SPORT AND SOCIETY -- BROADCASTS
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SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
Last week Larry Guest reported on the reluctance of the Orlando Magic to
share this city with any other major league professional sports franchise.
In the course of his column Guest quoted Magic owner Rich DeVoss as saying
about his conversations with County Chairman Linda Chapin and Orlando
Mayor Glenda Hood: "I talked to the girls and asked them how many sports
dollars are there to go around in Orlando."
This little two line comment raises two major issues. First, the
condescension and sexism in Mr. DeVoss' comment is unbelievable in the
mid-90s, even for Central Florida. It reveals a total lack of sensitivity
and judgement, and raises serious questions about this major corporate
figure.
To refer to the Mayor of Orlando and the County Chairman of Orange County
as "the girls" shows DeVoss not only as sexist, but also as having a very
low regard for the views and opinions of Orlando's political leadership.
Clearly DeVoss does not take them seriously. In DeVoss' world there is
apparently no room for women in power positions, and he seems incapable of
thinking of women in those terms.
The fact that there has been almost no public comment on this insensitive
comment by the Magic Boss is equally a measure of the deference that the
news media pays to the Magic and its leadership. Nearly everything Magic
is above reproach. Nor did Larry Guest make any comment on DeVoss'
impropriety. But then Larry is not known for his sensitivity or liberalism
on the major issues of our time.
The second issue raised in the column is also of some concern. As I have
been saying for a year now, it is clear that the Magic rushed the Solar
Bears into Orlando in order to keep the National Hockey League out. It was
nice to finally see Larry Guest sug gest this on the Sentinel sports pages
after all this time. The city rushed to provide the DeVoss family with a
lease for the Arena within a week of the announcement that Universal
Studios would seek an NHL franchise for the city of Orlando.
The Magic and the DeVoss family do not want to share the sports dollar and
the sports pages with another major league franchise in the City
Beautiful. Now with the Tampa Bay Bucs eying Orlando as a place to
relocate, the DeVosses are again nervous. Papa DeVoss wonders aloud about
whether Orlando has enough sports dollars to go around, and Mayor Glenda
Hood is suddenly very cool about the idea of the NFL stopping here.
This is a peculiar dance and one that the people of Orlando should not
tolerate. Rich DeVoss and the Orlando Magic should have nothing,
absolutely nothing, to say about who is or is not going to do business in
this city. The city of Orlando owes them noth ing. The DeVosses did not
bring the Magic to Orlando. The team was already here and very popular
when the family purchased them as a highly lucrative franchise for an
investment property. It has paid off handsomely for them already, and they
are likely to continue to reap the profits for many years to come. In
addition the city continues to subsidize their operations with the
highly favorable terms of the Magic contract for the Arena.
The DeVoss family is owed no more by the people of Orlando. The DeVoss
family should not be allowed to tell the mayor, the country chairman, or
the Orlando Area Sports Commission what it should be doing. This practice
of allowing sports entrepreneur's to control the market makes no sense,
and is dangerous for the future of major league sports in the city.
In fact another example of this has already occurred. It has been reported
that any move by the Tampa Bay Bucs to Orlando, or presumably any other
franchise to Orlando that would need a stadium, can not take place without
the approval of Norton Herrick. H e has been given an exclusive right to
the new stadium, and anyone seeking to build a new stadium must settle
with him first. This is incredible. Who is responsible for giving a man
who has never done a thing for Orlando, this kind of power over the
future of sports franchises in this city?
This is the kind of bad judgement that comes from the willingness of
cities to prostitute themselves to those waving major league franchises
before them. This is the mentality that leads sports owners to run from
city to city looking for the biggest subsidy they can find. This is the
kind of thinking that will leave Cleveland without a football team,
Houston without a team, Los Angeles without a team, and fans feeling
betrayed across America.
It is also the kind of public policy perversion that will leave sports
owners with pockets full of public funds for their dining and dancing
pleasure.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
Over the last several years I have had a running disagreement with a
colleague over whether sport is simply a business or if it means something
beyond the bottom line. Is there, or was there ever any sentiment in
sport? The recent developments involving Cleveland and Baltimore raise
these questions once again.
On the one hand I am inclined to simply dismiss all this whining and
wailing coming out of Cleveland as so much nonsense. Teams have been
moving in the NFL with some abandon for the last several decades as the
demographics of the nation change, as the gre ed of the owners pulls them
from city to city, and as the inducements to move offered by cities
escalate at geometric rates. Franchise relocation is simply a response to
the market.
In the past few decades there is more than a little precedent for what Art
Modell has done. In Oakland Al Davis pulled up stakes for Los Angeles in
search of sky box and pay-per-view money. While in L.A. he was constantly
warning that if he didn't get mor e of this or that he would take the team
to some other major metropolis that was willing to empty its coffers into
his pockets. The move itself was fought by the powers running the league,
but the courts sided with Davis. The NFL was powerless to resist l ife,
liberty and the pursuit of greed. Al then turned around and went back to
Oakland for more coin of the realm.
