SPORT AND SOCIETY -- BROADCASTS

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SPORT AND SOCIETY BROADCAST OF FRIDAY OCTOBER 11, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 FM ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


Over the past few weeks I have noticed a familiar phenomenon in baseball which is reflective of sport generally. The annual purge of the managerial ranks in baseball has begun after a relatively quiet regular season. The most spectacular of the regular season firings was that of Tommy LaSorda in Los Angeles although it was thinly disguised as a resignation for health reasons. Bill Russell was named interim manager and after some doubts were raised the former shortstop had the interim removed yesterday.
Since season's end Jim Leyland has left the Pittsburgh Pirates and signed on with the Florida Marlins, who dumped Rene Lachemann during the season and replaced him with John Bowles. Gene Lamont has been hired to replace Leyland, while every franchise that had anopening, and several that did not, coveted the services of Leyland. Kevin Kennedy was fired in Boston, Jim Fregosi in Philadelphia, and in Houston Terry "we hardly knew 'ya" Collins was replaced with Astro broadcaster and former pitcher Larry Dierker. What all these people have in common is the color of their skin.
I found it curious that there has been almost no mention of such things as affirmative action or the need for more Black and Latin managers. Instead for the most part there has been a "list of usual suspects" named for each opening, or a short-list of newcomers all of whom seemed to be white guys well placed within the organizational and managerial networks. The only exception was Hal McCrae, whose name surfaced this past week as a possible candidate for the Phillies' job.
A couple of years ago the most prominent African American mentioned as the next black manager was former Yankee and Brave Chris Chambliss who worked his way up the Braves farm system earning an excellent reputation in the process. I have not seen his name in connection with any of the recent openings. It seems to be very much business as usual.
This may be surprising to those who remember the Al Campanis-Nightline incident. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color line in baseball(and in a few short months we will celebrate the 50th anniversary) Al Campanis, a member of the Dodger front office and former teammate of Robinson, was invited onto national television on the eve of the opening of the baseball season. In a stunning interview with Ted Koppell, Campanis talked about the lack of blacks in managerial and front-office positions in very embarrassing terms. The baseball world and sportsworld were stunned by his comments and the Dodgers fired him the next day.
Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth used the embarrassment of the incident to prod baseball owners into hiring minorities, and he hired University of California sociologist Harry Edwards to serve as a special consultant to promote minority hiring in baseball. Indeed the spotlight remained bright through the next few years whenever an opening occurred in managerial and front-office ranks, and some progress was made.
Over and over again the hiring practices of all major sports franchises were examined, the all-white nature of the hiring networks was analyzed, and Edwards spoke of the need to develop alternative networks and did, in fact, put some of these in place. Since that time Edwards has gone on to be hired by the San Francisco 49ers and others as a consultant on racial issues. In fact the job opportunities for Edwards seem to have increased much more rapidly than they have for other African Americans in sport.
Each year since the Campanis incident the Center for the Study of Sport and Society at Northeastern University has tracked progress in all sports. Each year it has issued a report card for the major sports. At the top management levels in baseball little progress has been made in the past few years and in fact there has been some slippage. Although there was an overall increase in minorities in league offices, there has been a decrease among department heads, as well as coaches and vice-presidents. The Major League Baseball Players Association which was graded the lowest of all such player groups in 1995, declined to report in 1996.
It is clear that baseball has the poorest record of the three majors in nearly all areas of minority hiring. The basic policy of "round up the usual suspects" when management openings occur seems to permeate the entire sport. As we approach the 50th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson's dramatic breaking of tradition, the voices of the African American community remain muted in the positions of leadership in baseball as well as the other major sports in which they dominate the arena and the playing field.
There seems to have been a return of indifference to these issues in sport as American society generally has turned against the concept of affirmative action. Or perhaps the leadership of baseball, such as it is, simply doesn't have the necessities.
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 FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 18, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


While sitting around waiting for Gene Budig's resignation as American League president, or even for someone in the press to suggest that it might be appropriate, I have been trying to see as much of the American and National League Championship Series as possible--or the LCS as it is called, which sounds more like a religious cult than a sporting event. There has been some interesting baseball and even more interesting American melodrama.
First the baseball, wherein the New York Yankees have now advanced to the World Series. In doing so they convincingly pounded the stuffing out of the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff that was emblematic of the year of the hitter. The Yankees left no doubt that they are the best team in the American League at this time in the season, although there will always be that small doubt about their ability to handle Cleveland, which was eliminated in the ill-conceived short-series by the O's.
This series offered two major side-shows and one minor bit of nostalgia. For those who think there is an ultimate justice in the universe, the final game offered Roberto Alomor making a Bill Buckner-like move on a double-play ball that should have ended what turned out to be the Yankees big inning on Sunday. The feeling that the Great Expectorator got his on that play could not be resisted. Alomar bashers everywhere had to be delighted.
The second major side-show involved Jeffery Maier, the 12 year-old centerfielder who reached out of the stands to turn an out into a home run. My immediate reaction was to see it as one of those refreshing and spontaneous moments of 12-year-old joy that a dults almost immediately turn into something ludicrous if not unsavory. It also illustrates Daniel Boorstin's definition of a celebrity: "someone known for their well-knownessness." Jeffery certainly became that.
To see the New York media make so much of this kid who possibly altered the outcome of the game and violated stadium rules is so New York. But it is also very much an American story with an American outcome. If it had been a ball hit by Roberto Alomar the kid's life would not have been worth a plug nickel, but that's showbiz. Of course this sort of fan interference happens all the time, but timing is everything, and this one had the timing. The only unanswered question is, will Jeffery get a ring and a full Series share. There will be millionaires who will argue against it.
The nostalgia featured the verbal hostilities that almost turned physical between George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson. The convicted felon and the convicted egomaniac remain little boys even though both are now over fifty. It was just like the old days. Too bad Billy wasn't there to sucker-punch someone.
Someone once said that in baseball momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher. With the Braves down and nearly out three games to one in the NLCS, John Smoltz and Todd Stottlemyre redirected momentum in the first inning of game five. After game four which the Cardinals won in dramatic fashion as Bobby Cox seemed mesmerized by Greg McMichael's total lack of anything on the mound, one could easily have expected the Cardinals to finish off the Braves in game five. But again we were reminded that baseball is not football.
