Doug's Blog: “Good luck finding something to do in Albany.”

As the minutes pass I’m finding myself less angry at Rebecca Low Blow for saying that on national television. And as those same minutes pass I’m finding myself more angry at Governor Kathy Hochul for helping create a situation where RLB could say that. This is on you Gov Hochul, and to a lesser extent Mayor Kathy Sheehan, AG Tish James, and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. 

Less than two weeks ago Gov Hochul tweeted out a picture of the above mentioned women, and she captioned it “New York women lead.” My response to that is – apparently not during a historic NCAA March Madness in New York’s capital city unfortunately. 

The nation’s eyes were on Albany last night watching women make history, but our Governor, our Attorney General, our Mayor… all New York women, none of them were there. The Barstool President Dave Portnoy was there, he seemed to understand the magnitude of the moment. “I chase greatness” is what he said. 

Jason Sudeikis was there, he had to be a part of the excitement. Dez Bryant wasn’t there, but he tweeted “ if y’all not watching this game than you missing…” well, Kathy Hochul WAS missing. Greatness was happening – women’s greatness - mere minutes from her Governor’s Mansion, and she wasn’t there.

Stranger still that Gov Hochul didn’t invite the women from Iowa, LSU, South Carolina etc. to a tour of the Capital, where the first woman Governor currently serves. Seems like that might have photo-op potential, no? Better yet, why didn’t the Governor host a dinner for the teams, why wasn’t she at the airport greeting them, why wasn’t she making sure that the flags of each team were flying at the Capitol throughout the weekend?  

Rebecca Low Blow said what she said in part because our leaders failed to WOW her, which is what host cities are supposed to do. When the Super Bowl was in Indianapolis and many speculated that Indy couldn’t handle it, they put on a show. On the first night alone, there was a media party at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where people could kiss the bricks, enjoy a buffet dinner, and sit in an Indy car around the track. The JW Marriot in Indy was lit up to look like the Lombardi Trophy so that everybody knew the Super Bowl was in town. And anywhere you went in Indy locals were bubbling with pride that the Super Bowl was in town, and every local went out of their way to make sure you had what you wanted or knew what you needed. But our Governor, New York’s first female Governor, didn’t host the teams for a kickoff dinner, she didn’t give tours of the Capitol for the women in town, she didn’t light up the Corning Tower in NCAA brackets or team logos. In fact, she didn’t even issue any declarations/pronouncements in honor of these historic teams being here. She was apparently too busy proclaiming March 31st ‘Transgender Visibility Day’ in New York, where she ordered state landmarks to be lit light pink and light blue in honor of that occasion.

Rebecca Low Blow did indeed say “good luck finding something to do in Albany.” She did so in large part because the people responsible for making sure she DIDN’T say that, they dropped the ball. Governor Hochul, Mayor Sheehan, AG James… they never told RLB what she could do here, they never dazzled her with things she didn’t know, they never showed her “something to do in Albany.”  NEW YORK WOMEN LEAD, just not on Monday April 1st when the highest rated game in the history of women’s basketball took place in the very spot where ‘New York women’ work and live. And now most of the country has a lasting impression of Albany precisely because those New York women DIDN’T lead.