Long before Sportscenter, the ESPN crawl and the SuperBowl Halftime extravaganza, in places that would never have 60,000 seat stadiums or 50 million dollar salaries, there was Wide World of Sports, and Jim McKay.
The world was much bigger in those days, and Wide World went to all corners, as the now famous opening told us each Saturday afternoon
...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…
On a portable black and white TV I watched every weekend as that ski jumper tumbled down that mountain -maybe this week he'll make it, nope. I tuned in to see Peggy, Dorothy, Nadia but was also treated to every sport imaginable from places I had to go look up in my encyclopedia...Wide World covered them all. The program was about sports, competition, achievement and especially the individuals who devoted their lives to becoming the best at their sport...not for glamour, or spectacle, or money but the grace of sport. The man who gave every sport he covered that grace was Jim McKay.
Jim McKay hosted Wide World from its inception in 1961 and was there each Saturday for most of its over 35 year history. This was not a play by play or a hype filled color analyst, this was a journalist, an eloquent gifted broadcaster who told the story, the story of the sport, the story of the place, the story of the athlete and the story and emotion of the moment you were witnessing. Jim McKay covered 12 Olympic games, major golf events, Triple Crown races...all with an eye for the "humanity" of sports. He understood that it isn't just about playing games, there is history, passion, dedication, determination and commitment behind the curtain. His presence and narration were genuine. His words were paint on canvas. His narration, defining.
In 1972 at the summer Olympics in Munich it was Jim McKay that told a waiting world the fate of the Israeli athletes taken hostage
When I was a kid my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were eleven hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone
The journalist told us the story of each of the athletes, the sports broadcaster stepped aside, and the man introduced a shocked nation to our first look at terrorism.
Jim McKay may have witnessed the evolution of the world of sports as it lost its innocence through his own medium, but he continued to peel back the glittery facades and packaging to reveal the humanity, emotion, drama and stories of the reality of competition. He made us care about the most obscure sporting events, he made us hold our breath as Jack Nicklaus walked up the green or Spend a Buck crossed the finish line. We cared to watch and listen and follow. These were not just games but the stories of athletes, filled with emotion and passion played out in quiet hours of preparation or in front of millions. Many in sports broadcasting have tried to be the next Jim McKay,emulate his style,none have succeeded, nor will they.
The world was much bigger in those days, and Wide World went to all corners, as the now famous opening told us each Saturday afternoon
...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…
On a portable black and white TV I watched every weekend as that ski jumper tumbled down that mountain -maybe this week he'll make it, nope. I tuned in to see Peggy, Dorothy, Nadia but was also treated to every sport imaginable from places I had to go look up in my encyclopedia...Wide World covered them all. The program was about sports, competition, achievement and especially the individuals who devoted their lives to becoming the best at their sport...not for glamour, or spectacle, or money but the grace of sport. The man who gave every sport he covered that grace was Jim McKay.
Jim McKay hosted Wide World from its inception in 1961 and was there each Saturday for most of its over 35 year history. This was not a play by play or a hype filled color analyst, this was a journalist, an eloquent gifted broadcaster who told the story, the story of the sport, the story of the place, the story of the athlete and the story and emotion of the moment you were witnessing. Jim McKay covered 12 Olympic games, major golf events, Triple Crown races...all with an eye for the "humanity" of sports. He understood that it isn't just about playing games, there is history, passion, dedication, determination and commitment behind the curtain. His presence and narration were genuine. His words were paint on canvas. His narration, defining.
In 1972 at the summer Olympics in Munich it was Jim McKay that told a waiting world the fate of the Israeli athletes taken hostage
When I was a kid my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said there were eleven hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone
The journalist told us the story of each of the athletes, the sports broadcaster stepped aside, and the man introduced a shocked nation to our first look at terrorism.
Jim McKay may have witnessed the evolution of the world of sports as it lost its innocence through his own medium, but he continued to peel back the glittery facades and packaging to reveal the humanity, emotion, drama and stories of the reality of competition. He made us care about the most obscure sporting events, he made us hold our breath as Jack Nicklaus walked up the green or Spend a Buck crossed the finish line. We cared to watch and listen and follow. These were not just games but the stories of athletes, filled with emotion and passion played out in quiet hours of preparation or in front of millions. Many in sports broadcasting have tried to be the next Jim McKay,emulate his style,none have succeeded, nor will they.