A few weeks ago you may recall I commented that strategy is overrated as a managerial quality, and that how one handles people is much more significant. When you make a statement of this kind you can always count on being proven wrong with a matter of days. LaRussa has out dueled Bobby Cox at every turn getting just the matchups he wants in almost every situation. But then those of us who follow the Atlanta Braves see this happen to Bobby all too often.
Tony LaRussa lives and dies by the analytical charts and computer print-outs, in short he makes a studied use of statistical data. This is why it is surprising that LaRussa went with Stottlemyre in game five on three days rest, as all the data shows that Stottlemyre pitches poorly on three days rest. Then in game six he admits his error and pitches Alan Benes so that Donovan Osborne has normal rest in game seven. LaRussa may have outmanuvered himself by not pitching Alan Benes in Game Five.
In Game Six Greg Maddux came back with a near perfect game as one would expect. The Cardinals were not likely to beat him twice in a row and they didn't. As for the Braves' bats they don't look all that much better despite the fourteen run outburst. So we go to game seven, which will be over by the time you hear this commentary, with the Braves and Cardinals both pitching left-handers.
Irregardless of what has happened in Game Five and Game Six there still is no momentum other than Game Seven's starting pitchers. After last year's World Series Bobby Cox certainly will be comfortable with Tom Glavine on the mound, and LaRussa must feel good about Donovan Osborne as his starter. Whatever happens it was a great series.
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 FOR FRIDAY OCTOBER 25, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)

(This broadcast was record October 24 prior to Game Five)


I had never heard of a language called Papiamentu and I had only a vague notion that Curacao was an island off the north coast of Venezuela. I suspect that by now Atlanta Braves fans are learning more and more about the largest island in the Netherlands Antillies and its capital city, Willemstad.
Curacao is the home of Andruw Jones who at 19 has become the youngest player to hit a home run in the NLCS, the youngest player to hit a home run in a World Series, and the youngest player to hit two home runs in a World Series, and only the second player to homer in his first two at bats in the World Series. He is the second player from the Netherlands Antilles to reach the majors, the first being former New York Yankee, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens.
With a population of 170,000, Curacao is a melting pot of fifty different ethnic groups. In addition to Papiamentu the three other common languages of the island are English, Dutch and Spanish which means that Jones can complain about those outside strikes to umpire Tim Welke in four different languages.
The original inhabitants of the island were the Caiquetio Indians, a branch of the Arawak, who melted into the diverse island population by the end of the 18th century. The Spanish controlled Curacao for just over a century, and in 1634 it was taken over by the Dutch West India Company. Peter Stuyvesant became governor in 1642 prior to his stint as the governor of New Amsterdam. Again the New York connection.
Curacao became a slave trading center, although very few Africans ended up on the island. In the 1730's a large number of Shepardic Jews fleeing persecution in Spain and Portugal arrived on Curacao, and the oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere is located there. Twice in the early 19th century the British took possession of Curacao, but the Dutch regained it in 1815 in the Treaty of Paris. In the 20th century the discovery of oil off the Venezuelan coast led to the construction of a refinery by Royal Dutch Shell and the arrival of Latin American and Chinese immigrant laborers.
Now Curacao is on the verge of becoming a cradle of heavy-hitting outfielders for the Atlanta Braves, who apparently have a half dozen other players from the island in their farm system. Who knows, Curacao could be the next San Pedro De Marcoris.
Its most famous resident, at least in Atlanta and New York, is Andruw Jones first seen by Giovanni Viceisza, a Braves' scout, when Jones was fifteen. He signed a contract with the Braves at age sixteen. Starting this season at Class A Durham, he moved to AA Greenville in mid-June, to AAA Richmond in late July, and finally to Atlanta in mid-August. He took Atlanta by storm.
In Durham he had seventeen home runs in sixty-six games, at Greenville twelve in thirty-eight games, and in Richmond five in twelve. His batting average went up at each minor league stop. Two days after arriving in Atlanta he hit his first home run off current teammate Denny Neagle. Less than a week later he had his first multiple home run game. It is not surprising that Braves manager Bobby Cox compares Jones to a young Roberto Clemente.
In Game One of this World Series in Yankee Stadium Jones hit two towering home runs and drove in five runs as the Braves routed the Yankees 12-1. John Schmoltz did not have his good stuff, but didn't really need it, as he combined with his relievers to sh ut-down the Yanks.
In Game Two it was Greg Maddux who painted the masterpiece on the corners, showing everyone why he holds multiple Cy Young awards. This night belonged to Maddux and the Braves 4-0.
Game Three in Atlanta saw another tremendous pitching battle. Tom Glavine made one early mistake and David Cone was dominant in the early innings. The Braves were unable to get the big hit when needed and lost 5-2. Game three also displayed the one glaring weakness in this powerful Braves team, a tired and inconsistent bullpen.
Then came Game Four which started like Game One as the Braves jumped to a six nothing lead. Neagle was strong and Rodgers weak. After Neagle weakened and gave up three runs the Braves weakness in the bullpen again surfaced and Bobby Cox went to his closer in the 8th inning. Mark Wohlers could not close, giving up a three run homer to Jim Leyritz. Braves opportunities to win in the 8th and 9th slipped away and the Yankees struck for an ugly two runs in the tenth. Final 8-6 in ten.
The World Series was back to square one, and now a best two of three games. Both teams have their top three starters ready. No team has won at home yet. What remains to be seen is how dominant Schmoltz, Maddux and Glavine can be, or if the Yankees will just keep doing what they do best. Win.
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 FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


When Charlie Hayes went falling into the third-base dugout and failed to make the catch on Mark Lemke's pop foul to end the sixth and final game of the World Series there was a brief moment of hope when Braves fans thought just maybe fate had turned. It had not. On the next pitch Hayes made the catch down the third-base side near the stands and the 1996 World Series was history. Only five nights earlier Atlanta fans had been talking about the possibility of a sweep, but not the one that occurred.