Baltimore became a city longing for an NFL franchise because of Robert
Irsay's move to Indianapolis under cover of darkness. The image of the
Mayflower Moving Vans pulling out of Baltimore still is etched in the
memory of Colt fans. Now of course history has turned on its head as the
sight of moving vans returning to Baltimore will end the NFL drought in
the city. It is now Cleveland that is left to hold the empty stadium.
But let's not stop here. The Arizona Cardinals were once the Chicago
Cardinals and the St. Louis Cardinals. Who mourned for those cities when
the Cardinals flew away? And who will mourn for Phoenix when the Arizona
Cardinals go off to Los Angeles or maybe even Cleveland in the next few years?
The Los Angeles Rams were once the Cleveland Rams, and they are now the
St. Louis Rams. The Rams were in Los Angeles just as long as the Browns
were in Cleveland. Yet, the weeping and wailing was not heard across the
nation when the Rams left la la land.
And please don't forget the Bucs as they also threaten to move out of
Tampa in search of sky boxes in Orlando, Los Angeles, or wherever cities
may be giving away the farm.
As all of this has proceeded the Houston Oilers are making serious
preparations to head to Nashville, the most popular non-destination in
sport today. While the Bengels are constantly making noises about the need
to get out Cincinnati.
And we should not forget that without the shedding of a single tear the
Jets and Giants left New York for New Jersey, but have retained the name
of the city from which they fled. As the Lions did when they abandoned
Detroit for Pontiac.
What then is the tradition that is being defended here? Should we get all
misty about the fact that little children who went to Browns games in the
fifties have become adults who frequent the dog pond, or gather in cities
across America wearing team logo merchandise to Cleveland Brown Fan Clubs
at sports bars to see their beloved team beamed off a satellite dish?
Are these sentimental feelings an important part of modern sport? Can we
talk of tradition for a team that has been in one location for only
twenty-five or fifty years? Do people have a right to retain the sports
franchises in their cities?
One supposes that the correct answers to these questions are yes. That a
sports franchise that uses the name of the city does so to form an
emotional attachment between fan and team through the city. Civic pride
and pride in the team are related, and owners in a sense profit from the
relationship. But so do the cities. So when the relationship ends
shouldn't we just regard it as the end of a financial arrangement, the
termination of a business deal?
If the Magic left Orlando tomorrow would you feel betrayed? If the Orlando
Magic were called the DeVoss Magic would you be as attached emotionally to
the team? Has the success of the Magic done something to and for the
identity of the city of Orlando? The answers to those questions will
give you a clue to just how much sentiment there is in sport, and should
say something about the obligations of owners to cities as well as to fans.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
The State of Nebraska is not at the hub of the universe. In my lifetime it
has been best known for two things: Father Flanagan's Boy's Town and
college football. It would seem now that these once separate attractions
have been joined together. Tom Osborne, football coach at Nebraska has
become the new Father Flanagan. Boy's Town has moved from Omaha to
Lincoln.
Father Flanagan, a catholic priest who ran a home for boys, established a
national reputation for rehabilitating troubled youth. He managed to
market his success and had a national fund raising operation that made
Boy's Town the best known and best funde d such home in America.
With Father Flanagan having passed on and Boy's Town not quite as
prominent as it once was, Tom Osborne seems to be trying to fill the gap.
In the past few months Nebraska's football program has been plagued by
cases of documented and alleged assaults by football players on their
girlfriends, and charges of attempted murder against another player.
There was in fact a run of about three weeks across the nation when the
least safe role for women seemed to be wife or sweetheart of an athlete
either college or professional. At the pro level Warren Moon and Bobby Cox
became high profile wife abusers, although still not equaling the now
legendary role models O.J. Simpson or Mike Tyson.
At the college level several cases surfaced, but the most prominent one
involved the University of Nebraska football program, in part because it
involved the star of the team, and in part because of the way it was
handled by Tom Osborne in his new role as Father Flanagan.
Lawrence Phillips, whose picture is on the front of the University of
Nebraska football media guide, was arrested for assaulting his former
girl-friend who happens also to be a star of the women's basketball
program. He broke into an apartment at 5:45 a.m., threw her to a bathroom
floor, dragged her down three flights of stairs by the hair, and had to be
separated from her by two men. Osborne immediately suspended Phillips from
the team and later acknowledged that Phillips had prior warning to stay
away from the woman or face dismissal from the team.
At nearly the same time another Nebraska player faced charges of attempted
murder. In this case Osborne said that after reviewing the evidence he
would not suspend this player. Some wondered how Osborne was able to make
these decisions about guilt or innocence before the courts did. Clearly
he knows and understands troubled youth.
