May 25, 2007
Tribute to a few of my favorite Athletes…
CALVIN BOREL
OK, I am going to be the first to admit that I know NOTHING about horse racing. I’ve always thought it was kind of mean, actually… but last week I watched a short news story on this guy and I was really impressed by his character. Forgive me because I don’t know the true story of Calvin Borel, I plan on learning more about him, but hes a Jockey who won the most recent Kentucky derby. I think it was the scene of him finishing the Kentucky Derby, so obvious that he had worked so hard and endured a long arduous journey to that victory. I remember seeing this guy standing with the expression of utter excitement on his face, as he rode to a stop on his horse, Street Sense. He’d lean over and pat the other jockeys on their backs and his smile was ear-to-ear. In his interview, he recollected when he was 8 years old, telling his mom that he wanted to be a jockey and win the Kentucky Derby and his mom replied, “Well you better go make it happen because aint no one gonna give it to ya”. And he wouldn’t stop talking about his older brother who has supported him so much along the way. I love the way he talked about his strategy to win. He’d say something like, “Well I’m just gonna let him drive when he wants to drive (’him’ referring to his horse) and steer him where he wants to be steered” or something like that. Anyway, I just thought he was a really great, and humble champion and I admire him for that. I also loved his LOOSIANA accent.
oh and here’s a clip, from second to last to first place in the second half of the race
Calvin Borel
LANCE ARMSTRONG
I appreciate Lance’s book, “It’s not about the bike” for many reasons. For one, he makes references to his old Schwinn Paramount, one of his favorite bikes. I raced a Schwinn Paramount in High School, too, but mine was sort of a “redo” of the classic Paramount… Also his red Fiat, which is a popular Italian sports car seen often in the Tour de France. My dad had a Fiat and I LOVED that car. I even bid on one recently on eBay and lost. But of course everyone knows he won 7 tours in a row after brain surgery and heavy chemotherapy. What I love best is his recollection of riding by the finish line of his final stage in the Tour de France and looking into the eyes of the owner of the French team, Cofidis… who dropped Lance and took away his health insurance when they hear of the news that he had cancer. It’s a great, inspiring book and I recommend it to everyone! Also if you have never watched the Tour de France, watch it this year. It’s a very interesting race of strategy, teamwork, and raging victory! I even emailed Lance’s wedding photographer from his first marriage about 4 years ago. I forgot his name but he was super cool.
MUHAMMAD ALI
For some reason, today I found myself thinking about Muhammad Ali. If you haven’t seen the movie ALI with Will Smith, I highly recommend it, if for anything the photography and music. If you have a booming surround sound, even better. I love his story, and most importantly the fact that Ali stayed so true to himself and what he believed in, especially when under the harsh criticism during VietNam. The movie is such an accurate illustration. His TV appearences with Howard Cosell and even the actual fights were so perfectly imitated. Ali was far from a quitter and he persisted to his success with the ultimate in hard work and perseverance. My favorite fight of his is the Rumble in the Jungle, against Foreman. Foreman previously CRUSHED Joe Frazier, who previously CRUSHED Ali. So Ali was faced with a serious challenge.
To make a long story short, Ali let Foreman tire out, basically by becoming his punching bag for a few rounds, in a move now known as the Rope-a-Dope. What a dope! Then Ali came back and knocked him out.
This is one of my favorite sports photos of all time, Ali, knocked out Sonny Liston in like 30 seconds or something like that. Even better, it was a rematch after Liston cheated by putting some sort of pepper oil on his gloves in an attempt to blind Ali in the ring (but he still lost).
May 25, 2007 |
