The General Motors Renaissance Experience

I don't why, but I do see myself privately rooting for GM to succeed. Whenever those GM "Reinvention" commercials come up it does resonate.

Too bad it wasn't done as a 100% private entity. At this point, one could only hope GM succeeds, pays back the government and kicks them out. More importantly, they never, ever go back for a hand out again.

By the way, has anyone noticed Air Canada knocked on Ottawa's door for a $2oo million loan? West Jet succeeds on its own (as far as I know) while Air Canada needs the government.

Anyway, here's a great article by Terry O'Reilly (I'm guessing not the former Boston Bruins player) of the Ottawa Citizen using boxing legend Joe Louis as a metaphor for GM's rebirth. I'm a sports junkie so anytime you link anything to sports and you do a good job with it, you'll get a link back.

"But the scene of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing the pass that won the Super Bowl this year, with only 35 seconds to go, hints at the bigger story.

Roethlisberger symbolizes a great come-back-from-behind winner, and the Steelers have always been emblematic of the blue-collar working class".

I know the Steelers were used because it's current, but you could have also inserted Vince Lombardi's dynasty Green Bay Packers of the 1960s. Those Packers teams were the epitome of smash mouth, hard working, no-nonsense football. Much like the Steelers period of dominance in the 1970s. Either way, these are two football franchises that have come to symbolize excellence.

One last comment. The commercial also shows two hockey players for a second. Hockey in its humble origins, much like baseball, was a blue collar sport. Rather than use an inconspicuous shot of two unknown players, they could have found a more symbolic example. In the Detroit Red Wings (four Stanley Cups in 14 years and six trips to the finals), you can't ask for a better example. The Red Wings are literally an organization that rose from the dead (remember the Dead Things?) and resurrected itself to become possibly the best franchise in pro North American sports (relax, New England Patriots fans).

Joe Louis was a more poetic and remarkable story but don't discount the Wings/GM connection. GM and Detroit are synonymous.

Oh, and don't forget to use some Motown. Edwin Starr's 'Twenty-Five Miles' for example.

Why not?