A different view of the World Series
The networks may not like this year’s matchup, but Michael Allen at the Ecology of Absence blog does, and he’s got an intereting take that you won’t see in the sports section.
In how many academic debates on urban decline is the worst American case posed as a tossup between St. Louis and Detroit?
Now that’s the World Series tossup, and things have changed as the nation’s eyes turn to the baseball teams of these two cities. Both cities remain bleeding buildings, businesses and residents, but they no longer come close to their mythic no-man’s-land images (they never did, truth be told). St. Louis has started a modest population gain, and both cities are seing major reinvestment in their downtown areas. While smaller than Detroit, St. Louis is probably the leader of the two in demonstrating how to rebound from heavy population loss and deindustrialization.
Overall, though, I’m delighted that these two comeback cities are now getting the world’s attention. Maybe this can help erase those negative myths further.
He doesn’t say, but I’d bet he’s secretly rooting for his hometown team.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:09 am
That’s very interesting. But I still prefer to think of the series as the Cardinals being up 2 games to 1.
Go Cardinals!