It seemed as if fate was operating in this Series as the Braves missed every opportunity to score, gave up runs in the most peculiar of fashion, and saw bizarre umpiring decisions and characteristically strange managerial decisions all work against them. Was it some karma coming off Joe Torre's personal burdens of a dead and dying brother, or the prayers from the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in Queen's led by the principal Sister Marguerite, also the sister of Joe Torre? From the catch of Jeffery Maier to the three-run homer by Jim Leyritz off a Mark Wohlers slider, it seemed like a special force was with these Yankees.
And these were the Yankees of Joe Torre constructed by Bob Watson, baseball's only Black General Manager, run on the field by a committee consisting of Torre, Don Zimmer and Mel Stottlemyre with occasional input from a host of other coaches. They were the farthest thing from the George Steinbrenner Yankees than any Yankee team in recent memory. George himself took credit only for supplying the money and turning around Australian reliever Graeme Lloyd by insisting he get a haircut.
Just before Game two in New York Joe Torre told Steinbrenner that they would probably lose that night, then go to Torre's lucky town, Atlanta, sweep the Braves, and then come back home to Yankee Stadium and clinch the Championship on Saturday night. One wonders if after the loss in Game two Torre was so confident of his prediction but by the end of Game four he probably had no doubts at all.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I thought Joe Torre was a great manager because he could hold a team on a steady course in the midst of too much elation or too much adversity. He is a great manager of people. He certainly showed that once again in this Series and this season, and he showed that he also had improved as a tactician as well. Torre credits much of his tactical skill to the advice of the two men who sit next to him. Mel Stottlemyre knows his pitchers and Don Zimmer knows his baseball.
Whenever I see Torre and Zimmer together, which was quite often over the past three weeks, I think of two memorable descriptions from the literature of baseball. The first is the tag that Bill Lee hung on Don Zimmer when Zimm was trying to manage the Red Sox. Lee called him The Gerbil, and every time I see Zimm it is the first thing that goes through my head. It is such an accurate description of the round and lumpy face with the bug eyes that look into or beyond the camera. The other phrase concerns Joe Torre. In his book Ball Four Jim Bouton described the wild nightlife of the Yankees, and in one passage described a woman as being so ugly that she looked like Joe Torre. It's odd what sticks in the brain over a stretch of time, but both of those are stuck in mine.
My other memory of Don Zimmer is from my youth in Minneapolis when Zimm was a fiercely competitive shortstop for the hated St. Paul Saints, a Dodger farm team. Zimmer was hit in the head by a pitch which nearly ended his career and his life. If he was wearing any kind of protection, and I am not sure he was, it was one of those small liners that fit inside the baseball cap. On his return to baseball and with the Dodgers he was beaned a second time with again near fatal consequences. He came back from these beanballs without any noticeable affect on his game, although they probably shortened his career and he still carries a metal plate in his skull from the surgery that followed. There were jokes about improved radio reception when Zimm was in the area. Maybe it was the metal plate that made lightening strike for the Yankees in the extraordinary post-season run that ended last Saturday night.
Zimmer and Torre seemed to be in perpetual conversation throughout the games. Torre says that he never makes any move without bouncing it off The Gerbil and he clearly appreciates Zimm's experience as four-time manager, the multiple coaching jobs, with nearly all his sixty-five years spent in baseball.
One must also appreciate this World Series for the multiple mini-dramas it presented, especially over the final three games, which showed repeatedly what it is about baseball that totally enthralls so many of us who have watched it for so many years, and why we will continue to do so regardless of what happens off the field.
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 FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


When word spread early this week that football players at Boston College were suspected of fixing games, a number of people feigned shock. Whatever turns out to be the ultimate finding of investigators at Boston College, no one should be shocked by this news.
It is likely that without gambling modern sport as we know it would not exist. From the pre-modern era gambling was tied to sport, and since then they have been inseparable.
From colonial times in America gambling was central to horse-racing as well as the popular sports of cock-fighting and boxing. Wherever sportsmen gathered dollars were wagered with abandon. Indeed gambling in the old South was integral to the meanings of class and caste in the plantation culture.
In the 19th century the emergence of modern sport multiplied the gambling opportunities. Again horse-racing led the way, but the sports of sailing, pedestrianism, foot races, boxing, dog fights, cock fights, ratting, baseball, and any other sport one could imagine were laced with wagering. Indeed gambling was central to the interest that so many people seemed to have in the games other people played.
In the history and nostalgia of baseball there are idyllic scenes of people gathered in public squares waiting for the news of the out-of-town game to come in by telegraph, and then for that news to be posted on the chalk boards for all to see. What was the object of all the attention? Certainly the outcome of the game carried some significance, but the outcome of the wagering was much more important to those gathered in what looked like a quaint communal exercise.
The rise of intercollegiate athletics led to an expansion of sport as public event and spectacle. As the games corrupted the educational standards of universities, the gamblers corrupted the games. With the emergence of professional baseball, gamblers swa rmed into the ballparks where betting opportunities were available on every pitch. Gamblers threatened, harassed, and tried to bribe underpaid players to do their bidding, and occasionally they succeeded. The 1919 fix of the World Series was but the tip of the iceberg.
In the 20th century gambling has become a major sports related business, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that sport is a major gambling related business. The rise of mass sport has brought with it gambling opportunities never before dreamed of by the most optimistic of bookmakers.
The rise of college basketball and later the pros multiplied the opportunities for betting. The showcase of college basketball in the 30's and 40's, Madison Square Garden, with its double- and triple-headers, became the centerpiece of a burgeoning New York gambling industry.
Not surprisingly the biggest college sports scandals have been in basketball with major revelations in 1951 and 1961 and minor revelations at several institutions since, including one at Boston College in 1981 when Rick Kuhn was convicted of fixing six ga mes during the 1978-79 season.
Students at Boston College report that their campus has as many as four regular bookmakers serving the student body, and the athletes are among their clients. HBO will report next week that on one Southeastern Conference campus there is a weekly handle of $14,000, and that some students working their way through college as bookmakers are pulling down $36,000 a year.
Modern sports gambling owes much of its success to Charles K. McNeil, a Connecticut math teacher who left that calling in the 40's for a more noble profession in Chicago. He became a bookmaker. There he realized that the biggest problem facing his new vocation was enticing people to bet on all sporting events, even the mismatches. The important thing to bookmakers is to spread the betting evenly on either side of a contest. The bookmaker takes his ten percent and the payoffs come from the handle. McNeil's genius was to invent a device to make every game a close one to ensure a betting balance. He is the father of the point spread, a magnificent and ingenious device, that one of his colleagues called, the greatest invention since the zipper.