Phillips has now been reinstated was cheered heartily last Saturday when
he entered the game. The reinstatement came despite the fact that he is
awaiting sentencing after a plea of no contest.
So why has this been done? Cynics across the country say that Osborne is
simply obsessed by the pursuit of a national championship and millions of
dollars for the university. First of all, Nebraska's national championship
will come with or without the ser vices of Phillips. Second, Tom Osborne's
record as coach at Nebraska does not indicate such a win at any cost
attitude.
So why, then? Father Tom basically has taken the position that his only
motive is to save the life of this troubled young man. Tom says that it is
clear that football is a major organizing factor in Phillips' life.
Without it he might leave the university. But of course football didn't
provide enough structure to prevent the assault in the first place as it
took place following a game.
Phillips has been placed on probation by the university, he must go to
counselling, do community service, and perhaps most amazing of all he must
go to all classes. Going to classes as a punishment dished out by a
university is certainly a unique concept.
Did Osborne consider the possibility that Phillips ought to demonstrate
that he belonged on a college campus by going to classes and staying out
of trouble, while continuing to practice with the team under the watchful
eye of coaches? Would that not have been structure enough?
And what does this say about the issue of assault on women or anyone else?
The Center for the Study of Sport and Society at Northeastern University
has found that football players have significantly higher rates of assault
charges brought against them tha n other students. We all know of
universities that have covered up in these cases. Some football players
have become legendary for this sort of behavior. Will Osborne's actions
contribute anything to these trends one way or another? Has the University
of Nebraska made a statement about violence on campus that is worthy of an
institution of higher learning?
Or would Father Flanagan agree that a running back is a terrible thing to
waste?
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
Now that the first World Series in two years has ended it's time to
reflect on the season, the playoffs and Series, as well as the current
state of the game.
It may be that some have forgotten that this season didn't start on time,
and that it would not have started at all, were it not for the ruling of
Judge Sonia Sotomayor that once again the baseball owners were in
violation of federal law. For that act alone both leagues should vote her
the MVP of the 1995 season.
That baseball owners might be violating federal law still seems to be of
no interest to most baseball fans or sportswriters who continue to insist
that the only thing of any significance is whether games are played for
their amusement. It's a game, not a business, the players are overpaid and
spoiled, and the owners are just trying to get control of their costs.
Everyone's greedy.
In the season that started late, there were individual and team
performances of incredible dimensions, and many fans stayed away from it
all. In Cleveland, where the Indians won 100 games in a shortened season,
the team performance was almost as good as Albert Belle's as he hit 50
homers in only 144 games. In Atlanta where nothing but a World Series win
could interest fans, the best pitching staff in recent memory was led by
Greg Maddox who ran off a record 18 straight road wins, and finished the
season 19-2, the highest winning percentage in history by a pitcher with
20 decisions. In September, Seattle suddenly experienced a winning
baseball team, and just as suddenly was transformed from a football city
to a baseball city with a new stadium on the way.
The one game Seattle-California playoff, followed by the divisional
playoffs and League Championships offered high drama, although the
brilliant owners made sure that much of it was kept off national
television. Despite that baseball fever seemed to be growing, and the
playoff system seemed to be a big success.
The World Series offered some of the best pitching in its history. The
Cleveland Indians who built their reputation as big hitters saw their
season batting average of .290 drop to about .170, thirty points below the
Mendoza line. This was not a slump, it was a tribute to the overwhelming
depth and strength of the Atlanta pitching staff. In addition Orel
Hershiser's postseason is a tribute to both modern medicine and his own
tenacity. The bulldog was outstanding.
When you consider that Tom Glavine is the number two pitcher on the
Atlanta staff, and Smoltz and Avery are three and four in the rotation,
you can get a feel for just how strong Braves pitching really is. Maddox's
performance in Game One with a two-hitter was hailed as a masterpiece,
and it was topped by Glavine's performance in Game Six. Maddox will chalk
up his fourth straight Cy Young Award, and of course it was Glavine who
had won the last one, not won by Maddox.
Despite this baseball may be in trouble in Atlanta. Too much success has
spoiled the fans, who now expect excellence. They have lost that
enthusiasm that was there in '91. The first two games in Atlanta were
marked by a subdued crowd, and scalpers at Fulton County stadium found
they were operating in a buyers, rather than a sellers, market. Tickets at
face value were everywhere. Dave Justice was right.
Also fans in Atlanta had been turned off by the strike. Tom Glavine, the
Braves player representative who was high profile during the strike, was
vilified on the talk shows and heavily booed when the season finally
started. As Glavine was presented the MVP trophy how many fans remembered
the strike? How many realize that nothing has been resolved?
