64ish years. Started watching 1960 or so. HNIC was a Saturday night religion in our house. Still is, in my house today. Saw the Canadiens win the cup at Olympia in '66. Standing room, in the balcony, with the old man, & older brother. Mickey still talks about that goal. Henri Richard sliding into the Wings net with the puck under him, pushing Crozier into the net in OT. What a heart breaker.
Survived the disaster years, Howe leaving, Marcel Dionne going to LA, Harkness, Dead wings. Some tough times for hockey in Detroit. We're die hards. The wife & I used our wedding money, to buy season tickets. Furniture? Down payment on a home? Hell no! Season tickets, baby! That was the 78-79 season. The last full year at Olympia. The team was terrible, but we didn't care. We had a blast. If I remember correctly it was $6.50 per seat / game. 2nd row balcony. Great seats.
I was fortunate enough to watch the 'evolution' of the Wings back then. Great team goes down the crapper for a long time. Horrible management. Good players bolting or getting traded out. It was some tough sledding. That made the success of the 90's Wings that much more satisfying.
Hope I live long enough to see them successfully evolve into another contender.