Unfortunately the point spread also opened up a new range of opportunities for fixing events, in which the athlete was not required to throw a game, but only asked to adjust the score to the spread. Basketball proved most susceptible to this manipulation, but football and baseball are not much more difficult to giggle.
Big time college sports is a big business for the colleges and for the gamblers. In an atmosphere of corruption, in a climate in which players feel they deserve a bigger share of the profits, and in a campus environment where gambling is a part of the student culture, no one should be surprised by this week's revelations. And there will always be more 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 NOVEMBER 15, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


A week after the Boston College story broke the gamblers took a bath, not on college football but on the godfather of sports gambling, boxing. Evander Holyfield's upset of the century over Mike Tyson was a disaster for those who set the odds and cover the bets. With odds running 25-1 to open and dropping to 5-1 just before the fight, bookmakers lost several million dollars. Major money was placed on Holyfield in the last few days, at least some of it coming from the Holyfield camp itself, and the smart money on the favorite never surfaced as betting closed.
When a lot of money comes in late and causes a major shift of odds it can be a sign that something odd is happening. Looking at the post-fight news conference where Tyson was gracious, almost grateful, and Don King was beaming with smiles, one could not but wonder if something wasn't producing a foul odor around this event.
But then again why shouldn't Don King be smiling. He has the rights to promote any rematch, and it will make him a bundle of money. Of course the truth will never be known unless Holyfield retires without a rematch.
Maybe it was simply the intervention of Jehovah into the pugilistic process once again, reminiscent of David's upset over Goliath, when the sports books in Sodom and Gomorrah took it in the money belt. It has also been suggested that Holyfield's victory was a sign that Jehovah is more powerful than Allah, but I'll leave that one to the theologians and mullahs to sort out. It is, in fact, not hard to believe that the Deity could be an aficionado of the sweet science.
However it is measured Holyfield's victory was a big upset and an historic development, as Holyfield became only the second man in history to win the heavyweight title three times. As for that bit of history we can only say Evander Holyfield, no matter how impressive he was last Saturday, is no Muhammad Ali, nor even a Cassius Clay.
Closer to home in Orlando two sports stories of some interest broke over the past weekend. First came the report that the O-rena lost money last year at a record pace, despite the fact that it had record occupancy. A $620,000 pool of red ink from operating losses was compounded by $1.8M to service the debt on the building.
This is not big news as those who follow this subject know, and it will continue as long as the Magic, and the DeVoss owned Solar Bears, continue to be given one of the best arena deals in the nation. Each time the Magic play the city of Orlando loses money, and it would appear that something similar happens with the Solar Bears as well. With DeVoss having reduced his Shaqless Magic payroll by $20M plus, could it be that it is time for the Pyramid King to carry a bigger burden and help make the O-rena something less than a drain on Orlando taxpayers?
This is the same kind of thinking that suggested the Magic should reduce ticket prices in line with the Shaq-Savings, and it is just as likely to happen. They are more likely to be used to promote Daughter DeVoss as head of the Republican National Committee.
In addition to this news it was also reported that the city had operating losses of nearly $850,000 on the Citrus Bowl and about $280,000 on Tinker Field. But not to worry. The Orlando sports machine is extremely significant adding millions of dollars of value to the promotion of the city, more than making up for these minor losses.
The Mayor's chief aide tried to put a happy face on the news pointing out that these sports facility operations are like any other business. "There are peaks and valleys." In the professional basketball business in Orlando there are no valleys, and that is in no small part because for the city of Orlando there are no peaks.
In the meantime the county is faced with a different kind of problem. The extra penny added to the tourist tax two years ago to generate money for a baseball stadium has paid off at a much higher number than anticipated. At the same time the prospects of getting an expansion baseball franchise in this century are all but gone. So there is talk of repealing the extra penny on the tourons, and taking the $25M already raised and using it for another purpose.
One suggestion is that the money could be used to retire some of the debt on the O-rena, but that would only take pressure off the DeVoss clan to restructure their sweet rental arrangement with the city.
I would suggest that the money for a stadium continue to be accumulated, because if we listen to the baseball owners there will be several teams in receivership soon and ready to move to a new market. Maybe some of those Shaq-Savings could be used to buy a baseball team. Now I am just guessing, but the DeVoss Clan could probably get a real good deal on a stadium contract.
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 FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


Last Wednesday Nick Anderson of the Magic called a press conference to deny that he had raped a woman last February. It was an emotional scene at which a tearful Anderson told the press that a complaint had been filed with Orlando police in early October, and that he had been threatened with public exposure by the Pan African InterNational Movement (PAIN) unless he paid them $600,000.
Two days later representatives of PAIN held a press conference which featured the organization's president who is also the father of the alleged victim. He denied the charges of extortion and challenged Anderson and his lawyer to produce the letter. He denounced Anderson, the Magic fans who cheered Anderson lustily on Thursday night, and the Orlando police whom he charged were moving too slowly on the case. The woman's father said the police had been given medical evidence of the rape, and threatened direct action if something didn't happen in the legal system soon. To underline the point, the leader of PAIN let it be known he has been in contact with Louis Farrakhan.
Little has happened since the Friday press conference except that Anderson's security has been increased.
There are any number of troubling issues surrounding the handling of this case by the Orlando media and Magic fans. Friday's newspaper in a peculiar editorial decision featured the story of Penny Hardaway's knee surgery on the front page of the paper, while the press conference by PAIN was featured on the front page of the Sports Section. I would have thought that Penny's knee was a sports story, while accusations of rape directed at Anderson was a news story.
In addition the paper described Anderson as "a popular and charitable player." Much more coverage was given to the support for Anderson than was given the next day to Anderson's accusers, although it was mentioned that Anderson has fathered three children by three different women.
As for Magic fans, on Thursday night they cheered Anderson's every move, posters of support dotted the O-rena, while a group of women gathered in front of the O-rena before the game holding a sign saying, "We Believe in Nick." In short Magic fans offered a major outpouring of support and affection to Anderson, and he acknowledged his gratitude after the game.