Ownership is still leaderless and apparently without a plan or program for
the weeks ahead. Negotiations are non-existent. Bud Light, acting
commissioner, is too busy extorting the people of Wisconsin with his
threats to move the Brewers, while simultaneously telling the Astros they
can not do the same in Houston. Talk of the need for new stadiums seems to
be everywhere. Maybe after the owners finish looting the great urban
centers of America, they will have time to resume their attack on the
players union, or even negotiate.
As for the MLBPA, it seems to be moribund. It would be surprising if the
Players Association has the necessary strength in the rank and file to
strike again, and of course without the will to strike they have little
power. They may be just fading away.
Salary Caps, revenue sharing, free agency, all those familiar terms are
still out there, and there seems to be no one interested in dealing with
them. The excitement of the World Series will end soon enough, and the
malaise of this industry seems likely to engulf everyone for a
considerable time to come.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY OCTOBER 27, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
It would seem that we are living in an Age when any major event becomes
the occasion for some group or another to grind their proverbial political
axe. Sometimes the grinding hits a responsive chord, but at other times it
has the effect of fingernails on the blackboard.
This year's politically incorrect World Series has attracted protest from
a large number of supporters of Native American advocacy groups. The
object of the protest has been the alleged denigration of Indians and
Indian culture by the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians.
This is not a new issue. It has been on the American Indian Movement
agenda since the early Seventies. There was an initial rush by high
schools and at several universities to drop the Indian theme, but no
professional sports franchise has seen fit to take action. But in recent
years even more schools have made the change.
Let me say I understand the argument against the use of Indians and their
cultural symbols for sports teams. And let me say also that I respect the
notion that if this offends large numbers of people, then it should be, as
a matter of human courtesy, dropped. If however this is simply the
rallying call for marginal advocacy groups, there should be no rush to
change.
Why, it should be asked, do sports teams use the Indian and aspects of
Indian culture, as symbols? What do these symbols mean? What do they
signify?
From the beginning of European settlement in North America there has been
a great deal of ambivalence in the European community toward Native
Americans. There has been conflict, there has been friendship, there has
been arrogance. Europeans clearly took t he position that they came from a
superior culture, and that they had much to teach the natives whom they
regarded as savage and primitive. At the same time Europeans were
attracted to the Indian culture, to the harmony with nature, to the
ability of the natives to live happily on the land. Many early settlers
left the European community and joined Indian communities attracted by a
superior way of life. Europeans came to both admire and fear the tenacity
and the bravery of the Indian, and they borrowed he avily from the Indian
for survival. But in the end, the European saw the Indian as a part of the
American Wilderness, to be transformed or overcome.
But always, despite the slaughter and the conflict, the genocidal
tendencies, there was an admiration that would not, and indeed could not,
die. Historian Winthrop Jordan has shown that unlike the African, whom the
European degraded without the blinking o f an eye and who was pushed to
the edge of the human family, the Indian was admired as a member of an
ancient civilization. Thomas Jefferson and others spent much time and
effort in the study of the Indian. Jefferson, being most interested in
Indian languages, did his best to catalogue and preserve them. Although
willing to admit the inferiority of Blacks, Jefferson tenaciously defended
the Indian against any such assessment. The Indian was part of America,
and to degrade the Indian would be to degrade America. He was a symbol,
and an important one, of the meaning of America itself.
It is no accident, says Jordan, that the Indian is to be found on American
coinage. He was part of and a product of the American environment. He was
a symbol of strength and courage. He may have been regarded by some as a
savage, as a threat, as something out there to fear, but he was also the
noble savage. There are no comparable images and attitudes that the
Europeans held toward the Africans.
In this current controversy many have asked why there is no team called
the Atlanta Blacks, no Cleveland Afro-Americans, no Washington BlackSkins.
The answer is simple. There is no such team, and there are no such
symbols, because the Euro- American socie ty does not value Blacks and
Black culture, has historically denied the very existence of Black
culture, and therefore does not seek to emulate that culture nor borrow
symbols from it.
But the Euro-American does admire the Indian. The tomahawk, the Brave, the
Indian chief and headdress, are all symbols with positive connotations:
Bravery, tenacity, courage, pride, strength. These symbols are not chosen
to degrade anyone. These are posit ive signs of admiration, not negative
terms of degradation. When the yuppie executive dresses up in what he
thinks is Indian garb, he is not trying to make fun of anyone. He is
trying to appropriate the admirable qualities he sees in the Indian for
himsel f and his team. When Braves fans do the tomahawk chop, they are not
trying to caricature anyone. They are trying to invoke the symbolic power
of the tomahawk on behalf of their not always powerful baseball team. The
same is true of the drummer in the centerfield bleachers at "the Jake."
Symbols are important, and that is why people feel they have a stake in
them. And some symbols are powerful and that is why they are borrowed.
Don't confuse admiration and emulation with denigration.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY OCTOBER 20, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
Sometimes the worst laid plans of mice and men cannot do their damage. In
the case of the major league baseball owners again they tried. But try as
they might, they haven't been able to destroy the post-season.
