George Blaha, the voice of the Detroit Pistons, walked slowly down the sidewalk late Monday afternoon before the team's final game at the Palace of Auburn Hills, a 105-101 loss to the Washington Wizards. His emotions were complicated, just to say good-bye to so many old friends.
"I hate to walk out the door," Blaha said. "That's going to be hard."
Blaha, 73, has called nearly every Pistons game in this building, missing only a couple because of laryngitis and a few more because of conflicts when he was broadcasting Michigan State football.
But you can tell the entire history of this building through his voice, through his memories. Just from the rings on his hands. He wore the sparking, gaudy, diamond-crusted 2004 NBA championship ring on his left hand, the more subdued 1989 title ring on his right. Yes, he ran out of hands for the third ring won during the Palace years.
Blaha spotted Cindy Button, who works security and parks the players' cars outside the arena.
"Thank you for everything," Blaha said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Every year, they exchange Christmas presents and birthday presents.
Button, 60, has worked at the Palace since it opened in 1988, first working in crowd control. She has no idea what she will do when the Pistons move next season to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. She doesn't know if she will have a job. "They haven't told us yet," she said. "I love my team, but it's a long ways."
She had a gift in her car for Blaha's wife, Mary, for her upcoming birthday.
"I'll see you before we leave," Blaha said.
Button's favorite player? Isiah Thomas, who would always give her a hug. Still does to this day. "He is very nice," Button said. "He's not obnoxious. He's not standoffish. If he came in right now, I'd get a hug. He wouldn't walk by."
She can't quite process the idea of this arena closing. "It hasn't really sunk in," she said. "I'm going to miss seeing these guys."
Button let go of Blaha, and he proceeded into the Palace for the last time.
Blaha, 73, has been calling Pistons games since 1976, back when the Pistons played at Cobo Arena. He followed the team from the Pontiac Silverdome to the Palace, where the Bad Boys christened this shiny new arena with a pair of titles.
Blaha went through security and somebody started screaming: "George! George! George!"
A group of crowd-control and guest service managers were posing for a group picture in a small room.
"Come here, George! Get in this!"
He stopped for a picture and smiled.
"I have goosebumps," one manager said.
Blaha posed for more individual pictures and gave out more hugs.
"Thanks for everything!" Blaha said to a Palace worker.
Then, he said the same thing to a security guard in front of the Pistons' locker room, and another security guard, and then another.
This was a day for goosebumps and sadness and good-byes, at least for the voice of the Pistons.
"It goes all the way from sadness of leaving this great building to excitement of the move to Detroit," Blaha said. "I always felt what is good for Detroit is good for all of us, all over the state of Michigan. But that building is a terrific place. We could play there for 20 more years. To walk out the door is difficult, especially with so much success."