As I watched and listened to all of this I wondered how one comes to these positions. What prompted the Sentinel to present the story in the way it did? How do fans decide guilt or innocence in these cases with virtually no evidence on either side? As for the Sentinel, I will not speculate, although I was not surprised by their treatment of the case.
For the fans it is not a difficult decision. If they like the player, if the player has a good reputation in the community, and if little is known of the accuser then many fans will throw caution aside and give their support to the player. If on the other hand the player has a reputation for violence and womanizing, a bad track record with the public, and is seen as an unsavory character, the fans are likely to accept the accusation as plausible if not true. In addition stars get a greater benefit of the doubt than do marginal players.
Nonetheless it is disturbing that Anderson's play in a game of basketball becomes the means of expressing one's feelings about his guilt or innocence in a matter totally unrelated to the game. There was an undertone of vindication accorded to Anderson because he played well That night, an undertone that was present in both fan reaction at the arena and in media comment on his excellent play Thursday evening.
This is a function of the same distortions that operate in our use of athletes as heros and role models. Bouncing a ball, putting it in hoop, and running the court do not reflect character and should not be associated in any way as a gauge of character. To do so is not a healthy community attitude.
It is also not a good civic atmosphere for judgements about rape cases, and could indeed have a chilling affect on women who see this reaction and choose then not to report cases of date rape or any other kind of rape.
In a similar case involving Mike Tyson the tendency in the press was to believe the woman. Tyson's history of violence, especially to women in his life, and his general unsavory reputation, made the charges plausible. In the case of Nick Anderson his public image in Orlando is such that the tendency is to give him the benefit of the doubt. In both cases judgements are made with little evidence and largely on the basis of reputation and popularity.
Wouldn't it be better if we could simply suspend judgement until the evidence is presented? Neither the basketball court nor the court of public opinion should be the court to make these judgements.
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 FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 1996
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


The History of both Thanksgiving and Football go back into the Middle Ages, and so it may not be so strange that the two would come together in modern America.
The first American Thanksgiving is generally believed to have been in Plymouth Colony in mid-October of 1621, when William Bradford and the Pilgrims gathered with local Indians to give thanks for survival and the first harvest. The first Thanksgiving proc laimed by a President was November 26, 1789 when George Washington called for a national day of Thanksgiving for the new form of government.
By the end of that century the practice had faded into disuse, but through the first half of the nineteenth century Sara Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book kept the idea alive writing editorials and letters to presidents and governors urging their adopti on of such a day. Finally during the Civil War Abraham Lincoln took her advice and proclaimed the last Thursday of November, 1863, as Thanksgiving Day. The practice stuck.
Eleven years later in 1874 the first intercollegiate football game was played. Two years after that the Intercollegiate Football Association was formed and it instituted a championship game for Thanksgiving Day. Within a decade it was the premier athletic event in the nation. All but twice in the first two decades of the league's history Princeton and Yale were the participants, and by the 1890's when the game was played in the Polo Grounds it was drawing 40,000 fans. Players, students and fans wore their school colors while banners flew from carriages, hotels, and the business establishments of the city. It was by then one of the most important of New York's social events as it inaugurated the season for New York's social elite.
In 1893 the New York Herald noted its significance by declaring: "Thanksgiving Day is no longer a solemn festival to God for mercies given...It is a holiday granted by the State and the Nation to see a game of football." Indeed it was, and would remain so . By the mid-1890's it was estimated that some 120,000 athletes from colleges, clubs, and high schools took part in 5,000 Thanksgiving Day football games across the nation. The Thanksgiving Day game was established as both a tradition and a money maker.
The National Football League would follow the example of the colleges. In 1934 George Richards bought the Portsmith, Ohio, Spartans, moved them to Detroit, and renamed them the Lions. Richards decided to play the Lions game against the Bears on Thanksgivi ng Day at the University of Detroit Stadium. With no other professional competition and owning a radio station of his own, Richards was able to put together a 94 station coast-to-coast radio network. This allowed a national radio audience, and 25,000 fans, to witness the 19-16 Bear victory. The Detroit Lions traditional Thanksgiving Day game was born.
When professional football began to attract a national following in the 1950's as the television sport, it was the Lion's Thanksgiving Day game that became a mid-20th century tradition, and until 1963 the Lions always played the Green Bay Packers on Thank sgiving.
I can remember watching weak Packer teams chasing the legendary Lion quarterback Bobby Lane around Briggs Stadium. I was in awe of Lane, the tough Texan who was out of shape, aging, and who never wore a face mask. But I loved the Packers and longed for an upset of the Lions. After Vince Lombardi transformed the Packers into champions, with Starr, Taylor, and Hornung, it was the Lions who pulled the big upsets on Turkey Day in front of growing television audiences. The turkey would not be served until the game was over, as the smell of turkey, gravy, dressing, pumpkin pie and football filled the air. Some games were played in rain, others in snow, and almost always it was cold outside our Minnesota home.
Much has changed since then. The Lions are playing in a dome. They play a variety of teams on Thanksgiving, no longer just the Packers. And because there are now two TV networks covering the NFL, there must be two Thanksgiving Day games, the second one in Dallas, which began in 1966, the merger year. At our house the Turkey is still served at the end of the Lions game, but after the meal we watch the fourth quarter of the game from Dallas over pie and coffee, hoping for a Cowboy loss. And almost always now it is warm outside our Florida home.
As it was in the 1890's so it is in the 1990's, Thanksgiving remains "a holiday granted by the State and the Nation to see a game of football."
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.
Four years of labor-management turmoil have ended. And make no mistake about it, the owners were at fault. At least 95% of the blame for this turmoil can be laid directly at the feet of these 19th century robber baron wannabes who loot cities, fleece the public, and seek to dominate their employees. From the first step on December 7, 1992 when owners voted to reopen the contract, until the rejection of their own negotiator's efforts on November 6th of this year, the owners time after time did everything they could to destroy the Players Association and permanently cripple major league baseball.
