The Auburn Hills Palace was destroyed this Saturday: the end of an era for many lovers of the orange ball … This temple of hardness, this den of trash where the collective has often taken precedence over the individual does could not disappear without a last tribute worthy of the name.
It was therefore at 8am this Saturday that the event occurred, the end of a sacred NBA basketball monster: la destruction du Palace d’Auburn Hills. For those who do not cry yet in the face of this news, here are some images that may hurt.
Here’s the implosion of The Palace of Auburn Hills. Started at 8 a.m. on the dot and ended in a matter of seconds, leaving a cloud of dust pic.twitter.com/su0q1zrrhy
– Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) July 11, 2020
An end that even inspired some of our most distinguished feathers, affected by this disappearance. We let you enjoy these few lines, which are sure to inspire a certain nostalgia among the oldest.
Ô Palace
Time passes but nothing fades
Time passes but you keep this place
This place in the bottom of our hearts
These laughs, this blood, these tears
Ô Palace
Time is short but long
The moist heat of your big days
And these sandwiches early in the morning
Missing in our daily life
Ô Palace
Your Laimbeer and your Thomas
Your Billups and your Wallace
Remain engraved in our memories
Just like the drunkenness of your big nights
Ô Palace
Rings, gouaches and uppercuts
Victories, scrums and disputes
Have made you a nightmare
Have made you this place apart
Ô Palace
Now you’re dust
But the images and cries of yesterday
Will stay up there forever
In the drawer of our ideals
Inaugurated in 1988, the Palace of Auburn Hills has been the home of the Pistons for 29 years. Twenty-nine years which will have seen the rise of two legendary teams namely the Bad Boys, champions in 1989 and 1990, eternal rivals of Michael Jordan but also the “blue collar” of the early 2000s, winners of the 2004 title against Lakers. Two teams symbolized by rigor and hardness that we have seen little in history. They were called Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Denis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer for some, Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Ben and Rasheed Wallace for others. Two teams that have taken the principle of collective play to its level of excellence, allowing them to write some very beautiful pages in the history of this sport. Collectives which were in turn enhanced by their lair: the Palace of Auburn Hills. Who has never sung a little DE-TROIIIIIT BASKETBALL in their living room? This song, launched in 2001 by John Mason, the speaker of Motor City, literally melted into the soul of the Pistons. When you heard it you knew you were going to snug because you were at the Pistons. Five crazy dogs on the ground, at least as many on the bench and some 22,000 barges just waiting to enter the field to deliver the final blow. That was the Palace. That was so much that, unfortunately, there could sometimes be incidents. How many fights with the Bulls, the Celtics, the Pacers? Who knows if the episode of “Malice at the Palace” would have taken place if the opponent of the day had not been Indiana. Opponents a few months earlier in the Conference Finals, the two teams have similar styles: physical, aggressive, without superstar but rather big groups with homework players. And what had to happen happened. Too many blue-collar workers are killing the blue-collar worker. What is still considered the worst fight in NBA history today. In another room, this event would have undoubtedly denoted with the tradition and one would have spoken about that as an isolated fact but it was Detroit… It was the Palace. Not a regular room where you earn ten points and everyone comes in to eat the turkey. It needed intensity, trashtalking, rough play and blood.
Replaced in 2017 by the Little Caesar Arena, it was still considered by everyone to be the home of the Pistons. His disappearance may haunt the most fervent fans for some time. But to believe that the spirit of the Bad Boys only reasoned in a building and concrete walls is nonsense. This force still exists and it is up to the Pistons to recreate it in their new lair. With the success that we know and that we will always know them.
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