For those of us who live here in Washington, D.C., we're all too aware of our image, the city being full of overachievers who think they are not only God's gift to this country but to the entire world. We know how to do politics or, at least, think we do. When it comes to sports, however -- and if you live in San Francisco, Cleveland, New York, Denver, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago, or another sports-crazy city -- you probably do not think of D.C. as a particularly great sports city.
But, surprised as you might be to learn it, we are just that.
No one conveyed this image of a city's confidence in itself better than legendary sportscaster George Michael of NBC's Channel 4, who died yesterday at the age of 70 from cancer.
Sportcaster George Michael, 1939-2009
The Washington Post paid tribute to George Michael in today's edition
George Michael, 70, a high-rated and hyperanimated Washington sportscaster whose extensive use of game highlights from across the country on his nationally syndicated show has now become the norm in the industry, died Thursday at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Mr. Michael was a popular rock-and-roll DJ in Philadelphia and New York before making a successful transition to television, where his boisterous style and unremitting hustle made him one of the dominant personalities in Washington for years. He represented sports as entertainment, with what some regarded as a team-friendly approach, especially to the hometown Redskins...
Over the years, Mr. Michael not only held his own at the anchor desk but also created and produced the long-running shows "Redskins Report" and "Full Court Press," featuring guests such as former Redskins Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and local print sports reporters including Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post. The Post duo's success on Mr. Michael's shows helped them land starring roles in "Pardon the Interruption," a half-hour national sports opinion show that has appeared on ESPN since 2001.
At the end-point of another disappointing professional football season here in Washington, D.C., my mind drifts back to the city's glorious decade from 1982-1992 when four of this area's professional and collegiate teams contended for ten national titles and won six* of them. It was, to quote novelist Charles Dickens, the "best of times" in this city's illustrious sports history.
No one covered these sporting events with more zest than George Michael. Through his larger-than-life personality and, unlike any other sports reporter, he perfectly captured the city's moments of joy and celebration on television. The ticker tape parades, the speeches from players, owners, and elected officials alike, and the boisterous atmosphere conveyed the civic pride we all lived and felt through our sports heroes. Through the "the agony of defeat" moments he was also there to comfort us in times of our home team's failures and shortcomings. He made losing a little bit bearable, if unacceptable. Tomorrow would, George seemed to say in those dark moments, usher in an era where all of us -- the city, its sports teams, and its inhabitants -- would collectively realize our immense potential. One shouldn't despair, he frequently chided us. We listened intently to George and knew everything would be all right the next time around.
One of the reasons I liked George Michael was that he always knew more about developments in local sports than any other reporter. He was hard-working and tenacious in pursuit of the ultimate sports story. George was also a pioneer and innovator in sports broadcasting. Many of you probably remember George from his 'George Michael Sports Machine' which was broadcast nationally every Sunday at 11:30pm. Before the hyped-up ESPN sports era of today and well before anyone had heard of the internet, that show brought sports highlights from all over the country.
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All through yesterday and today, tributes are pouring in for this wonderful man who was an institution at WRC-TV (the local NBC affiliate) as its sports director from 1980-2007. His friend and colleague, sports columnist Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, recalled his last conversation with George in his column today
After the conversation ended, my wife asked how George was doing, how he really and truly was. And I told her I had no idea. Like typical men, I didn't ask and he didn't tell me. In this case, I didn't have the courage to ask. He was fabulous in those 30 minutes, like it was 10:50 p.m. and he was minutes from a newscast. And if that was going to be the last conversation we'd ever have -- and it was -- then that's the way I wanted to remember George Michael: funny, informed, irreverent, a little profane, always engaged.
By will and force of personality as much as anything, George Michael made himself must-see TV in Washington. When the Redskins stunk you wanted to know what George thought. When Abe Pollin decided to build a downtown arena you wanted to know what George was going to say.
Another colleague, sports columnist Mike Wise of the Washington Post, focused on the many human qualities that endeared George to his loyal fans in the Washington, D.C. area. As engaging, lively, and gregarious a personality that he possessed, Wise wrote that George had integrity and valued personal friendships. Given his tough upbringing in St. Louis, George had a special place in his heart for athletes who had fallen on hard times
I knew him well enough to talk to the people who knew him better, who knew that the bluster and bombast camouflaged the disenfranchised kid who overcame an unspeakably tough upbringing in East St. Louis -- a childhood that helped him identify with the most hardscrabble people in the sports industry, many battling their own demons.
It's why George visited a down-and-out Dexter Manley in Houston -- years after his playing days had ended, knowing that Manley overcoming cocaine addiction was a much larger hurdle than ever getting his hands on a Cowboys quarterback.
"When I saw him down there, I knew he cared about me, I knew George Michael was a person not just a sportscaster," Manley said Thursday morning.
I vividly remember this interview that George did with (former Redskins Defensive End) Dexter Manley in that Texas prison. By the time the interview was over, Manley was in tears and promised George that he would never touch drugs again. And to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't.
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The 1980's represented an era in professional sports when commercialism hadn't crept in to the degree that it has in recent years, free agency was not all that common, sports was more about civic pride, and players didn't move as easily from city to city in search of the next biggest paycheck. Loyalty to a team and city meant something and the fans reciprocated in every way possible. As the sports landscape changed and as television stations started focusing more on the bottom line, George explained his frustrations in an interview with columnist Leonard Shapiro
"Everything has changed," Michael said that day. "Why has it changed? Because whatever you do, quality doesn't really matter. It's whether you kept the cost down. Management doesn't worry about ratings. They worry about the dollars and I guess I won't argue with that. That's just the way it is now . . . The problem is, if I'm going to do it, I'm only going to do it right."
It was only yesterday that I remember the Washington Redskins playing the Dallas Cowboys in sold-out RFK Stadium as it snowed heavily. The wooden bleachers were rocking with the team's loyal fans chanting "We want Dallas!" The Smurfs were catching all the passes from Quarterback Joe Theismann. The Fun Bunch was celebrating in the end zone early and often. Running Back John Riggins -- the "Diesel" -- was plowing through the Cowboys defense like a knife through butter. The Redskins defense was as stubborn as a mule, allowing little if any penetration by the Cowboys offense. And I remember the Redskins winning that game, as it did frequently in the first Joe Gibbs era.
Later that night at 11:00pm on Channel 4, a familiar face would recount the day's happy events.
It was a magical time in this city's sports history.
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Note The Washington Redskins reached the Super Bowl four times -- in 1983, 1984, 1988, and 1992 -- winning all except in 1984. The Baltimore Orioles (they're still my team even years after the Washington Nationals arrived here) won the Baseball World Series in 1983. The Georgetown Hoyas of John Thompson and Patrick Ewing reached the NCAA Basketball Finals three times (1982, 1984, and 1985) and won once in 1984. And, finally, the UDC Firebirds made it to the finals twice in 1982 and 1983, winning the Men's NCAA Division II Basketball Championship in 1982. As an aside, the Washington Bullets (now known as the Wizards) had a bleak period of mediocrity although many of you may not know that the Bullets reached the NBA Finals four times in the 1970's (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979), winning it all in 1978.
As for the diary poll, there are many other worthy candidates. Here is one list of the Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time. Share your memories of the ones you listened to as a kid and, perhaps, still do.
One of my favorites is Jon Miller. Before he became nationally well-known as the voice of the San Francisco Giants and ESPN Baseball, Miller was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Baltimore Orioles. This was Miller's call when the Orioles defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the 1983 World Series
Everybody else is in muted silence. The pitch! Line drive! Ripken catches it at shortstop! And the Orioles are champions of the world!