Detroit: Home of the 1968 Olympics...Almost.

So Zach, an overall good guy and classmate up at MSU, sent me some amazing links to archives of the video for Detroit's bid to the US Olympic Committe for the 1968 Summer Olympics. I knew that Detroit had been the locale selected to represent the United States in their bid for the '68 Olympics, but had never seen the video for it. Although Detroit and the US had a very spirited bid, it was later beaten out in a close vote by Mexico City.

The video, which is a companion entry piece to "Detroit on the Move", the 1960's PR video for the City of Detroit, features a great voice-over by Gov. George Romney and Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh, as they talk of a Detroit with the Olympic Games...a Detroit that "coulda-been". It's really neat stuff!

I must say, I was extremely impressed with Governor Romney's enthusiasm for Detroit and for Michigan...Cavanaugh...umm...not so much.

To pre-empt people who might say "well, we should be glad that we didn't host the games in 1968, because that was soon after the 1967 riots", I need to point out that Mexico City suffered "issues" what with the Tlatelolco massacre, in which hundreds of students were killed by security forces. Given that context, a little riot...not so bad!

The Detroit You've Never Met: Part I [multiple formats]

The Detroit You've Never Met: Part II [multiple formats]