Though "nearly won" is just a feel-good phrase for "lost," the truth is that Detroit leaves the X Games track stronger than when laps started last fall.
Lots of good things, some lasting, happened since Kevin Krease filed state paperwork a week after Thanksgiving to set up Action Sports Detroit, LLC – run initially from his 11th floor condo at the Park Shelton on Kirby in Midtown.
Main coverage: Wipeout: ESPN Picks Austin Over Detroit for X Games
He and organizing partner Garret Koehler now use #NotDoneYet as a social media replacement for #XG2D, and had a campaign concession statement ready at 10 a.m. Wednesday, just like political candidates would.
They speak of the enduring gains in that not-done-yet post, issued right after getting word that Austin won the event.
Here’s the secret: It doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter because we are not walking away, and we don’t believe the movement of people who have gotten behind this cause are either. To-date, the X Games have served as a rallying point for us, and we imagined that upon winning the X Games they would be a medium through which we could express and perpetuate the ever-growing vitality of our city in front of a global audience. Over the last few weeks we’ve realized that ultimately it’s probably more fitting that we just create that medium ourselves.
So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to create our own “X Games.”
We’re not entirely sure what this looks or sounds like yet, but we’ll have details made public in the coming weeks. What we are sure of is that people want an event that reflects the intensity of their passion for Detroit, for action sports and culture, and for the bold lifestyle those sports represent. This is an event we can build, and we’re excited to do so.
Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, who donated office space and financial support, tweeted: ""The spirit of Detroit is not only alive and well, but burning bright."
"Another chance for Detroit to DIO," says Model D publisher Claire Nelson on Facebook, abbreviating do it ourselves.
Ana Progovac echoes that on the same Facebook thread. "Do it, and show the world how much we love this city," she posts.
Other local reactions to the cable sports network's announcement Wednesday morning mix disappointment with glass-half-full recognition.
"Twenty years from now, when Detroit is the most progressive and traffic-heavy city in Michigan, we'll look back on this and laugh," predicts Aaron Foley, a Detroit automotive journalist and blogger.
"We now have the freedom to turn this into literally whatever we want," Joshua Aldrich posts on Facebook. "We can represent Detroit by ourselves FAR better than having an ESPN coat of paint on it."
Amy McCabe of East Lansing agrees, posting: "All of a sudden, there are no limits. This just got so much better!!!"
Brian Ambrozy, community manager at Shinola, suggests #DetroitHustlesHarder as a fitting hashtag as local backers move ahead.
"They can take our X Games, but they will never take our city!" tweets adman Charlie Wolberg in a "Braveheart" allusion. He's the founder of a Pontiac marketing and design agency called Curve Detroit.
Another marketing pro, Matt Friedman of the Tanner Friedman strategic communication agency in Farmington Hills, responds to a Deadline Detroit request to comment on six sentences in the organizers' reaction statement that swipe at Austin's selection.
"As ESPN expands their franchise globally, Detroit offered them the opportunity to inject their brand with a needed authenticity in the North American market, " Krease and Koehler posted. "We offered the X Games brand the opportunity to become part of the movement of young people who are transformatively re-engaging with a city that so many once abandoned. Today ESPN walked away from the opportunity."
Friedman, an avid sports fan (though not a skateboarder or BMX biker), sees no harm or imprudence in that bit of venting amid a 530-word statement.
"Communicating to your audiences when a business decision doesn't go your way is one of the most daunting challenges in PR," the former TV news producer says via email. "Your head reiterates Michael Corleone's 'It's not personal . . . it's strictly business,' but can often have trouble resisting your heart's desire to express emotion.
"Overall, the Detroit X Games bidders did an admirable job striking a balance. If the statement had been void of feeling, it would not have been credible. The feel of the statement reflects the organizers' public personality and the brand they have worked hard to create. It rallies support and a tinge of resentment toward ESPN without the dreaded 'sour grapes.' "
However they proceed now, these are among achievements Krease, Koehler and their backers pulled off in just seven months:
- Impressing ESPN reviewers enough to survive April's cut from 17 cities to four.
- Elevating local pride with promo videos, street parties and new social media communities (17,600 Facebook fans, 2,500 Twitter followers).
- Enlisting diverse allies – skateboarders, corporate leaders, young professionals and the Ford Racing team – behind a common cause.
- Welcoming ESPN's team with a flashy Campus Martius event that drew an estimated 15,000 people.
- Earning positive coverage nationally as a city on par with Austin and fellow runners-up Chicago and Charlotte, N.C.
- A magazine in Los Angeles, where the Summer X Games have been held since 2003, endorsed Detroit as a kindred spirit deserving the event
- Raising $26,000 towards a skate park at an April 20 video release party in Eastern Market. The project at Roosevelt Park, next to Michigan Central Station, can move forward with other support.
