DREW SHARP: Mayor turns key into tacky stunt
February 1, 2006
BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, left, gets the key to the city from Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick during a ceremony Tuesday at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. (J. KYLE KEENER/Detroit Free Press)
The sentiment might have seemed nice, but Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick reduced Jerome Bettis' fondness for his hometown into a tacky political stunt Tuesday at city hall.
The memories of the last election were long since committed to dust, but the campaigning never ends.
Bettis was basically a photo-op prop for the mayor during a ceremony at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, where Kilpatrick proclaimed this Jerome Bettis Week. And the city officially turned its back on the ideal that two football teams converged on Detroit for one common purpose.
Bettis is certainly deserving of accolades. He has personified class, excellence and professionalism through a 13-year NFL career that many suspect will come to an end in Sunday's Super Bowl. He has become a walking advertisement for Detroit's rugged resilience in the days leading up to this climactic moment.
But couldn't the honor have waited until the Super Bowl circus left town?
Detroiters walk around town with Bettis' No. 36 plastered on every part of their bodies, but that's their prerogative. They love to see one of their own joyously standing on one of the biggest international stages and gushing the praises of his hometown.
But the local political pulse should remain neutral.
"Seattle ... we love you," the mayor said, "but we're Jerome Bettis people."
In other words, Seattle, as far as Detroit is concerned, you don't exist.
That's not exactly a chamber of commerce-worthy welcome.
The mayor could have honored Bettis at a more appropriate time for his charitable contributions in Detroit, but that would have denied Kilpatrick the opportunity of posturing before a media deluge.
In Tuesday's ceremony, the mayor wrongly took advantage of Bettis' role as the city's biggest ambassador this week. Bettis was subjected to questions about how it felt getting the key to the city, a distinction that was once bestowed on former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein back in 1980, when his government was considered an American ally.
"I think they canceled his key," Bettis said, laughing. "They changed the locks on that one."
Let's hope this doesn't give The Bus the impetus to become a ruthless dictator when his career ends.
"It is a great honor to be receiving the key to the city," Bettis said. "It's a city that I love, so it's something that means a lot to me, and I'll definitely cherish it."
But it was a mistake because the mayor selfishly chose to make an individual bigger than the game this week when the nation's focus is on his city.
Bettis was the first athlete ever to receive the key to the city, a surprising revelation considering the Red Wings and Pistons have won six championships between them in the past 17 years and were honored with downtown parades.
The Steelers insist there's no jealousy among his teammates. They're all happy for him. He's back home. They realize how much it means for an athlete to have his career come full circle. Their love and respect for the man aren't contrived, and they're confident Bettis will be ready to get back to business when the coaches begin implementing the game plan at practice today.
"I'm from Detroit, but I haven't had the great career that he has," said linebacker Larry Foote, who merited a little acknowledgement at the ceremony. "He deserves all of the applause and honors that he's been getting. He's always been a hero of mine. He's earned this. What did he call it other day? A dream? I know it is, and that's why everybody's happy for him."
But the mayor blew this one. He's a former football player. He understands that this is the ultimate team sport and the Super Bowl is the ultimate test of collective will. Yet the city seems bent on turning this show into Jerome Bettis and Others instead of the Steelers vs. the Seahawks.
"We're not focused on winning this just for Jerome," said receiver Antwaan Randle El. "We want to win it for the team. We want to win it for Coach" -- Bill Cowher. "There are a lot of people we want to win it for.
"This is big for Jerome because he is back home and has been playing for 13 years and he's a close friend of ours, and we certainly want to win it for him. But Jerome would tell you that it's always all about the 11 on the field."
And the man who has earned the respect of his colleagues deserved more appreciation from his hometown than to be used as a political pawn.
Contact DREW SHARP at 313-223-4055 or
dsharp@freepress.com.
