As we go through this pandemic Danny Boyce has decided to mention some of what he is missing from the sports world. Some will seem silly, some will seem serious, and there’s a distinct possibility that the reader will feel the opposite of which ones are which. But again, it’s sports, so enjoy!
Part 6: Wide World of Sports
“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The human drama of athletic competition. This is ABC’s Wide World of Sports.”
Don’t tell me that you didn’t have the music going in your head. I miss Wide World of Sports.
I miss the lumberjack events.
I miss Evel Knievel trying to basically kill himself.
I miss the Harlem Globetrotters making fun of the Washington Generals.
I miss when boxing was great.
I miss when only the championship game was the only Little League World Series game on TV. This one featured a young kid on the mound who would make his name in hockey.
I miss Vinko Bogataj crashing every Saturday afternoon. Seriously, the “Thrill of victory” changed quite a bit, but that failed ski jump never did.
Sixty years ago Roone Arledge came up with the greatest concept in the history of televised sports. Through a twist of fate he got exactly the right guy in Jim McKay to cover the craziest events all around the world. Each week we were introduced to demolition derbies, cliff diving, and whatever else they could find.
It gave us a very candid Muhammad Ali because of Howard Cosell’s relentless style. It exposed us to the wide world out there.
And dammit, we could really use that right now.