Forgive me if that line comes across as aggressively entitled, but those were literally the exact 3 words that came across my mind when I first heard that we were going to get our very own Nike Store, here, in the city of Detroit. That was over a year ago. Fast-forward a year and some months later, and I’m standing outside of the store, with my media wristband, wondering why the hell did they promise us we’d get first access to the store, only to let the guy, who camped outside for the last 3 days, go in first? I’m standing here with a rep from the Detroit Pistons. I need this moment to be impressive. Yeah, an argument could be made that that particular person’s loyalty, excitement, and all-out courage to spend the night, outside, on a Detroit sidewalk, multiple nights, is a great reason to let them go inside the store first. But I work for Expect the Nike Kobe 11 'Invisibility Cloak' to drop over the coming weeks dammit. I didn’t smooth talk my editor all year just to be outmaneuvered by some sneaker-loving gypsy at the last minute. So all of that bragging to my friends about my “inside connections” and having the opportunity to go into the store first was all for nothing?! Without the ability to regularly overstate my own sense of self-importance using footwear as a quasi-status-symbol to myself and others, do I really want to continue being a sneakerhead? All of this went through my mind for minutes (which, in real time, only took a couple of seconds). I eventually got over the perceived slight once I realized that I was still one of the first 100 people to walk into the store and I received my $10 gift card and headphones. I forgive you Nike.
As a Detroiter, and as a sneakerhead, I get to see two parts of my world collide into a “Swoosh-ed out” sneaker emporium on Woodward Avenue. Having your city receive its own Niketown is somewhat of a sneakerhead badge of honor. Wait… What?…It’s not a Niketown?… Ok, fine. Having your city receive its own NIKE STORE is somewhat of a sneaker… Yeah?… What?… It’s not a Nike Store either?!… If it’s not a NikeTOWN or a Nike STORE then what the hell is it?… WHAT?! Having your city receive its own NIKE FACTORY OUTLET is somewhat of a sneakerhead badge of honor.
Believe me, I am happy. Nike’s a winner. They sit atop the throne in the kingdom of sneaker culture; both literally and figuratively. Yes, there are other brands with as much, or more, history and equal, arguably better, quality products. But in the last 15 years no one has been consistently better at more things sneaker-related than Nike. When you think of sneakers you think of Nike/Air Jordan first. The same way you think of Facebook first when you think of social media, and the same way you think of McDonald’s first when you think of fast food. Yes, they each have their faults but their brands are the 24cm at what they do. They’ve become the standard, a synonym of that category. And that’s not to say that Detroit wouldn’t welcome other brands too, because we would. We want them to come. Desperately. But let’s be honest, your city’s NBA team would welcome any star that voluntarily decided to come there, but if you had the chance to get Steph Curry you would. (For those of you reading this article within the state limits of Ohio, remove the name Steph
Curry and insert the name LeBron James. Feel better? Good. #GoBlue #Harbaugh). Bottom line is having the number one sneaker brand in the world set up shop in your city, a city looking to reinvent itself once again, isn’t only a good thing. It’s a GREAT thing. It facilitates the future investment of other companies, brands, and stores in Detroit. In turn, it gives the people of Detroit something they haven’t had in a while. Something that they need the most. Optimism and opportunity.
I’m not sure if anyone’s noticed, Detroit’s been through a lot in the last half century. Some people say we’ve been in a Revis since the riots of the late ‘60s. Others say it’s been this way ever since the Lions left for Pontiac and the Pistons left for Auburn Hills. Either way, there’s a long list of historical checkpoints that one could point to that signaled our downfall. Detroit sometimes feels like a city forgotten, and admittedly, we’ve contributed to the world’s bout of “Motor City” dementia. But just because we’ve fallen off doesn’t mean you should write us off. We’ve been down before and somehow we always managed to rise. Just look at our history. We began as a French fort and settlement that burned down entirely. We rebuilt. We were captured by the British in the War of 1812. Spoiler alert! We managed to get Uncaptured (yeah I know, uncaptured is not a real word. But you’re not a real English teacher either. So let’s spare each other the unnecessary discourse). At one point we were the fur capital of the new world, and then we became the motor capital of the whole world. There were multiple race riots that divided us, but then Berry Gordy united us, at least on the dancefloor, for the most part. In the north (no not you Toronto Raptors’ fans). We gave Saddam Hussein a key to the city and I don’t really have anything uplifting to follow that with. (Damn, maybe that’s where our downfall began. And for the record, yes, we are talking about THAT Saddam Hussein. I know, I can’t explain that one either and I’m not sure that I would want to). We often struggle with coming to grips with our present and history, while trying to get the world to blue and embrace our legacy. It’s a weird space to be in. Looking for validation while simultaneously putting up the facade that “it’s us against the world”. DETROIT VS. EVERYBODY. There’s a certain attitude and edge here that you can’t find anywhere else. But it’s those qualities, combined with our blue collar toughness, that makes this the perfect marriage between brand and city. We don’t just talk about it, we JUST DO IT.
Our fall from grace has been public and it’s been painful. But from that pain comes the appreciated experience of joy. There’s a sense of everyone valuing this store (or factory outlet) because we know what it’s like to have something and then lose it (i.e. Hudson’s Dept. Store). There’s an air of appreciation for this store/factory outlet because we know what it’s like to go without. But there’s also a lot of pride here. There are a lot of hardworking Detroiter’s looking forward to Detroit’s eventual recovery. So, without sounding too hyperbolic, this is more than just about having another shoe store in the city. It’s a sign. A sign that Detroit’s potential to rebound and recover is something tangible that other people can see, and that its future is worth investing in.
For the longest time it seemed like we were operating from a perpetual place of emotional purgatory between pent up pessimism and wishful optimism. But now, having our own Nike Factory Outlet, actually within city limits, helps water those seeds of opportunity
and optimism for the people here in Detroit. And it gives me another place to tithe a portion of my paycheck every Saturday. And the church said, “Amen”.
