The pool of last year’s NCAA championship teams met with
Dubya on the South Lawn on Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday. To
anyone who tuned in to watch video clips of the rendezvous, it
became quite clear that the collegiate players and coaches were
equally excited and proud to be shaking hands with the most
powerful man in the world.
Coaches Adam Krikorian, Billy Martin and their players took the
experience all in stride with a great deal of modesty and
graciousness. This kind of style is only fitting, as the Bruin
squads exemplified exactly the best that sports has to offer.
Let’s face it. The sports world has been taking a beating
recently, with the Kenny Rogers saga after he assaulted a cameraman
as well as the typical outrage that “athletes are coddled
crybabies who get away with murder.” As the salaries for
professional athletes continue to skyrocket and the discrepancy
between their lifestyles and that of their fans continues to widen,
the negative portrayal of athletes will only worsen.
It’s the same at the collegiate level, as most
student-athletes are thought to be given a free ride. It makes the
success and attitude of these players and coaches only that much
more vital. The public’s need to latch onto positive moments
has never been greater. Seeing fresh-faced college kids introducing
themselves to the president with the utmost respect is pretty
refreshing when compared to the constant nature of the
sensationalist sports culture. Maybe it’s a little boring,
but that’s better than another reason to be a cynical sports
fan.
Krikorian explains it pretty well when talking about being
invited to the White House: “It is just one moment in time,
while (winning a championship) is more than just one day. It is the
result of a long process and journey. There is nothing
better.”
Gotta love it. It all goes back to the success on the field, and
the “˜down to earth’ mindset off the field.
Even water polo player Joe Axelrad tried to give something back
to the president upon the honor of getting invited to Bush’s
fancy digs. Presenting Bush with a speedo and letting him know just
how “liberating” it feels might seem like a
lighthearted poke. In reality, it may have just been
Axelrad’s way of promoting democratization in the world.
America is freedom loving, and democracy is coming decked out in
its tight fitting swimsuit. Or else, the terrorists win. How
selfless of Axelrad.
Lost in the shuffle of competition, bowl berths and road trips,
the eager sports culture quickly forgets its role in society. If
nothing else, sports should elevate the public spirit and sometimes
even rile a few fanatics up and get “˜em sparring. But all is
in good fun, or at least should be. At its best, sports can raise
the consciousness of the masses and reflect something bigger than
just the final outcome. Arthur Ashe or Muhammad Ali come to mind,
as does John Wooden’s circular “Pyramid of
Success”. These people are pretty rare.
At its most frivolous, sports is just candy store stuff that
provides people with an escape from whatever it is that people with
jobs and responsibility need to escape from. Fortunately, these
moments are continuous.
But there is an ongoing battle for the sports culture. The fight
is between those who use sports as a corporate establishment and
those who enjoy (dare I sound naive) the simplicity of the game.
The zeal of the competition. The defining of excellence coupled
with understated ego, which is just what these Bruin teams
represented during the visit at the White House.
Quite frankly, that is the way it should be. Always.
The meeting between a bunch of college kids and Dubya might have
been just a convenient photo op for the president to gain a tenth
of a percentage point in his approval rating. But for a sports
purist, it was just a nice change of pace.
E-mail de Jong at adejong@media.ucla.edu.