Well folks, SuperBowl week is over here in The D, and I must say it went amazingly well. We in Detroit really showed up for this one, and in turn showed up as a home field team for Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. Locally and nationally, sports fans agreed- Detroit has made a lasting impression. And for once, everyone agrees- Detroit holds its own, and I know we surprised SOME critics!

Now, I have to say that I was personally (yeah I know… kind of a traitorous thing to say all things considered) rooting for the Seahawks. AND I think there were clearly a couple of just plain bad calls. I'm NOT impressed with the officiating. Not one bit. Hasselbeck’s tackle was clearly that- a tackle, NOT a block below the waist. Roethlisberger’s touchdown was questionable – see a picture here . Would good calls on either of these plays been enough to change the outcome of the game? I’m not sure- Seattle made their fair share of ugly mistakes. And, that takes nothing away from a Pittsburgh team that played as a team, and gave the SuperBowl ring to “The Bus”, and the Vince Lombardi trophy to their town.

I do know one thing, it WAS great to see Bettis retire this way. Many players never get a chance to go out on the very top, and he did. “It’s official like the referee whistle,” he said, and that ended a brilliant career both with the fifth best rushing record in history of the league, and as a leader that captured the hearts of his teammates, his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, and we here in Detroit – HIS hometown.

My favorite play of the game? Definitely the 43 yard Randle El reverse option pass to Hines Ward. I’m a fan of trick plays, and this one actually worked, and worked well.

My contention is that now we have a tremendous opportunity to take the success of what we just accomplished as a city and a region, and continue to build on it. I just wonder if we’ll do that. Sure, there were a couple of hiccups… like what actually happened to all those hotel rooms that the casinos promised? I actually talked to some folks in from out of town that couldn’t find a place to stay within 40 miles of the stadium. That had to be one ridiculous drive back to your hotel room- especially if you were a Seahawks fan.

One Grosse Pointe man told me that he thought we should have, as a city, posted some large billboards enticing businesses to come to downtown Detroit- and advertising some huge tax advantages to them if they would. Here we are with some of the best natural resources, one of the busiest international ports in the world, we SHOULD have a downtown as alive and vibrant as a Chicago, or many other great cities. And for a moment, we did.

A Detroit police officer told DetroitBuzz that she was very proud of how the city had done so far, and that she thought the weekend would end up as a strong success.

Some out of town VIPs said that they never thought Detroit would be so much fun. That people were so friendly, there were so many great things to do, and that they’d actually come back again. I talked to a TON of people that simply LOVED Ford Field – “one of the best indoor stadium’s in the league”.

One of MY favorite moments was when a TV news crew interviewed Hank Williams, Jr. and Kid Rock on their way into the SuperBowl. Hank’s impromptu “Are you ready for some Football?” and his praise of Detroit was heartwarming.

So now, Detroiters, what do we do about it? How do we maintain the success of this weekend? First of all, spend some time downtown. Make it a point to get down there at least once a month. If you find places you love to go? Share them with your friends. Drag people downtown that don’t usually go there.

Two of my favorites:

• Traffic Jam and Snug One of Detroit’s first brewpubs, and still one of the best. Eclectic dishes, great service, and an unusual atmosphere.
• Andiamo Riverfront You can see great views of the river and Windsor from this GM Wintergarden restaurant. Some of the best Italian food the city has to offer. My favorite menu item is the bruschetta. (Which you can get for free during happy hour…)

Hey Detroit, SuperBowl XL committee, Pittsburgh and Seattle fans, celebrities, party promoters, thanks. You made it work. Most of all, thanks to our community. We pulled it off, and made it happen. WAY TO GO DETROIT!