Jim McKay: Remembered and Appreciated

Millions of words will be written about Jim McKay, and his great abilities, if they haven’t been already.

What will be under-emphasized will be the uncanny ability he had to be able to relate to the average viewer. He didn’t talk up or down to people. He just talked like a friend or relative would. People liked that.

He came across as someone you wish you were related to. Not for material gain, but because he seemed like someone you could go to with a personal problem, for advice, or just to get something off your chest. And he appeared to be the type who would understand, and give you constructive feedback in response.

Since we changed centuries a few years back, icons have been disappearing at a rapid rate. Bob Hope, Bo Diddly, and Johnny Carson are just a few familiar names that we’ve had to say goodbye to recently. Now we must add another. The song “Time Passages” by Al Stewart comes to mind.

Jim McKay is burned permanently into America’s minds, memories, and consciences. His marathon coverage at the tragic Munich Olympics in 1972 will never be forgotten. Happy moments at places like Lake Placid, Los Angeles, and Churchill Downs will rank among sports broadcasting’s finest hours.

It would be apropos if the American Broadcasting Company, the International Olympic Committee, the US Olympic Committee, or the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences would find something fitting to name in Jim McKay’s honor. It would be a great way of keeping his memory with us.

Jim McKay showed what sports broadcasts can be, and should be.

And we were lucky to be able to see it.

Horse Racing: In Bad Shape

When I was a kid, my parents loved to go to the Agua Caliente race track in Tijuana, Mexico. Nothing wrong with that, except for one thing: Sometimes, I HAD to go with them. I HATED it!

Living in a geographic location like San Bernardino, Ca., that meant getting up way early on a weekend morning, enduring my father’s slow driving on a 100-mile plus trip, and waiting eternally between races, which usually was 45 minutes between races.

It was gawdawful to go through. There was nothing for a kid 10-12 years old to do, and while I’m not exactly a world traveler, I can’t imagine too many places more depressing than Tijuana, Baja California. The poverty in town, noticeable as soon as you cross the border, was sickening. And the Caliente race track was poorly run.

Several times, I reminded (READ: chewed out) my parents for putting me through that crap. They couldn’t stand hearing about it. According to my parents’ way of thinking, hearing about it is worse than putting me through it. I think that’s how Vietnam War era government officials must think.

I have not liked horse racing ever since. I never have liked horse racing. Caliente and my bad experiences there have forever turned me off to the sport.

My father, now 91 years old, visited me recently on the day of the Kentucky Derby. In spite of the bad experience with the horse races back then, we have a good relationship today. Two of my four sisters were also there on the visit. He asked if I would put the Derby on the TV, and I did. He was the only one who wanted to see the race.

That is horse racing’s problem. It seems to be a sport that appeals mainly to older demographics. The industry has done an absolutely horrendous job in trying to attract younger demos. It’s like time stood still in horse racing, then one day the industry wakes up and realizes that too much precious time passed them by, and their core audience is dying out.

Attendence is down. Handle is down. Off track betting has helped some, but the alarm clock is still clanging. The on-track death of Eight Belles in the recent Derby, and of Barbaro a couple of years ago did NOT help it’s image.

I will soon be 58 years old. I was turned off to the sport when I was 10. It appears that there had to be others in my age bracket who were likewise turned off. If people Baby Boomer-age like me are turned off, what about the critical younger demographics? They must be totally apathetic to the sport.

There has been talk in the L.A.-area media that the Hollywood Park race track in Inglewood will eventually be shut down, it’s dates transferred to the Los Alamitos track in Orange County, and will be torn down for retail development. No deal has been done at this time. As yet. But the buzz alone is yet another testament to the deteriorating state of The Sport of Kings.

Horse Racing got themselves into this. It’s up to Horse Racing to get themselves out of it. They can now see clearly what happens when you assume.