TWELVE, ANGRY MEN, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
Twelve years ago today, the greatest moment in sports history occurred: Dan Jansen won the mens' 1000m gold medal in speed skating. Sure, there have been been more (for some) satisfying moments - the moment when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in 1955; the New York Rangers' long-awaited Stanley Cup medal, which the team received in the mid-1990's; moments representing snapshots of greater feats of second-by-second athletic prowess (the famous Willie Mays catch); moments where the greatness was derived from another athlete's (or another team's) errors or suffering - Bill Buckner's bobble, the Red Sox' pleasurably avenging defeat of New York in 2004; and many other great moments - Patrick Roy (Canadiens' goaltender) scoring a goal of his own; Michael Jordan's time-defying playoff victiories; Kirk Gibson's 1988 hobbled home run; Game 6 - Mets v. Astros, 1986; the Broncos' great drive against the Browns; a game stolen by "Heidi"; "Do You Believe in Miracles?", and too many others to mention (and evidently, to remember).
But Jansen's personal background, the odds against him on that day, for that race, and in that year; the hyper-pressure beyond pressure embroiling him like the ether; his few-day earlier defeat (seventh Olympic loss), made his win in this event a triumph imbued with a tingle of singularity that cannot be replicated. Jansen's victory, more than any other great moment in sports history, came out of the pages of a fairy tale as it blazed into the pictures of the memory. Amazing.
The victory was also an Olympic record at the time. Flash forward twelve years.
Here we are. Once again, the mens 1000m is being raced, and the results (time-delayed) have made my acquaintance, again in the evening, on a clear, chilling night. Another Olympics record has been handed down, with a purity of thunder as if from on high: Shani Davis (who did not skate in the team pursuit, causing teammate Chad Hedrick to bristle as the team was promptly bumped from competition from Italy; the "experts," Hedrick included, believe that had Davis competed in this event, the United States would have medaled therein) became the first African-American to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics, and the first African-American male to win a medal of any color (Vonetta Flowers won gold in the 2-woman bobsled in 2002; Debi Flowers won bronze in figure skating in - ouch- 1988). Joey Cheek from Greensboro, NC (home of Cheerwine) won silver, adding to the gold he won in mens 500 several days ago/
I put some thought into the title of this post because news of Davis' victory should undoubtedly be a cause for happiness for those of us in the United States: on the first, and most simple level, we should be happy because one of our atheles won a medal. I'm happy. On another level, those who believe that it is a good - or great - thing that an African-American has finally won individual gold - should be thrilled once more (believe me, there are those to whom this achievment means nothing, means too little or too late, or means something bad. And only some of these people are conscious racists, black or white). I think it is a great thing. Not because Bryant Gumbel has decreed it to be so - but because the world has just become a tiny bit more equal - not (to me) in the Kumbaya, P.C., sappy, sap-the-life-out-of-you way, but because maybe, just maybe, one more person - of any color, race, nationality, religion, disability, or any one person who has suffered an obstacle in his or her life that has wondered if things will ever look up - might be inspired by this event.
How banal, then, what actually happened, once the victory was obtained. Davis refused to grant any interviews, or to speak to NBC, before the race. After, he seemed - from the viewpoint of someone looking at a bunch of pixels halfway across the globe - nonplussed, and sounded equally nonplussed. An NBC reporter (who, make of this what you will, and make of my noting it what you will) who is white asked him what he felt about winning, about making history, and other pro forma questions, and he curtly replied, "It's great," without asking a smile. The reporter, perhaps taken aback, perhaps alarmed, perhaps afraid, then asked him, "Are you angry?" (Hedrick had previously stated, "I'm the one who won the gold medal (previously, in the 5000m, and Shani's getting all of the attention (for his decision not to participate in the team pursuit)." Davis previously stated, "I don't need to skate in any event because someone wants me to. I didn't get here with any other skater's help, and I don't owe them anything.") Davis then said, "I'm just at a loss for words." Interview over.
When Chad Hedrick was asked if he was happy for Shani, he replied "I'm happy for Joey" (Joey Cheek).
Welcome back, Harry Blackmun. Your chill wind is still blowing. Davis apparently indicated at one point he was going to participate in the team pursuit, only to then drop out. Both of these men are clearly angry about something, and whatever it is, however genuine, I wish that it would either be resolved or kept off stage. It is yet another grand stereotype of our society that men do not engage in this kind of behavior. Of course they do. (Certain men deny it, while claiming other men who act this way are gay - consider this observation opening statement #2 for the grand post).
That the behavior has been displayed smacks the sheen off the singularity of White's achievment. In 1994, as cynical (as I define that term) as I was, I was optimistic enough to believe, at 15, that someone who had just won a gold medal would be able - if not for the camera's sake - then for eternity's sake, to act a little more sportsmanlike (for anyone who considers this comment racist, so be it), and that a teammate of that person would be happy for that person - not just for the cameras, but - God forbid - as a great starship captain said, "It is the right thing to do," (So be it still?) especially when the teammate in question already had a medal of his own and came in 6th in the race where the newly crowned medalist came in 1st. But what do I know, then or now, even as I ponder what I wrote in the above paragraph?
