Clevelanders were getting excited—and nervous—about their moment in the spotlight. The convention was our chance to show the rest of the country that we were just as competent and beautiful as any other city in America. Maybe the people in New York and LA would finally realize that Clevelanders weren’t a bunch of Midwestern bumpkins. Maybe the people from Washington, D.C., would see that our hometown was more than a heap of rusted remains.