It all stated in the divisional playoffs when all four games were played
at exactly the same time, so that the audience could be regionalized. In
the League Championship Series or LCS (which has the ominous sound of a
religious cult) the Baseball Network a gain repeated their minimalist
pattern starting both games simultaneously. There was one improvement.
When one game ended they switched to the other, and some late inning
tension was enjoyed nationally.
I must tell you that the rumors that the World Series will be offered on a
regional basis are not true. We will not be restricted to watching every
other half-inning.
One other note of brilliance by Bill Giles and the Baseball Network:
Remember all those complaints about how the little kiddies couldn't stay
up and watch those late starting games because they have to go school the
next day? So Giles and Co. moved to correct that problem. Saturday night
games are starting earlier so that when the kiddies have to get up for
school on Sunday morning they won't be too tired.
Is it any wonder that the players are a little hesitant to leave their
fate in the hands of the owners?
And was it really necessary to hold up the start of Game Five in Cleveland
Sunday night until the end of the Carolina-Jets game? Thanks to Bob Costas
for wondering aloud about the status of baseball as the national pastime.
Despite all these efforts even the Baseball Network geniuses couldn't
destroy some really great baseball, and fortunately some of it went out on
national TV. First came the playoff game for the Western Division title
between Seattle and California, a gem by Randy Johnson. And then came the
climax of the Seattle-Yankees series with Randy Johnson once again playing
superman in front of a screaming hysterical crowd in the King Dome.
The Braves-Rockies series offered some late inning drama, as did the
Indians and Red Sox series, while the Reds-Dodgers match-up remains but a
rumor in this part of the country.
When the NLCS began there was considerable disappointment that at least
for the first four games we would not be able to follow the Mariner saga.
But the Reds and Braves did not disappoint. Starting pitching on both
sides was superb and the Braves bullpen finally looks like it is ready to
do its part. Glavine, Schourek, Smoltz, Smiley, Maddox, Wells, Avery and
Schourek again were masterful in the starting rotations. In relief,
McMichael, Pena, and Wholers gave Atlanta the winning edge. Wholers seems
fina lly be the closer the Braves always thought he would be.
The National League rookie of the year Chipper Jones played offensively
and defensively like a veteran, McGriff just keeps on hitting(are the
Braves really not going to re-sign him?) and such unlikely heroes as
Javier Lopez, Charlie O'Brien, and Mike Devereaux made Bobby Cox look
like a genius, which he ain't!
It appears to me that what makes this Braves team different from the
previous National League champions are defense up the middle and the
bullpen, with the biggest addition being Marquis Grissom in centerfield.
To steal a line once said about Joe Jackson, his glove is where triples
go to die, not to mention doubles and singles.
As for the Reds they were the Little Dead Machine. Reggie Sanders was so
bad at the plate you had to feel sorry for him, and most everyone else
failed in the clutch. This was largely a function of Braves pitching,
although Sanders was suffering a special torture.
Meanwhile in the Indians-M's series which we picked up in the late
innings, and for Game Five and Six, Orel Hershiser was his usual dominant
self. Cleveland bats were booming although Belle's was not a ringer, and
Seattle still looked like the early fall version of the miracle on 34th
Street-- at least until Game Five when Hershiser again dominated.
When the ALCS returned to Seattle for Game Six Randy Johnson was back and
everyone waited for him to dominate the Indian bats and for the Mariner
bats to start booming around the King Dome. However Dennis Martinez, the
other pitcher in this game, totally controlled the M's through the seven
innings he pitched and the Cleveland bullpen finished up.
Don't look now, but the high-powered bats of the Cleveland Indians are
accompanied by some high-powered pitching which silenced the big bats in
both Boston and Seattle.
The Fall Classic returns and this may turn out to be one.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY OCTOBER 13, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
I went back to the College Preview Edition of The Sporting News and found
not a word about him or his likely achievement. A week before the event an
occasional mention was made in some of the sports columns across the
country. On Saturday, the day of the event it was noted on most football
telecasts, and there was even a half-time feature on ABC. And in the
sport's television version of damning with faint praise, the game itself
was televised on The Deuce, ESPN2, the cable network most of America has
never seen.
Black sport, like many other areas of black life in America, remain nearly
invisible in white America, except when it involves crime, rioting, or
drugs. Lou Holtz's surgery got more coverage than this. A week after the
O.J. trial race still matters in America.
The event was the 400th win in the illustrious career of Eddie Robinson.
All 400 of his wins came at Grambling where he has been for 54 years. Win
number 400 came almost exactly ten years after Robinson surpassed Bear
Bryant as the winningest coach in the history of college football.
Had this been someone at Tennessee, Michigan, or Oklahoma, or even at
Wyoming, Utah State, or Toledo, the national media blitz fueled by the
public relations juggernaut at the NCAA offices would have been awesome.
