Detroit is a pretty phenomenal sports town. Prehaps the best. We named ourselves Hockeytown, we are a city of baseball junkies, a town that year after year touts the Pistons’ almost super-heroic ability to “win under pressure” (a lie that has kept us comfortable for four seasons now) and don’t you forget that every year we band together for the communal wrist-cutting that is the next Lions season. And while we laugh along with outsiders who make their comments on our losing franchises, one thing we do not tolerate is when one of our own doesn’t pull the company line and suggest we’re still the best sports town around. Currently learning this lessson is Katrina Hancock, local sportscaster for WDIV. Poor Katrina has come under some pretty heavy fire in town, getting simply showered with boos and various curses at the Wings’ victory parade last Friday. Why the attacks? Because Katrina crossed that line I mentioned, and dared to suggest that Pittsburgh’s fans were better than Detroit’s fans. Here’s a LINK to the brutal mistake.
What a stupid mistake. And fans around here can get pretty rabid, so expect this to remain in the local consciousness for a long, long time. Worse yet, while a select few knew about this on Friday, it seems everyone in town has heard it this morning. As I type this, Mike In The Morning is broadcasting the clip and having a big ol’ discussion. I have to wonder if she’ll say anything or if WDIV would go so far as to let her go, not that I’m looking for her to lose her job. People take stuff like this too seriously, and even if she meant it, I don’t think it’s required that everyone in Detorit or involved in local sports reporting necessarily has to be a Detroit slappy. Besides, Kartina Hancock is awfully hot, even though at 6′3″, she tends to tower over everyone she interviews. She’d definately lead if you danced with her.
And speaking of boos and the home-town crowd, let us take a moment for poor Kwame Kilpatrick. While I understand his presence at the Wings’ parade (he still is Mayor of the city, after all), I question his decision to chat it up with the folks in attendance. The crowd reacted to his introduction and speech with a near-deafening wall of boos and hissing that filled Hart Plaza and came over loud and clear on many of the television and radio stations’ coverage of the event. Kwame delivered what had to have been the shortest speech he has ever given in his entire professional career. During the minute-long talk, Kwame tried so hard to get the crowd to cheer, referencing the Wings’ star players, the Stanley Cup victory, and even a rallying call for Detroit Pride – nothing doing, however. The crowd had one message to deliver in the middle of the good times, and Kwame had no choice but to hear it, and the effect on him was obvious. I imagine that as his voice cracked and he stumbled over his words in order to get off the stage ASAP, Kwame wished he could hire a few hundred thousand or more bodyguards, so he could shove the entire crowd, en masse, as if each and every one of them was Steve Wilson. While the spin is certainly trying to do its best to make it seem like this even was no big deal, there was no hiding what happened. I’ll assume that any following public apperance that isn’t limited to the hand-picked Kwame Supporters will have this similar reaction. Rough road ahead, Kwame – and where’s my beer?
