A voice screamed from behind the rope.

D-Boss!

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was walking down the fairway with a group of celebrities at the Detroit Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon, and he was smiling hard — he had swung his club and didn’t maim anybody with his ball, so he was thrilled. Mission accomplished.

D-Boss!

Red Wings center Dylan Larkin was walking down the same fairway toward his ball during the AREA 313 Celebrity Challenge, part of the lead-up to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the first PGA Tour event in Detroit. And up ahead, Kid Rock was in the middle of the fairway, smoking a cigar, wearing some white "Made in Detroit" shorts.

It was a cluster of celebrities, all heading toward the same green, and one voice stood out.

“D-Boss!” Michael Banaszewski screamed at Larkin. “D-Boss!”

Larkin stopped and looked at Michael, a 14-year-old from Grosse Pointe, who has Down syndrome and is fighting cancer.

Larkin left the celebrities and walked toward the edge of the fairway. Larkin waved for Michael to duck under the rope and walk onto the course, and it turned into a moment that could have melted an entire sheet of ice.

They talked and posed for pictures. There were high-fives and hugs, and Jimmy Howard came over and he gave Michael a signed ball. Michael loves the Red Wings. He decorated his room at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital with Wings memorabilia, and his face lit up talking to Larkin.

If ever there was a moment that captured what sports means in Detroit, what these sports heroes mean to this city and the impact they can have, not to mention what it means to bring the PGA Tour to Detroit, it happened on that fairway.

The moment Michael met Larkin.

As Larkin walked away and continued to play, Michael kept screaming.

In pure joy.

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'As cool as it gets'

There are moments in life when you say, "Man, this is seriously wild," and that happened about 100 times on Tuesday.

Like the moment Izzo walked up to Kid Rock: “Hi, I’m Tom Izzo,” he said, and they shook hands.

After Kid Rock learned that Izzo had played only about three times this summer, Kid Rock said, “You wanna make some side bets then?”

“No!” Izzo said, laughing.

Or the time Jerome Bettis saw a child in the crowd, wearing a Michigan hat. “You need to buy a Notre Dame hat,” Bettis joked, and then he hugged the boy and took a picture with him, acting like he was going to punch that Michigan hat.

[ Henry Ford, Jerome Bettis and the history of Detroit Golf Club ]

“I’m a son of Detroit,” Bettis said. “To have this tournament here, and now to be part of this, it’s as cool as it gets.”

"As cool as it gets." Yep, that sums up this afternoon of golf.

Like the moment Kevin Larkin, Dylan’s father, broke into a smile, describing the joy of carrying his son’s golf bag in an event like this.

Or the moment Jacob Zink, 17, of Fenton broke into a smile and shook his head in disbelief, talking about carrying Kid Rock’s bag. His father is friends with Kid Rock. “He can hit the ball,” Zink said, of Kid Rock. “He’s such a nice guy. He’s kind of like an uncle, super chill.”

Uncle Bob — OK, there’s a thought I’ve never had.

Kid Rock's given name is Robert James Ritchie.

“Hey Kid, Lakeville says hi!” somebody screamed.

Kid Rock smiled.

“Hello!”

Kid Rock hit a perfect drive and he bumped fists with Izzo — yeah, as cool as it gets.

“It’s another win for the city, for the town, for Michigan,” Kid Rock said of the tournament. “Another positive. Hey, keep them coming.”

“What’s it like meeting all these athletes?” I asked him.

“You get spoiled,” he said. “You get to know a lot of these guys, who play all different sports. It makes it a lot easier to watch some of the games.”

Before a par 3, Izzo looked at all of the fans surrounding the course — all in danger of being hit. “I’d be wearing a helmet,” I said.

“I’d be wearing a full body suit,” Izzo replied.

It seemed like every time Izzo turned around, somebody screamed: “Go Green!”

And when his shot came up short, somebody yelled: “Go Blue!”

Touché!

“To me, this is great for Detroit, but it’s great for the state of Michigan,” Izzo said.

There were two other stars at this event: Dylan Drouillard, 14, of White Lake, and Kathleen Sovran, 15, of Southfield. They were treated at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and were representing Children’s Foundation, one of the groups that benefits from this event.

“It’s awesome,” said Drouillard, who has overcome three heart surgeries and has a pacemaker.

“It’s really cool to see everyone,” said Sovran, who had open heart surgery as an infant.

'You are a rock star'

When Larkin was a child, he was the one behind the ropes. He remembers going to the Buick Open and seeing Tiger Woods. “Those are great memories,” he said.

And now, he was the one inside those ropes — a superstar who still thinks like a fan.

After the three-hole event, Larkin pulled Michael onto the green and they did interviews together.

Larkin held his arm around Michael, who looked up at Larkin like he was looking at his hero.

“He played great!” Michael said. “He’s really great.”

Michael gave Larkin a gift, a "believe" bracelet, and Larkin put it on his wrist. The moment felt warm and personal and genuine.

“You are a rock star!” Larkin said.

Larkin left the course, still wearing the bracelet on his wrist.

Yeah, as cool as it gets.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.