Detroit, It’s time

29 March, 2009

The Final Four is set.

You're On.

I know you thought you'd proven yourself with The MLB All-Star game. And also with the World Series. And with a couple of NBA finals. And with a whole mess of Stanley Cup finals. And the NCAA wrestling finals. And the world's preeminent car show. Oh, yeah, and you thought you proved yourself with that Super Bowl you hosted flawlessly.

But people still want to see you fail. All they know about you is that you aren't what you once were. They will come and expect to get mugged. They will see Michigan Central Station and call it symbolic. The will get hotels in Auburn hills, then complain there is nothing to do in this place. They will park as close as possible to Ford Field, probably walk under the People Mover tracks and complain that they had to pay so much to park there because there is no way to get around in this town.

They will wonder what is so terrible about you that all the white people with money had to leave and move to those nice suburbs to the north.

They will call your streets dirty. They will joke about how the logo on top of the Renaissance center is going to be replaced by a Toyota logo.

They will wonder why they are even there, they will go ahead and ask "who had the bright idea to go to Michigan in March?"

But I get the feeling Detroit will do the thing it knows how to do best, the thing that it was known for before the world made Detroit it's bad joke. Detroit will punch the clock and do the job. Just like every other time the city's been put on the stage recently. You'll be that great city that those of us that grew up north of you wanted to be from. We wanted to be a part of you, but all we could do was visit and envy.

Will the world take this opportunity to notice that Detroit is more than closed factories? Probably not. But you'll still impress a few basketball fans, and that's a start.