October 11, 2006

Somebody pinch me. I must be living in a fantasy world.

Recently I had a special time as I returned to Detroit, where I coached at the University there, as well as the Pistons. I really grew as a person in the Motor City for 15 years. I came back and spoke at The Palace and the people there have great work ethic and love for sports. The town is going bananas over the Tigers, especially after their series win over the Yankees. There is a lot of excitement after missing the playoffs for almost two decades.

The Palace of Auburn Hills proudly displays those Pistons championship banners. Bill Davidson, the architect of the Pistons championships was also instrumental in my life. He gave me the ziggy on November 8, 1979.

As I told the 19,000 people at The Palace, and it can be intimidating to speak in front of that crowd, it was fun to be back with my people. I had 25 minutes to share my insights … I usually can't say hello in 25 minutes, baby! I really appreciated the response as I spoke on motivation. There were so many beautiful people there.

By the way, they didn't come just to see me. I was part of the cast that included Rudy Guiliani, Steve Forbes and Colin Powell. I wish my mom and dad could have been there; they gave me a doctorate of love and told me a long time ago to never believe in the word "can't", and have passion and spirit.

What a day it was. A few buddies of mine were there; Frank Smith and his lovely wife, Diane; another friend Rocky Ross … and we ran into former Pistons Kent Benson and Vinny Johnson at Baco's in Southfield, a wonderful restaurant. We had a terrific dinner there as we shared stories about the old days.

Then things got even better as I got tours of Ford Field and Comerica Park, my first visit to both places. I walked on the field at Comerica and it was a lot of fun. Locker rooms have changed and players get treated in a first-class fashion these days!

Could it get any better? Yes, during lunch the next day at Adiamo, a restaurant at the General Motors building, I was invited to meet with GM CEO Rick Wagoner. I couldn't believe it and his office was unbelievable. He was a basketball fanatic and his son goes to Duke. Rick is a big Mike Krzyzewski fan and the whole meeting was about hoops, baby. Rick even talked about being a walk-on and going against David Thompson and the Wolfpack! He was my kind of guy and taking time when he is under so much pressure was special.

It was a great trip back to the city that played such a vital part in my life. I thank Bill Davidson for giving me that ziggy. I thought it was the worst day of my life but it eventually led to E-S-P-N and 28 years so far of many great times. I tell coaches all over America who think I'd prefer to be in a locker room coaching a team -- I coach Duke Monday, North Carolina Wednesday and Kentucky Saturday and over the last 28 years I am undefeated!

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.