Unfortunately, these awards don't come with a physical medal or trophy, a stipend or lucrative endorsement contract; in fact, they are worth just the bytes of computer storage they are stored on. They aren't being presented in front of one's peers or millions of fans. They aren't being written by a sports expert or a person particularly accomplished at any sport. But I honor these individuals for their commitment to excellence, their inspiration to millions of people beyond myself, and their sportsmanship.
My familiar readers are probably bored about my meager sports triumphs. I am not a born athlete: an inch on the shorter side of average, short legs, a barrel chest. I never can buy a suit off the rack; usually I've had to look for what they call an athletic cut suit and take in the waist and slacks considerably.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was involved in probably one of the most violent collisions in touch/flag football history in high school gym class. I was in a suburban south Texas high school; the other player with this lean 6-foot plus rancher's son. I usually played the defensive line but was taking a breather, playing back deep. "Boner" broke free of the line and I stood between him and the end zone. I thought that my best chance to tag him was to get the angle on him breaking to my left or right; unfortunately, he thought we were playing a game of chicken and that I would back away to avoid being run over. He hit me full-speed and was knocked out cold; I literally was flying in the air from contact and fell down landing on my left wrist spraining it (I'm a southpaw). My gym teacher,the high school football coach, was duly impressed by my unintended toughness and let me use a whirlpool device over a subsequent period to remedy my wrist.
He wanted me to go out for football the following season and even offered to drive me home after practices (since I would miss the last bus home to the nearby Air Force base). I had a small daily afternoon/Sunday paper route (about 90 customers); I cleared about $30/month. My folks barely made ends meet (never mind help me out with college, given 6 younger siblings), so this was the only money I had to save for college. I was serious enough to buy practice cleats out of my limited savings. At some point early in the process, I had second thoughts, doubting my chances to start or win an athletic scholarship; I decided that I couldn't afford to give up my paper route money. My high school coach was furious and blackballed me from the National Honor Society. (The way I found out was that my Spanish II teacher, an assistant coach, for some reason decided to call me out in front of the class, asking me if I wondered why I hadn't made NHS. He then wanted me, along with the rest of the class, to know what happened. He said that by failing to go out for football, I had failed to show teamwork and leadership (which of course I have have shown by playing football!) When I pointed out that I was participating in UIL number sense and science, he sneered and said that was all about me: it was selfish.) I was finally admitted into NHS after being named high school valedictorian.
I've had a few athletic moments of glory. In other touch football contests, I once intercepted a side lateral on a kickoff return for an unusual touchdown, and I also blocked a punt. In teen baseball, I once played 4 positions (outfield and first base) in one game, I once threw out a runner trying to score from second on a base hit to right field, and I had a couple of the best catches I've ever seen in youth baseball--I did a Willie Mays-style basket catch of a high pop fly to short center field on a dead run and I did a cross-body back-handed spear of a 6-ft high line drive down the right field line (which earned me a standing ovation from the crowd in the bleachers). The first time I played first base, I tagged the base runner out on an unpracticed pickoff throw from the pitcher, and I later speared a soft line drive to shallow right field and beat the runner back to first for an unassisted double play.
I used to play some practice tennis with one of my Latino friends at the OLL courts and I've drilled a few decent passing volleys on the diagonal going away from me. In my early 20's, I loved playing church-league coed volleyball (I'm not sure why, but I picked up the nickname of "Train".I was super-aggressive and routinely chased down errant hits outside the court, sometimes successfully passing them back to the court). I think the last organized sports thing I did was intramural softball back at UH (I think my dissertation chair had mentioned it to me). I remember once hitting a humongous Harmon Killebrew-style popup (i.e., the infielders lost track of the ball in the sky) for extra bases. (What I remember most about intramural softball was an incident involving a very tall, attractive high school or college daughter of a business school department secretary whom seemed to be flirting with me: no lie, one day on a hot, windy day she was stretched out, flexing her long legs on the hood of a car parked near the field as I passed by, like a scene straight out of a White Snake video.)
