the Lions made the first touchdown of the game, in the second quarter. Grabbing a water and a pretzel for herself, she let another girl take over the stand so that she could go enjoy the rest of the game. 

Boston Redskins - 0

Detroit Lions - 24

Taiga had never been much of a sports fan. So the fact that she was here in a packed stadium wearing a Detroit Lions jersey over her designer dress while being surrounded by sweaty men fueled by testosterone was a sight to behold. Of course, there could only be one explanation as to why Taiga took the time out of her day to watch something she didn't even enjoy: it meant she was on the clock, and she was using the game as the perfect cover for the job she needed done.

Sitting on one of the higher parts of the stadium, she scanned the crowd and caught the eye of two of her associates, seated on opposite sides of the section. They gave her a brief and covert nod to assure her that everything was going as planned, so she then shifted her gaze to a man in an impeccably tailored suit sitting at the very front row, watching the game intently: Mr. Tommy Gambino. He owned a thriving supermarket chain around the US that had less than legal trading happening behind the scenes, and one of the people he dealt on the East Coast with was Taiga's crew. Unfortunately, Mr. Gambino decided to screw them over by not holding up his end of the deal and shortchanging them, so Taiga was sent to his hometown to... deliver a message.

During the halftime, as if on cue, Mr. Gambino stood up to use the restroom. Not just any restroom, but a private one for VIPs like him. Today, it was cordoned off by the rest of Taiga's party, so he wouldn't have a line to worry about anymore -- although he sure had something worse to worry about, he just didn't know it yet. As soon as he got up, her associates were quick to follow him, and in the middle of people clamoring to buy snacks and watching the somewhat titillating halftime show, who would even hear a man being beaten to a bloody pulp?

A few minutes passed and Taiga impatiently checked her watch. She had a nail appointment to get to. She was just about to go down there and finish the job herself when one of her associates emerged, flashing her a lopsided grin. She stood up and approached him before they walked to the car. "What took you so long? Roughing someone up is kind of a two-minute job." She asked him sternly.

"Well, Miss Taiga, besides assuring that he got our message and that he'll pay up" he started, reaching into his coat and showing her a wallet full of bills and a Rolex watch, "we just thought you'd like a few gifts. You did have to sit through half a football game against your will, after all."

The end of the 1930's saw changes coming for the Detroit Lions. Two key players retired after the team fell short in the division against the Packers, and things were only going to get worse. With the team now relocated to Tiger Stadium in Corktown, the Detroit Lions Stadium now sat empty. 

Dani Reese stood at the closed gates, peering through them at the weeds and detritus that had collected on the field and walkways. They reminded her of tumbleweeds in a old western.

"What're ya gunna do with 'er?" Asked the cop standing next to her. This one was in uniform, and he stood there with his cap pushed back on his head and twirling his baton- actually twirling it, as if he'd picked up the affectation in some cops and robbers show. Dani rubbed her eyes and spoke.

"Chain it up. I don't want it, particularly since the crime element moved in. I can't control what happens here from Chicago. I hear the team has gone down the shitter, too... place is probably cursed."

The cop didn't say anything, just nodded and began weaving chain through the bars of the entrance gates and closing the doors forever with the resounding snap of a large industrial padlock. Dani thanked the man and left, she had one more stop to make and wanted to get out of Detroit as quickly as possible. The air quality was giving her a migraine.

CLOSED - NO TRESPASSING