slapshots1515
Registered User
As a non-Wings fan/outsider looking in, it should be.
The Red Wings have a championship pedigree unlike any other American NHL franchise; the fact it has the most Stanley Cup exclusively amongst American NHL franchises is a legitimate testament to that claim.
Besides, the fact Detroit is an NFL town mitigates the pressure off the Red Wings, especially when the NFL is an American Midwest institution.
You could very arguably say that the Wings are more popular (and therefore scrutinized) than the Lions around here. The NFL may be more popular overall, but the Wings have been a model of sustained success while the Lions have been a model of trainwrecks. Not to mention, Detroit (and Michigan in general) is one of the three true hockey hotbeds in the U.S.