It was the owners who in August of 1993 pledged not to lock out the players nor unilaterally change the terms of the agreement through the 1994 season. Then it was the owners who forced the strike, when it became clear that without a strike they would impose their own rules on the players. It was the owners who canceled the end of the season, the playoffs and the World Series, thus matching the arrogance of John J. McGraw who forced the only other World Series cancellation in history. It was the owners wh o then unilaterally imposed their own settlement on the players.
It was the owners who voted 26-2 to use replacement players and make a joke of the 1995 season, having just destroyed the 1994 season. It was the owners who were found to be repeatedly in violation of labor law by the National Labor Relations Board. It was the owners who consistently lost their appeals of these rulings in court. It was the owners who were found at fault in the courtroom of Judge Sotomayer and told to rescind their actions and get baseball back on the field with real players.
It was the owners who kept hiring and firing their chief negotiators, each of whom we were told was tougher than his predecessor and each of whom would bring the players to their knees and change the balance of power. And it was the owners who gave us Acting Commissioner for Life, Bud Selig, who may be remembered as the Civilian edition of Gen. William Eckert, baseball's unknown soldier, or as the Commissioner who made us long for Bowie Clown.
Oh those wonderful owners, they finally voted 26-4 on November 26 to accept reality. Why do I find it so difficult to be grateful to these noble sportsmen for such a courageous act?
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.
Born in South Gate, California, in 1926 Rozelle played tennis and basketball at Compton High School, entered the Navy during the war, and returned to take the Compton Junior College sports information job and work simultaneously as a stringer for the Long Beach Press Telegram. In 1952 he was hired by Tex Schramm as public relations man for the Los Angeles Rams. After leaving in 1955 he returned to the Rams as a 31 year old General Manager in 1957.
Following the death of NFL Commissioner Bert Bell the owners met in June of 1960 to choose a new commissioner. On the tenth day of deliberations and the twenty-third ballot the thirty-three year old Rozelle was chosen to succeed Bell as Commissioner of the National Football League. It took Rozelle no time at all to establish his credentials and build on the solid foundation laid by Bert Bell. It was clear by 1960 that television was the key to the future, and Rozelle signed a contract between the NFL and CBS in which the league pooled the TV package and shared the revenues. It was quickly struck down by the federal courts as a violation of anti-trust law. Rozelle and other sports commissioners went to Congress for relief.
Congress responed with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 allowing the sale of television rights by the league rather than individual franchises. It not only saved the small market franchises in the NFL, but it guaranteed greater revenues across the board. The $4.65M per year contract with CBS in 1962 became the $14M per year contract of 1964 giving each team $1M before they opened their doors for business on the season. Today that figure is $40M.
Rozelle displayed his power and leadership again in 1963 when he suspended Paul Hornung and Alex Karras one year for gambling, letting everyone know who controlled the NFL.
Rozelle's next great achievement was guiding the NFL through the challenge by the American Football League. He lost the battle and won the war. The AFL survived and reached parity with the NFL, but Rozelle managed the merger of the two leagues in 1966 and remained Commissioner. Again he displayed his skills in dealing with Congress by shepherding the Football Merger Act through that body with the help of Senator Russell Long and Representative Hale Boggs, both from Louisiana. It exempted the merger from anti-trust violation and within nine days the NFL awarded New Orleans an expansion franchise.
Out of the merger came two things, more television money and the Super Bowl, which also meant more television money and more revenue generally.
With all this money about it is not surprising that the players might like to see a greater share coming their way. Again Pete Rozelle showed great skill in preventing the NFL Players Association from becoming a strong advocate for the players. Time and time again Rozelle overcame the obstacles of court rulings, outmaneuvered Ed Garvey, and broke their strikes. Convincing the television networks to show the scab games during the '87 strike may have been his boldest move.
Certainly the Super Bowl is Rozelle's most visible legacy. It is the premier sports event in the United States and is seen worldwide. As a spectacle it is largely Rozelle's creation. It was Rozelle who used the two week span before the game to manipulate the press, lobby the politicians, and stroke the fat cats of American business. The emergence of the Super Bowl as an exercise in conspicuous consumption with the corporate tents and parties, Rozelle's state-of-the-league press conference, and the lavish parties and half-time shows, made Super Sunday a mid-winter American festival and ritual.
He was wise enough to support Monday Night Football, created NFL properties and NFL films, and turned NFL merchandise into another major revenue stream for the League. He opened the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was responsible for changing the social habits of a nation on Sunday afternoon and Monday night.
His only real setbacks were two: The success of Al Davis in moving the Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles while winning his case in court, and the decision to go ahead with games on the Sunday following the assassination of President Kennedy.
My sharpest memory of Pete Rozelle will always be his yearly interview with Brent Musburger on the Super Bowl pre-game show. It was always an exquisite performance by Rozelle who maintained his dignity in the face of the fawning and insipid questions offered up to him. It was like watching a deity toy with a mere mortal.
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.
Among the non-golf desk calendars are those dealing with fly fishing ("365 Days of Fly Fishing") and lesser forms of fishing; several formats involving quotations and facts for the day; and then of course of "The Official fill in the blank calendar: Major League Baseball, NBA, ESPN, SI Multi-Sport, or SI Pro and College Football and the NFL. To cover it all you can simply opt for the "365 Sports Facts-A-Year" Desk Calendar.
In Wall Calendars the entire line-up changes. There is only one golf calendar, proving I suppose the golfers are for the most part off the wall. Sports on the wall but not on the desk include sailing, running, soccer, hockey, bicycling, figure skating, and surfing. There are two baseball wall calendars, one from the Library of Congress exhibit and one from the Ken Burns Docudrama. Another oddity is "Reel Men" which offers humor about fishing, a wonderful gift for those who would doubt the existence of such a thing.
There are also books still available in most bookstores and sports tomes are a major item, especially at Christmas time.
There are some wonderful sports photography and art books but they generally carry a large price tag. Among the best this year are "Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait" by Rachel Robinson with Lee Daniels. Over 300 photos, half of them off-field, give a well-rounded portrait of this major figure in baseball from the unique perspective of Rachel, his partner in Baseball's Great Experiment.
"Olympic Portraits" by Anne Leibovitz is a marvelous collection of black and white photos of the American Olympic team taken between 1993 and 1996. Leibovitz is considered by many to be the leading photo-artist working in America today and this collection will serve to enhance that reputation.