It is because twelve years of cynicism amplification have passed, and, as the Book of Corinthians says (I am still Jewish, and I am not turning into a fundie here by making this quote), "for now, we see but through a glass darkly" (who KNOWS God, and therefore, who knows each other, or anything?), that, to answer my question, I will say, I know why I believed what I believed in 1994, why exactly I believe differently now, and what I think accounts for this night's behavior. But every time I feel secure in this knowledge, I look through the glass again, and think, as another great captain said, "I know nothing!"
But Jansen's personal background, the odds against him on that day, for that race, and in that year; the hyper-pressure beyond pressure embroiling him like the ether; his few-day earlier defeat (seventh Olympic loss), made his win in this event a triumph imbued with a tingle of singularity that cannot be replicated. Jansen's victory, more than any other great moment in sports history, came out of the pages of a fairy tale as it blazed into the pictures of the memory. Amazing.
The victory was also an Olympic record at the time. Flash forward twelve years.
Here we are. Once again, the mens 1000m is being raced, and the results (time-delayed) have made my acquaintance, again in the evening, on a clear, chilling night. Another Olympics record has been handed down, with a purity of thunder as if from on high: Shani Davis (who did not skate in the team pursuit, causing teammate Chad Hedrick to bristle as the team was promptly bumped from competition from Italy; the "experts," Hedrick included, believe that had Davis competed in this event, the United States would have medaled therein) became the first African-American to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics, and the first African-American male to win a medal of any color (Vonetta Flowers won gold in the 2-woman bobsled in 2002; Debi Flowers won bronze in figure skating in - ouch- 1988). Joey Cheek from Greensboro, NC (home of Cheerwine) won silver, adding to the gold he won in mens 500 several days ago/
I put some thought into the title of this post because news of Davis' victory should undoubtedly be a cause for happiness for those of us in the United States: on the first, and most simple level, we should be happy because one of our atheles won a medal. I'm happy. On another level, those who believe that it is a good - or great - thing that an African-American has finally won individual gold - should be thrilled once more (believe me, there are those to whom this achievment means nothing, means too little or too late, or means something bad. And only some of these people are conscious racists, black or white). I think it is a great thing. Not because Bryant Gumbel has decreed it to be so - but because the world has just become a tiny bit more equal - not (to me) in the Kumbaya, P.C., sappy, sap-the-life-out-of-you way, but because maybe, just maybe, one more person - of any color, race, nationality, religion, disability, or any one person who has suffered an obstacle in his or her life that has wondered if things will ever look up - might be inspired by this event.
How banal, then, what actually happened, once the victory was obtained. Davis refused to grant any interviews, or to speak to NBC, before the race. After, he seemed - from the viewpoint of someone looking at a bunch of pixels halfway across the globe - nonplussed, and sounded equally nonplussed. An NBC reporter (who, make of this what you will, and make of my noting it what you will) who is white asked him what he felt about winning, about making history, and other pro forma questions, and he curtly replied, "It's great," without asking a smile. The reporter, perhaps taken aback, perhaps alarmed, perhaps afraid, then asked him, "Are you angry?" (Hedrick had previously stated, "I'm the one who won the gold medal (previously, in the 5000m, and Shani's getting all of the attention (for his decision not to participate in the team pursuit)." Davis previously stated, "I don't need to skate in any event because someone wants me to. I didn't get here with any other skater's help, and I don't owe them anything.") Davis then said, "I'm just at a loss for words." Interview over.
When Chad Hedrick was asked if he was happy for Shani, he replied "I'm happy for Joey" (Joey Cheek).
Welcome back, Harry Blackmun. Your chill wind is still blowing. Davis apparently indicated at one point he was going to participate in the team pursuit, only to then drop out. Both of these men are clearly angry about something, and whatever it is, however genuine, I wish that it would either be resolved or kept off stage. It is yet another grand stereotype of our society that men do not engage in this kind of behavior. Of course they do. (Certain men deny it, while claiming other men who act this way are gay - consider this observation opening statement #2 for the grand post).
That the behavior has been displayed smacks the sheen off the singularity of White's achievment. In 1994, as cynical (as I define that term) as I was, I was optimistic enough to believe, at 15, that someone who had just won a gold medal would be able - if not for the camera's sake - then for eternity's sake, to act a little more sportsmanlike (for anyone who considers this comment racist, so be it), and that a teammate of that person would be happy for that person - not just for the cameras, but - God forbid - as a great starship captain said, "It is the right thing to do," (So be it still?) especially when the teammate in question already had a medal of his own and came in 6th in the race where the newly crowned medalist came in 1st. But what do I know, then or now, even as I ponder what I wrote in the above paragraph?
It is because twelve years of cynicism amplification have passed, and, as the Book of Corinthians says (I am still Jewish, and I am not turning into a fundie here by making this quote), "for now, we see but through a glass darkly" (who KNOWS God, and therefore, who knows each other, or anything?), that, to answer my question, I will say, I know why I believed what I believed in 1994, why exactly I believe differently now, and what I think accounts for this night's behavior. But every time I feel secure in this knowledge, I look through the glass again, and think, as another great captain said, "I know nothing!"
posted by EnterCenter at 8:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home