Mike Babcock

Having witnessed first hand the drastic hard ships going on around him, Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock strongly believes that winning the Stanley Cup on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins is something the city badly needs to boost people’s moral.  Motor City otherwise known as Hockey town has been hit hard this year by the recession as factories have closed down along with the auto industries and the results have been a sky- high unemployment rate. Even though Babcock is secure in his job status and resides in a nice Detroit neighborhood, he showed some true compassion when discussing the importance of winning the Stanley Cup and what it would mean to the city.

“People who don’t live here have no idea what it’s like here in Detroit right now,” Babcock said. “I just know in my neighborhood, and I live in a nice neighborhood, the foreclosures and the kids in my kids’ schools that have to move and dads don’t have jobs and people are helping them, it’s incredible.”A similar situation played itself out back in 1968 when with Detroit enduring various riots and civil unrest and a high unemployment rate, the city banned together and got excited as their Detroit Tigers captured the people’s imaginations by rallying from a 3-1 deficit to capture the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Babcock who led the team to a Stanley Cup win last season believes that defending the championship on Friday night is something the city badly needs right now. “For us, in Detroit and in Michigan, this has been an unbelievable run for our city and for our state just because of the economy here and for the people. It’s been absolutely fantastic. Now we’ve got to finish it off.” Experience and home ice advantage will definitely be the key and deciding factors for the Red Wings who will bounce back from their game six loss and once again be crowned Stanley Cup Champions.