By Dana Casadei

Detroit is known for its sports teams. We root each year for the Wings as they make it to the playoffs time and time again, scream at the TV as the Lions play, and love watching Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera come up to bat. Now there’s a new kind of sport entering the Detroit scene, ComedySportz Detroit.

This sport doesn’t have bats or helmets, although there are team uniforms and fouls. At the press preview, and world premiere (according to the evening’s referee, Jeff Fritz), two teams of three (a red team and blue team) battled it out for laughs – and points – at the Michigan Actors Studio in Ferndale.

When you walk in you’re given a glow stick, a token to take home, that has a red and blue side. This is how points for the voting aspect of the show work. Before the show begins the players come into the audience to chat with spectators, immediately breaking down any sort of fourth wall.

The evening’s ref explains the rules, and the three fouls, then introduces the two teams. One of the really interesting aspects of ComedySportz is no two shows will ever be the same. Teams are constantly competing against different ones, there’s variety in the games that are played, and it’s highly unlikely that two different audiences will give the exact same answers each night.

After the national anthem is sung – get ready for some off-key, and in last night’s case, way off-tune, singing – the real fun begins. Games will be played, the ref may get a little too “drunk with power,” and ultimately a winner will be chosen.

The debut teams, the Motor City Mechanics and the Ferndale Fire, both really brought their A-game, with each team’s captain being standouts amongst the group. The Ferndale Fire’s Rico Bruce Wade was dynamite, and the Motor City Mechanics’ Jaclynn Cherry was simply superb. Both teams were strong, but some people were just genuinely funnier to watch.

Most of the games work well, but a few felt a little stale. Sit, Stand, Kneel has a few kinks to work out, and it wasn’t all that funny to watch. Same goes for Do-Rap-Rap; it had some bumps, as players weren’t always sure when to start the actual rap, and it felt a little predictable that the final two had players from each team.

I was most skeptical of 3 Things – which is very tough to briefly describe herein – but it ended up being one of the most amazing improv routines I’ve ever seen. At first I had no idea what was going to happen, but once the Ferndale Fire started the game, it was pure improv magic. Re-play was another highlight of the evening.

When some people think of improv, they automatically assume it will be dirty with a lot of swearing. This is another way that ComedySportz Detroit stands out among the improv crowd. One of the fouls, the Brown Bag Foul, works this way: If someone in the audience, or one of the players on stage, says something “you wouldn’t want your grandma to hear,” they have to wear a brown bag for the rest of that game. It’s improv that’s still funny for everyone, but parents won’t get asked uncomfortable questions on the ride home.

If last night’s show was any indication of what’s to come for ComedySportz Detroit, the Michigan Actors Studio will be hitting homers for many weekends to come.