It would have been the featured TV event of the week. The travelling
college football circus of ESPN would have been in Louisiana not in
Tallahassee, and Eddie Robinson's life would have been reviewed in all the
media.
At age 74 Eddie Robinson is clearly the greatest coach in college football
history.
It occurred to me while looking at this record that Eddie Robinson's
coaching career began a few months before my birth and that it spans my
entire lifetime. If any coach who is just starting in the business is
around for the next forty years and wins an average of ten games a season,
he will be able to reach this milestone, although he will still not pass
Robinson who is likely to pile up many more victories before he finally
retires.
Eddie Robinson was born in Jackson, Louisiana, in 1919. In high school he
was quarterback for three undefeated seasons, and then at a small
Louisiana Baptist college in three years his team lost only once. He
graduated in 1941 and shortly after married his high school sweetheart
Doris. He started his head coaching career almost immediately at Louisiana
Negro Normal and Industrial Institute, later renamed Grambling State
University. He was hired as head football and basketball coach as well as
physical education instructor for $63.75 a month.
In those early years Robinson coached the football team, drove the bus,
trained the women's drill team for halftime shows, wrote the game story
and distributed it to the local press. His budgets were meager, his
facilities were limited, and in the segregated world of the South
roadtrips could be a harrowing adventure and an arduous ordeal. In his
off-season time he coached baseball, men's and women's basketball, and
managed to find the time to earn his Master's Degree from the University
of Iowa in 1954.
Coach Robinson has seen over 200 of his players go on to the NFL with over
25 achieving all-Pro or Pro-Bowl status. Among the better known players
were "Tank" Younger, "Buck" Buchanan, Ernie Ladd, Willie Davis, Charlie
Joiner, Willie Brown, Rosey Taylor, James Harris and Doug Williams.
His players talk about him as a father-figure and counsellor. Doug
Williams said that when he left Grambling he felt like he had a degree in
philosophy. "It is amazing what that man knows, in addition to all the
football he teaches."
As a football coach Eddie Robinson was generally ahead of contemporaries.
He ran the offensive schemes made famous by Bowden and Spurrier well
before either was being described as an offensive genius. He was using
substitutes as messengers long before Paul Brown was said to have
invented that practice. But such is the fate of invisible Americans.
His teams have played to sellout crowds around the world, but his
detractors continue to question the credibility of his records because of
Grambling's allegedly lower level of competition. Although Robinson
doesn't directly answer these critics he did say after passing Bear
Bryant: "I grew up in the South...I was told where to attend elementary
school, where to attend junior high school, where to attend high school.
When I became a coach I was told who I could recruit, who I could play,
where I could play and when I could play. I did what I could within the
system."
And now Eddie Robinson stands way above that system, and yes, he is going
to Disney World.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY OCTOBER 6, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
The end of the trial of O.J. Simpson once again raises the question of
whether of not this was a sports story. ESPN the all sports cable network
covered the trial, had their own expert lawyer analyst, covered the
verdict, and had a special on Tuesday nigh t summarizing the case. ESPN
Radio along with most other sports talk networks and stations were also on
hand to cover the verdict.
In the United States where sport, entertainment, and celebrity have become
nearly indistinguishable, the arrest and trial of one of the major stars
of college and professional football would naturally attract this sort of
attention. But still, is this a sports story? Is it not more properly
characterized as a sensational news story which happens to involve a
former sports celebrity and a current TV, movie, and commercial star?
Nonetheless one could regard this as a sports story, at least within a
certain context. For the people of Buffalo and Southern California where
Simpson was a hero of professional and college football, where people had
invested a great deal emotionally in an admiration and adulation of
Simpson, this was a sports story. The man they knew and worshipped for his
football prowess and his seemingly fine off-field character suddenly fell
from grace.
These and other football fans had taken O.J. Simpson and turned him into a
hero. He was someone they had come to idolize because of his on-field
abilities. The on-field adulation was then mistakenly transferred off the
field, and this greatest fallacy of the modern sports culture was
accepted. The people who were fans of O.J. Simpson assumed that on-field
achievement was somehow a sign of off-field character.
This did not happen by accident, nor without considerable assistance from
the media, public relations, and advertising industries. O.J. was first
turned into a celebrity. He was taught how to stand in front of a camera
and sound articulate. He was shown how one projects sincerity, warmth,
and depth, without ever having to possess any of those qualities. He was
taken to the right hair stylist, dressed in precisely the right clothes
tailored to a perfect fit, down to the now famous designer gloves. He had
the wonderful nickname, "O.J." and later was known simply as "The Juice."
The pernicious quality of this off-field image-making comes out of the
fact that as he learned the role, he became the role. As he became the
role, he was no longer Orenthal James Simpson. He was "The Juice," a
fascinating creation of the public relations personnel of some high
powered firm of image makers. He was the nice, smiling, mild-mannered,
charming, African-American turned into a middle class white man. He was a
powerful non-threatening young African-American male, who had become so
white that his violation of the strongest sexual taboo of race didn't
even seem to matter.