Alas, for every moment of athletic glory, there must have been dozens of more mediocre moments, not to mention the fact I couldn't even make my Officer Indoctrination School all-star volleyball team (and I think I had more points than any other server...)
Speaking of softball, did anyone else notice that Jennie Finch (sigh!) wasn't at this year's Olympics? Softball/baseball also won't be at the Rio Olympics. Recently retired Finch-Daigle is expecting the married couple's third child.
American Male Athlete
With all the hoopla involving all-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps, there is the one event which, in my view, sets the standard for all-around best athlete--the decathlon. ("The decathlon comprises 10 events in a grueling, two-day test that demands speed (100 meters, 400 meters, 110 hurdles), agility (long jump, high jump, pole vault), strength (shot put, discus, javelin) and endurance (1,500 meters). The Olympic decathlon champion often is labeled the world's greatest athlete. ") Yesterday, 24-year-old Ashton Eaton, who set the world record at the US trials (and also holds the world record for the heptathlon), did not push his final event 1500 meters (well off his personal best) and just missed setting a new Olympic record, worried about a thigh muscle issue that surfaced with the pole vault.
It is unreal to see how quickly Eaton has progressed. Graduating from high school in 2006 with no experience in the decathlon, he won the NCAA decathlon two years later. I was moved by his emotional embrace with his mom I watched on NBC (Ashton's father separated from his mom when he was a toddler.)
How good is Eaton? Fellow American silver medalist and two-time world champion Trey Hardee had this to say: ""Ashton is the best athlete who ever has walked the planet. Hands down."
Eaton joins a long list of legendary American athletes whom have won this event: Jim Thorpe, Glenn Morris, Bob Mathias, Rafer Johnson, Bill Toomey, Bruce Jenner, Dan O'Brien and Bryan Clay.
I am just an amateur sports commentator, and this "award", plus $5, will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. But Eaton's ability to tough out the quadriceps problem and still come close to setting a new Olympic record just leaves me in awe. Congratulations, champ!
American Female Athlete
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| Ashton Eaton, Gold Medal Decathlon Fiancee Canadian heptathlon Brianne Theisen, Single Mom Roslyn Eaton Courtesy of Associated Press |
It is unreal to see how quickly Eaton has progressed. Graduating from high school in 2006 with no experience in the decathlon, he won the NCAA decathlon two years later. I was moved by his emotional embrace with his mom I watched on NBC (Ashton's father separated from his mom when he was a toddler.)
How good is Eaton? Fellow American silver medalist and two-time world champion Trey Hardee had this to say: ""Ashton is the best athlete who ever has walked the planet. Hands down."
Eaton joins a long list of legendary American athletes whom have won this event: Jim Thorpe, Glenn Morris, Bob Mathias, Rafer Johnson, Bill Toomey, Bruce Jenner, Dan O'Brien and Bryan Clay.
I am just an amateur sports commentator, and this "award", plus $5, will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. But Eaton's ability to tough out the quadriceps problem and still come close to setting a new Olympic record just leaves me in awe. Congratulations, champ!
American Female Athlete
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| Kerri Walsh Jennings 3-Peat Olympic Beach Volleyball Champ Courtesy of biography.com |
I don't mean to slight Walsh Jennings' co-champion Misty May-Treanor: after all, it takes two to win a match of beach volleyball. Like millions of other viewers around the world, I have seen absolute domination, with the pair losing only one set through three Olympics. There were times I was concerned during the tournament, as in the set they lost against the Austrian pair. Sometimes Kerri's play was tentative and she wasn't playing aggressively at the net, with her trademark blocking prowess. Watching Kerri at the net is like watching a masterful baseball pitcher, with an array of pitches and speeds: Kerri is able to spike the ball with precision all across the court, able to anticipate the movements of her opponents and slap the ball in the opposite direction. To win every match, with every competing team having seen almost all their matches, is simply incredible. I even love the little clips of her expressing a tribute to her mom: to be the best in the world at what you do and still remember where you came from: pure class. Congratulations, champ!
