TIME MACHINE: Take a Drive into Lansing in 1984
For those of us who were around at the time, 1984 doesn't feel like it was all that long ago in the grand scheme of things.
Consider this though - there are people who were BORN in 1984 who are now grandparents. (Yeah, that math works out.)
The mid-1980s were a different time in America. They were a different time in Lansing.
Ronald Reagan was president. Jim Blanchard was Michigan's governor. We were all starting to get used to gas prices being more than a dollar a gallon. Michigan's auto industry was still thriving.
1984 would prove to be the most recent championship for the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, led by now-legendary players like Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish and Jack Morris. It was a decent year for the NBA's Detroit Pistons, who finished with a 49-33 record thanks to Isiah Thomas and company, placing second in the Central Division. We choose not to think about how the Detroit Lions and the Detroit Red Wings fared that year.
George Perles was in his second year as head coach of the Michigan State football team, with Nick Saban returning as his defensive coordinator. The Spartans went 6-6 overall, tying for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.
So much has changed since then.
Get into the time machine with us and travel back to 1984, as we take a drive along Michigan Avenue, starting near the Lansing/East Lansing line and making our way to the Michigan State Capitol building.