Simpson amassed wealth through football, then through his product
endorsement at levels never before achieved by an African-American sports
celebrity although he would later be surpassed by Michael. After his
playing days he moved to television and the movies. For years ABC and NBC
sought in vain to find a television broadcasting role that "The Juice"
could handle, and for the most part the challenge was too much for him.
Finally as a sideline interviewer or studio commentator he seemed to have
found a role that did not require extended articulation, and a role in
which his smile, good looks, and brief inane comments seemed to be just
right.
Then it was on to the movies where more often than not he played "The
Juice." No acting beyond this primarily role he had already mastered was
required. Style without substance was no detriment here either, and
although no one would call him a great actor or even a movie star, he
was able to continue to build his image as a major celebrity.
Throughout the creation and development of The Juice, the man inside the
shell, Orenthal James Simpson, remained out of public view. But as we now
know he was still there and was well-known to intimate friends. He could
appear with disturbing and violent frequency. Two wives, two families, and
who knows how many others were terrorized by Orenthal James Simpson. His
pattern of domestic violence apparently triggered by fierce jealousy is
now well documented. There can be no more excuses, no more claims that we
didn't know about this other O.J. Simpson. We know and it should matter,
but you can be sure that the PR people will try their best to resurrect
"The Juice."
The Juice is dead. O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of two murders. But
he still is Orenthal James Simpson, wife abuser and a man of uncontrolled
violence. He might have been a football hero, but he should never have
been, nor ever again should be, a her o off the field.
The price of illusion, is disillusion.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
There is of course only one sports story here on the campus of the
University of Central Florida this week and that is the excellent showing
by the UCF football team in its game with the number one team in the
nation. Florida State was a prohibitive favor ite against the Division
I-AA Knights and the only real question seemed to be if UCF could hold the
Noles under seventy points.
In fact the Knights were able to outplay the Noles in the first half, when
they clearly took FSU by surprise, and then were able to hold the Noles
well below their season average in points, yardage, and on defense. It was
a great victory for UCF in the se nse that for the first time the local
media seemed to be able to take this program seriously.
UCF football has come a long way since the days of embarrassment and
mismanagement on and off the field, and clearly a major portion of the
credit must go to Gene McDowell. Whatever one may think of his on field
coaching decisions or his tenure as Athletic Director, Gene has brought
respectability to the football program at UCF, and has taken the program
to the level necessary to make the transition to I-A.
In a scheduling freak the Knights must now go back out on the road and
play the number one team for the second week in a row. This time they will
meet McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana, number one in Division
I-AA. It is in many ways much more impo rtant than the FSU game. Moral
victories and media wins are nice, but to defeat the top team in your
division would be even better.
A win against McNeese would mean a clear shot at the I-AA playoffs and a
chance for UCF to end its tenure at I-AA with a national championship. It
would be a great launching pad on the way up.
Meanwhile on the bigger stage the pennant and wild card races are coming
to a conclusion with considerable drama. Perhaps the most interesting
story is the collapse of the California Angels. Whether this was the
result of the Disney purchase, some sort of curse on Gene Autry, or the
injury to Gary DiSarcina it has been a spectacular fall rivaling some of
the most painful in baseball history. The Angels might be on verge of
earning the title "Red Sox West."
Since mid-August the Angels have watched an 11 1/2 game lead slowly
dwindle, and then get swept away. During this nightmare the Angels have
lost 75% of their games, while the Seattle Mariners and the Yankees have
caught fire. Now the Angels have not only dropped out of first-place in
the West, but they are looking very much like a team that will not make
the playoffs as they are now looking up at the Yankees.
This brings to mind several spectacular collapses in baseball history. The
Giant's blew a ten game lead over the Braves in the last six weeks of the
1993 season. Giant fans also remember the remarkable close of the 1951
season when Brooklyn lost a 13 1/2 game lead they had in mid-August
producing a playoff and Bobby Thomson's legendary home run. Cub fans, who
generally don't need to worry about late season collapses because the Cubs
are visible in the rear view mirror by the end of June, still have nightm
ares about the Mets, the black cat, and the collapse of '69 when they
managed to blow a 9 1/2 game lead in the last six weeks. And of course
there are the Red Sox whose most memorable September from hell came in
1978 when the Yankees caught them at the finish line, and Bucky Dent
drove a stake into their heart with his home run in the one game playoff.
But the best of all was the collapse of the Phillies when they lost 10
straight and blew a 6 1/2 game lead in the last two weeks of the 1964
season guaranteeing Gene Mauch's reputation as a great manager.