Again as with Desk Calendars there is a bevy of golf books, from the wit and wisdom of Harvey Pennock, now with four volumes available, to Jack Nicklaus' "Golf My Way," offering instructions from the Golden Bear. Apparently a bit slow to react the Tiger Woods industry has only two books on the shelves, Tim Rosaforte's "Tiger Woods: The Making of a Champion" and SI's "The Making of a Champion" featuring their "Sportsman of the Year" in words and pictures. Four more Tiger books will appear in the next few months. As for me I am waiting for the official Phil Knight version.
Golf books of substance include a wonderful collection of photos and prose in "The Greatest of Them All: The Legend of Bobby Jones," offering essays by Alistair Cooke, Dave Anderson and Ben Crenshaw among others. Also on the master is "The Life and Times of Bobby Jones: Portrait of a Gentleman."
Another American Sports Legend featured in several new books is Mickey Mantle. David Faulkner's, "The Last Hero," and "A Hero All His Life: A Memoir by the Mantle Family," written by Mantle's wife and three sons, are among the best.
On football there are the usual accounts by amd about coaches and players, with Keith Dunnavant's "Coach: The Life of Paul 'Bear' Bryant" leading the way. John Feinstein's "A Civil War: Army vs. Navy, A Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry," has received highly favorable reviews. "Quarterblack: Shattering the NFL Myth, The Autobiography of Doug Williams" with Bruce Hunter has just hit the stores, and hopefully will live up to its subject.
In addition there are a mass of books on Fishing, too many of them fly fishing, with "A Different Angle: Fly Fishing Stories by Women," edited by Holly Morris being an interesting collection which includes a story by E. Annie Proulx and one by Lin Sutherland with the witty title, "A River Runs Over Me." It is one of several books dealing with women and sport from Seal Press of Seattle.
In other words there is a mass of good reading for the sports fan at your house regardless of age, sex, or sportual orientation.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau wishing you a Merry Christmas and reminding you that you don't have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.

SPORT AND SOCIETY BROADCAST OF JANUARY 3, 1997
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


By the time you hear this commentary the bowls will be over, someone may or may not be a clear choice as number one, and someone may even care. Not being able to deal with this, the most important issue of our time, I will turn my attention elsewhere.
As we enter the new year I want to pause and look back on some of the stories that attracted my attention during the past year in sportsworld, where the improbable has become commonplace and the marketing of illusions has run riot. Looking back over the forty-plus Sport and Society pieces I have done in the past year I am struck by the variety, the drama, and the sleaze that is represented therein.
From the standpoint of the local Orlando scene the biggest story was the departure of Shaquille O'Neal. I was convinced that the Big Guy would not leave, and that he would be content to remain with Penny Hardaway and create an NBA dynasty that might become a worthy successor to Michael and the Bulls. I was wrong, as Shaq preferred to join the Lakers and fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in L.A., perhaps feeling that Penny or someone of that caliber may eventually join him in L.A. to build a dynasty there.
Death is always a moment for reflection and especially when it comes to someone who still has much to give. The death of Jerry Richardson, the woman's basketball coach at the University of Central Florida who was an inspiration to all those who knew him here and during his time serving the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, New Mexico, provided one such painful moment.
There were a number of other deaths that caught my attention, from the recent passing of Pete Rozelle and the significance of his career for the business of sport and the rise of the NFL, to the death of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder who parlayed very little into major sports celebrity. The passing of John McSherry was both a sobering moment and one that allowed Marge Schott to disgrace herself, while that of Charles O. Finley, brought back many memories of recent baseball history. The end of Kirby Puckett's career provided another kind of reflection on the fragile character of life.
As always there were any number of marvelous stories from both the past and present which illustrate the best qualiities of sport. The anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first spring training in Florida revealed the story of former Met Ed Charles finding inspiration in Daytona as a child watching Jackie play baseball in the segregated world of Florida in the spring. The Kentucky Derby allowed me to reflect on Isaac Murphy's career as a great African American jockey at the turn of the century. The resurrecti on of the career of Mario Lemieux on his return to hockey having overcome Hodkin's disease was inspirational, as was Dwight Gooden capping his comeback with a no-hitter, not to mention the U.S. World Championship in hockey. At the Olympics the American wo men, especially Michele Akers in soccer and Dot Richardson in softball, leading their teams to gold medals, reminded us of the magic of sport even though the NBC cameras remained largely absent from the story.
The World Series had several highlights including the Joe and Frank Torre story and the look of destiny that the Yankees had during the playoffs and the Series, including the improbable twenty-four hours of glory that came to Jeffery Maier. Another emerging star at the Series was Andruw Jones who achieved prominence on the field and brought attention to the island of Curacao.
The rise of Tiger Woods, especially his third consecutive amatuer championship, caught the imagination of the nation, while the crass marketing of this new icon by Nike highlighted much of what is wrong with contemporary sport.
Also on the down side are the drug and crime reports from college campuses and the general willingness of college presidents, athletic directors, and coaches to turn a blind eye to so much of this degradation of higher education. The crass commercialism a nd the incessant and all-pervasive marketing surrounding the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Series, and intercollegiate athletics especially at the bowls and the final four, all serve to trivialize sport.
There were the low moments provided by Roberto Alomar, Marge Schott, Dennis Rodman, Jerry Jones, Art Modell, NBC Sports, and boxing, to mention a few. There were the continuing antics of Donald Fehr, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Bud Lite unable to close out a bas eball contract, and then the relief when it finally happened.
Always though we are drawn back by those moments and events that very nearly achieve a level of pure sport, such as the glory of Michael Johnson's double, Fatuma Roba's woman's marathon victory, or the challenge of the Ididarod.
It was a remarkable, inspiring, and depressing year. I look for more of the same over the next twelve months when the new catch phrase of the culture is likely to be "show me the money."
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.
The coaching bodies are strewn everywhere and General Managers will be next. Meanwhile the Panthers and Jaguars slip off into the finals of the playoffs never looking back on the wreckage they have left in their wake.
Pete Rozelle is gone, but the parity lingers on.
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.
