Superbowl Commerical: Eastwood the "Voice of Michigan?"

Yes, I watched the Superbowl, but I didn’t have a dog in the fight. I do enjoy watching the commercials, however.  

A Superbowl commercial that caught my attention was the one with Clint Eastwood about Detroit.

In, "It's Halftime in America," Eastwood points out that Americans are hurting, then adds: "The people of Detroit know something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together. Now Motor City is fighting again."

I couldn’t decide if this was a commercial about Michigan, Chrysler, or the economy. But, I was a little saddened that it was Clint Eastwood leading the charge. He is a Hollywood actor, and a gruff one with a great narrative voice, but what does he really know about Michigan? I know, he starred, directed and produced ‘Gran Torino,’ but would he have chosen Michigan without the tax incentives that enticed the film there?

Who could they have chosen for the “It’s Halftime in America” commercial?  As I Googled famous people from Detroit, I was sad to see there were so few actually born there. Many simply had ties to Detroit, Tim Allen, Kid Rock, Eminem. However, two people that were actually born in Detroit—Tom Selleck and Ed McMahon. Either of those voices would have totally changed the tone of “It’s Halftime in America.”

Maybe, Clint Eastwood was the best choice—but he is no Michigander.

What do I know about Michigan? Well, up until the recession I was a Michigander. I lived and grew up in the Flint area, which surely is no Detroit—but also not a picnic. My great-grandfather was one of the original sit down strikers in 1936 at the Fisher Body Plant. My grandfather worked at GM, so did both of my parents. I had a short stint where I worked for a chemical company, Haas TCM that was housed at one of the GM plants in Lansing. I walked the docks and wore my safety goggles as I made my way through the plant to pick up purchase orders. It was my first experience at a factory, but I was fascinated by the goings on around me.

When I think about Michigan, I think about those factories. That was what “we” were. The factories were our livelihood and when the factories closed down, so did everything else—which is what brought my husband and me to Texas.

Anyway, after the commercial ran, several of my friends from Michigan made comments on Facebook about “Eastwood for President” or “Eastwood is my hero.” Whereas, my Texas friends must have changed the channel during that commercial—or perhaps, it was time for them to refill their beers? All was silent on the Texas side.

I guess, if you don’t have a dog in the fight, you truly don’t understand what it is like to be from the Great Lakes State.  Michigan is still in bad shape—if you talk to the Michiganders who are still there—it is still not getting any better.

Michigan is still hurting. I sure hope the rest of America is faring better than she is.