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Sports world has remained constant
Posted: Thursday December 30, 1999 04:24 PM
Santa put an issue of Sports Illustrated in my stocking this Christmas. Inside there was a story on how money is changing the world of professional sports. The opening spread on this story featured a large dollar sign that seemed to leak out all over the sports elements on the page. There was a feature on the Cincinnati Reds' resurgence and one on a female athlete overcoming fear and prejudice to excel at a male-dominated sport. There were letters to the editor about Muhammad Ali, Scorecard items about fans at Stanford, Faces in the Crowd, spectacular photos and colorful, in-depth feature writing. Beer, golf aides and cigarette promos dominated the ad pages.
Except for the subscription rate: $6 for one year. Next to that was an ad for a Chrysler sports car I could drive home (and straight to the Lowes Motor Speedway track) for $2,600. Another ad reminded me that Keds sneakers are now accepted dress for informal dining. And, until I opened this particular issue, I had no idea that Vaseline Hair Tonic brought out the male in my hair. This issue was the first one printed after my birth. Newsstand cost -- 40 cents. More important, it featured a future Olympic great, quarter-miler Tommie Smith, on the cover. Smith, you will recall, later won Olympic gold and, in a brave and eloquent expression against racial inequality in the U.S., thrust his fist into the air on the victory platform and was summarily labeled a traitor by the establishment. Anyway, as I leafed through the issue I was taken aback by how, at this very moment,we are all looking forward to the new millennium (stat geeks who would like to be WHYLOs, now's your chance to e-mail me about 2001 being the real start of the century) to see what incredible and mind-altering changes will take place in the 21st century. Yet here, before me, was proof that not a whole heckuva lot has changed in the sports world in the last 33 years. That's both good and bad, I suppose. But what will change after Friday? Will anything change after Friday? What do we want to change after Friday? Thirty years ago Ali was the most dynamic personality in sports. In thirty years he still will be. Thirty years ago racial divisiveness threatened to destroy athletics. In thirty years we'll still have idiots like John Rocker and Reggie White. Thirty years ago there were ads for Lee-Prest Leens slacks that claimed they were "Straight and narrow slacks (not for the narrow-minded).& quot; Thirty years later we have Dockers. Thirty years ago we worried about money and greed ruining sports. In thirty years will the ruination be complete? Thirty years ago female athletes were blazing new trails. In thirty years will they be just as spoiled and out of touch as the rest of our heroes? Thirty years ago, according to ads in SI, lots of men suffered from athlete's foot. I'm guessing, in 2030, we will have colonized Mars, solved the DH question and transformed garbage into fuel, but will still be suffering from itchy feet. Thirty years ago, a magazine was published that someone held on to for three decades. In thirty days (or, hell, in 30 hours, when your computer goes down) do you think you'll be able, or even want, to find this column on the Internet? Thirty years ago one basic tenet seemed to permeate our athletic culture: that what we loved about athletic competition was so pure and real no amount of greed or hatred or corruption or Schlitz beer ads could ruin it. Here's hoping that 30 years from now nothing will have changed. Sports Illustrated staff writer David Fleming explores the sometimes weird and wacky side of sports every Thursday. Click here to send an e-mail to Flem, or address it yourself: flemfile@aol.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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