Johnette Howard and Christine Brennan
Hi Chris--
PRINT
DISCUSS
E-MAIL
RSS
RECOMMEND...
Facebook
MySpace
Mixx
Digg
Reddit
del.icio.us
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Sphere
StumbleUponRead your lament about Derrick Thomas, the Kansas City linebacker who was left paralyzed yesterday in a car accident, and I felt the same pang you did when I saw the news this morning that he'd been hurt. I did have the pleasure of interviewing Thomas in the past, and the memory of his smile is what's haunting me today--that smile, and the mischievous light that always shone in Thomas' eyes even though he had to deal with another numbing tragedy before this. Remember? Thomas' father died in a jet fighter crash a couple of decades ago, when Derrick was only a few years old. Now this.
I'm sure Thomas will be remembered in Atlanta this week at the Super Bowl, especially today as the reporters descend on the players and coaches for a reaction. But I think we both know when reality intrudes in sports, the people in sports tend to retreat even deeper into the games they play. And they can't wait for the games to resume.
To be sure, there's always some sad talk about the infinity of possibilities that are lost when something like this happens, or when some similar tragedy comes along. There's been a spate of them recently, hasn't there? How about that drive-by shooting that Rae Carruth, the ex-Carolina Panthers wide receiver was recently charged with after his girlfriend was shot and died. How about that car crash that claimed Bobby Phills' life after he and a Charlotte Hornets teammate, David Wesley, were drag racing in their Porsches down a city street after practice. The police guessed Phills was travelling 110 miles per hour before his car spun out of control.
John Rocker, the big-mouth Atlanta Braves pitcher, had a ride atop the headlines a few weeks ago after he insulted nearly every minority group this country harbors. But, sports being sports, I'll bet the buzz about Michael Jordan's return to basketball as part owner of the Washington Wizards will last far longer, and generate reams more copy--which, again, isn't surprising.
I've always thought that people flock to sports because the people who play them simultaneously defy and define the limits of what human beings can achieve. You never think someone can throw as hard as Rocker or hang in the air as long as Jordan until they come along and prove it. And not only that--they can summon such magic consistently. And on command. That's what's so transfixing. It's like all of us, not just the athletes, need to see someone who's fearless and acts like they're going to live forever.
It's been interesting to me, for example, that after all the rejoicing about how nice it is to have Jordan back in the NBA just a year after his retirement as a player, the next thing that most of his fans fretted about was whether his involvement with the sad-sack Wizards will eventually cloud his legend. Clearly, Jordan is less worried about protecting his mythic standing than his fans are.
I think the other thing that something like Thomas' accident does is remind us how little life actually does resemble sports, try as we might to say it does. After all, sports have these neat, agreed-upon rules. There's this comforting belief in sports that no matter what happens today, no matter how bad a certain game or loss might seem, tomorrow can always be better--and you can do something to make it better, you know?
Then a man like Thomas ends up in the hospital with a broken back, and you snap back to reality.
Maybe tomorrow will bring some better news ...
Catch you then,
Johnette
The Hilarious Results of Slate's "Write Like Sarah Palin" Contest
Does Your iPhone Really Need a Titanium Case?
Vice Presidents Say the Darnedest Things
The Golden Scissors Awards Are the Oscars of Black Hair
Slate's Complete Coverage of the Tiger Woods Scandal
The Awesome Spectacle of Glenn Beck's Live Performance of The Christmas Sweater
