Reports From the SkateFAIR Protest

March 28, 2003

Report by Naomi Paiss

Wow. I'm so surprised, pessimist that I am, that it actually worked. And I can't tell you how grateful the people who are here are to everybody who sent anything -- banners, money, suggestions. It was a stunning media event....starting with the spontaneous chants, going to the speeches, and then watching the 200 or so (the police were wrong, that's for sure) maybe 300? demonstrators walk around chanting in a perfect oval. Johanna got her car with the stuff in it in the lot at 7:00 AM or so, we got the stuff out quickly, Renee actually knew how to work the sound system, the banners and signs looked incredible, and I had reporters up the wazoo who, as you can see, talked to many SkateFAIReans and others. There will be more coverage: USA Today doesn't publish on Saturday but we talked to Vicki Michaelis for a long time; and it took my jock friends from Widmeyer to tell me that the NY Times reporter was George Vesey, the dean of sports columnists.

Ben Currie is a natural with a megaphone, and (this is good, not bad) a police officer grumbled to me very politely that they sure didn't expect anything this loud and noisy.

Not only did it go off well, but those reporters are just armed for bear when they go to Speedy's press conference today.

Everyone on this list should be proud. My non-skatefan colleagues were stunned by the event, and they are cynical PR people like me.