The other great stories of this September are the Mariners and the
Rockies. Seattle has put on a spectacular pennant drive, and the Colorado
Rockies are on the edge of becoming the earliest expansion team to ever
win a pennant or ever qualify for post-season play. The Dodgers are
hoping they can fend off the Rockies, and of course they both must keep an
eye on the Astros.
With only a few exceptions none of this seems to be sending the fans into
a fall frenzy. Crowds in Houston and New York seem underwhelmed by the
wild card race, although in Denver, LA and Seattle pennant fever seems
finally to have started.
As for the rest of the country the interest does not seem to be intense.
The continuing fallout from the labor wars and the incredible TV
scheduling by Major League Baseball have both contributed. It is simply
mind-boggling that in the last few weeks of the season, Baseball Night in
America has continued its regional format rather than cover the pennant
and wild card races. To put on a meaningless game between the Braves and
Expos or the Marlins and Mets in the middle of a pennant race is beyond
belief. Alas the Marketing Geniuses at Major League Baseball are hard at
work under the watchful eye of Bud Light, acting commissioner.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
SPORT AND SOCIETY--BROADCAST OF FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 1995
ON WUCF-FM 89.9
It is the week of the owners. In the NFL Jerry Jones, liege lord of
Dallas, decided to take on his fellow owners in a challenge to one of the
leagues oldest and most revered traditions, while at the same time signing
Deion Sanders at the price of a king's ransom.
Meanwhile the Lords of Baseball met for three days to discuss the labor
issue, the coming playoffs and World Series, and the price of ignorance.
Nothing was resolved.
Among neither group is there much evidence of intelligent life or much
hope for sport. We really are living in interesting times in sportsworld,
and that can only mean trouble.
Let's start in Dallas where Jerry Jones has taken the bull by the
proverbial horns and made three startling moves in the past few weeks.
First he signed a $40M ten year deal with Pepsi for exclusive advertising
and distribution rights in Texas Stadium. The Pepsi logo will appear
prominently in several locations on the field. Having done that Jones then
sold Nike and Phil Knight the right to be the official sponsor of Texas
Stadium along with other goodies.
There are several problems with these developments. First, the NFL has
agreements with Coke and Reebok, and second, NFL teams have an agreement
with NFL Properties for exclusive marketing rights and revenue sharing on
team logos. Jones had already called for the owners to drop this
arrangement when it expires in 2003, and Jerry is claiming that his
arrangement with Nike and Pepsi is not covered under this agreement
anyway.
To put some frosting on the cake Jones then went out and signed Deion
Sanders to an outrageously enormous contract which will of course be
financed in part by the income from these earlier deals.
This week the NFL countered with a $300M lawsuit against the Cowboys which
they graciously announced on the eve of the owners meetings, and served
the papers to Jones as the luncheon special--Clam chowder ala court.
Jerry Jones has violated one of the sacred rules of the NFL and in fact
has defied the culture of the league. Revenue sharing as a sacred league
concept goes back to the 1950s when Bert Bell convinced owners to pool its
television revenue and its product to television. This strategy required
congressional legal exemption, but it was adopted. The concept of revenue
sharing was then extended to other league activity. This device is often
sited to explain the success of the NFL, especially the ability of the
small markets to prosper and compete with the big boys.
It has been argued by historian Ben Rader and others that NFL owners were
willing to make this sort of arrangement because they came largely out of
the Catholic immigrant culture. They were outsiders in America who had a
tradition of sticking together to succeed, and therefore easily adapted to
this pattern of corporate business. The success of the strategy has
reenforced the tendency.
But now in the late 20th century comes a new generation of ownership,
exemplified by the southwestern entrepreneurial hustler, the nouveau riche
American convinced that he has succeeded by his own devices and equally
sure that he now has a right to use hi s property and wealth in whatever
manner he alone sees fit. Traditions mean nothing to this sort of hustler.
He must and will continue to pursue all the wealth he can lay his hands
on, inflate his ego as high as he can, and no one will tell him what he mu
st, can or cannot do.
The free market has treated Jerry well, why would it not do the same for
everyone and everything around him? He sees revenue sharing as a form of
welfare or socialism. It perpetuates the survival of the weak and unfit in
the competitive order who do not deserve to share in the wealth. Jones
will not share his marketing money with these losers, but he is, at least
for now, willing to share their TV money. See you in court.
As for the Lords of Baseball, those rugged individualists who want no part
of revenue sharing, who believe in the return of a golden age in which
players are compliant, TV networks play Santa Claus, and baseball is again
the national pastime, time is runn ing out and they don't seem to have a
clue.
After three days of meetings last week they have no ideas for solving the
labor problems, no notion of how to come to an agreement on post-season
revenue distribution in the absence of a contract with the players, and
apparently no inclination to try. If by some chance there are no playoffs
no World Series, and no 1996 season, you can mark it down to this
incredibly clueless ownership group that makes even Jerry Jones look
enlightened.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't
have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.