Why does this happen? It comes back to authority and power and fear. There are many authority figures in our lives, parents, teachers, the clergy, and of course coaches. All have power over us, and we all know of cases of sexual abuse involving these authority figures. For coaches the power can be overwhelming.
The relationship between player and coach takes all sorts of forms and shapes. The coach can be a parental substitute. The coach may be admired and respected as a person. The coach may be feared, because the coach holds the key to what the athlete wants m ost. The coach may be loved. And the coach will use all of these levers and buttons to teach and to motivate. From the first day of practice the coach has power because the coach will determine who will play and how much they will play. A coach can cut a player off the team, completely or partially. The coach seems to totally control the destiny of the player and therefore access to fame and fortune, to the pro-myth.
This places enormous responsibility on the coach, and with such a power balance in the relationship it opens endless opportunities for abuse. Players are completely vulnerable and literally at the mercy of coaches.
This is why in youth sport the position of coach is such a critical one. Young boys and girls are still feeling their way in life, learning what is and what is not acceptable, caught up in the quest for recognition and love, willing to do anything to please those who have the power to fill the empty spaces in their developing personalities.
Sexual abuse by coaches of athletes is too common, but it is not the only form of abuse practiced on young athletes. Physical, mental and verbal abuse are also too common. Here again coaches are no different than many others, expect that in coaching motiv ational techniques often depend heavily on physical, mental and verbal pressures that too easily can slip into abuse.
We all have seen it in practices and on the sidelines. Football coaches verbally abuse and physically assault their players in the name of "teaching," "motivating," and "discipline." Basketball coaches can be seen nightly on television berating their players in front of thousands of fans in the arena and hundreds of thousands at home. Hockey, swimming, track or any other number of sports are no different.
In a time when Vince Lombardi's name is invoked with great reverence, it would be good to recall that Coach Lombardi treated all his players alike. Like dogs. The infliction of physical and mental pain, the withholding of approval, were used routinely by Lombardi to motivate his players. These methods are accepted as definitions of "good coaching."
It is easy to condemn sexual abuse by coaches and it should be done loud and clear. Other forms of abuse should not be accepted either, because all of them undermine authority, defeat discipline, and create the dysfunctional human being. If authority is to be maintained and honored in society, it must be exercised with care and caution, especially when the powerful are dealing with the vulnerable. This is the charge to those who would be called "coach."
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 JANUARY 31, 1997
WUCF-FM 89.9 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
(7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m.)


If you're tired of hearing about the frozen tundra you had better change stations now, because I am going to talk about the team from the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers.
The Pack is Back. Yes, the Pack is definitely, finally and unequivocally Back. I have waited a long time to say that, and so I will say it again. The Pack is Back.
From the early 1950's I was a Green Bay Packer fan. That was before Lombardi; before Hornung, Taylor and Starr. Before the phrase "frozen tundra" was known outside the upper Midwest. Like most Minnesotans who followed professional football before the Vikings, I was a fan of the lowly and pathetic Green Bay Packers, the doormat of the NFL.
Under Curley Lambeau they had been a force in the league from its beginning, but by the late Forties the glory was fading. The Packers had their last winning season pre- Lombardi in 1947. Between 1947 and 1957 the Pack had five different coaches, and in 1958 Scooter McLean became coach for the second time and led Green Bay to a dismal 1-10-1 season.
In 1959 all of that changed. Vince Lombardi came to Green Bay from the New York Giants and the Pack suddenly had their first winning season as they went 7-5. The next year they were 8-4 and got to the NFL championship game. Then came two NFL championships in a row, two off years and two more championships. The Lombardi totals: six western conference titles, five NFL championships, and two Super Bowls.
Just as quickly the glory faded in the post Lombardi era. Phil Bengsten had one winning season, 8-6, in three years. Dan Devine one in five years, Bart Starr two winning seasons in nine years. Forrest Gregg did not have a winner over four years, Lindy Infante had one in four years. There were no titles for Titletown, U.S.A.
In 1992 Mike Holmgren came to Green Bay from San Francisco and he has not had a losing season on the frozen tundra. No wonder people in Green Bay are seeing the ghost of Vince Lombardi walking the streets.
For those of us who remember the Lombardi transformation, this one is also a wonder. As I sat watching the Super Bowl last Sunday I saw number "86" catch a pass and suddenly thought of Boyd Dowler. I started looking for Max McGhee, Marv Fleming, Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung. I moved quickly back and forth in time and memory mixing decades and players, and marveled at how all this was bouncing around in my head as Farve and Company established their identity as a championship team. It really was Super Sunday.
Now a new generation of Packer fans who suffered through losing seasons can again celebrate a winning team. New legends were carved out in New Orleans on this team led by a free drinking good ole boy from Mississippi, and an intense evangelical minister from Tennessee who was sent to the frozen tundra by God.
In the Lombardi years there were also the heavy drinkers and the straight shooters. Bart Starr was the modest upright young man from Alabama, while Paul Hornung and Max McGhee were the drinkers and womanizers who kept Lombardi awake at night.
The new Super Bowl champs were like the old Packers in that they played sound fundamental football. They wore you down and beat you up with good blocking, solid tackling, and very few mistakes. As with the Packers of old they struck like lightening, Farve to Rison, Starr to McGhee, Farve to Freeman, Starr to Dowler. And they struck early. Starr with the bomb on third and one inside his own twenty in the first series of the game. Farve to Rison before the seats were warm.
For all the memories of Lombardi's Packers the legend finds its true origins in the Ice Bowl against Dallas and the dramatic drive for the final touchdown as Starr followed Kramer into the end zone, the play shown over and over again, and yet never enough for Packer fans.
Jerry Kramer chronicled it all in INSTANT REPLAY the story of that great season and THE game. This is a book that not only made Kramer famous and enshrined the Ice Bowl in national memory, but it is a book that deeply influenced my own choices as a historian. On reading INSTANT REPLAY along with two other books, one on baseball and one on national character, I was led to reflect on the meaning of sport, especially football and baseball, in American life.
It led me to my first writing as a historian and then into the field of Sport History. So for me the Packers of Lombardi resonate in my life in numerous ways, and the new Super Bowl Champion Packers evoke not only memories of seasons past but of career choices of lasting impact. The synergy of the moment was most satisfying.
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.