THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240633
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Having been abducted by my children and spirited away to Busch Gardens last Saturday, I had the time and opportunity to notice the incredible array of T-shirt graffiti being worn all around me.
Every adolescent at Busch Gardens, it seemed, was wearing a T-shirt that carried some sort of annoying message.
The messages, of course, are designed to annoy adults. Otherwise, they would serve no real purpose.
``IF YOU'RE NOT LIVING ON THE EDGE,'' screamed a T-shirt for a sports apparel company, ``YOU'RE TAKING UP TOO MUCH SPACE.''
That's a lot to read off the back of a galloping shirt, much less try to make sense of it.
Clearly, the cryptic ``JUST DO IT'' mantra of the past few years is no longer glib and nonsensical enough to take advantage of the confusion and low self-esteem of the next wave of teenagers.
Living on the edge? What is that supposed to mean? The teens I know are grateful for a learner's permit.
At Busch Gardens, most of the T-shirts being modeled by Beavis and Butt-Head wannabes carried inscriptions relating to sports. The messages were stupid and harmless. But one in particular got under my skin.
``NOBODY,'' it announced in big, bold letters, ``REMEMBERS SECOND PLACE.''
Well, now. What a lesson to teach the kids.
Nobody remembers who finishes second? Besides sending out the wrong vibes, this is patently inaccurate.
Nobody remembers Nancy Kerrigan, silver medalist in the '94 Olympics? She's crying all the way to the bank.
Seventeen years later, Alydar lives on in memory for having finished second to Affirmed in all three 1978 Triple Crown horse races.
The Brooklyn Dodgers became national icons for coming in second to the Yankees all those years. Nobody disses the old Dodgers.
Nobody remembers second place? What about Gene Kelly, who danced in Fred Astaire's long, lean shadow?
Or Thomas Dewey?
Or Jerry West's old Los Angeles Lakers, who couldn't get past Bill Russell's Celtics but were a memorable team?
Before the Dallas Cowboys were America's Team, they were famous for finishing second. Today, the Buffalo Bills are renowned as bridesmaids.
Truth is, to truly savor all that sports has to offer, one must identify with the runners-up and also-rans as much as the champions.
Anyone with any feeling for sports - for life - knows that every big winner benefits from a famous foil.
Muhammad Ali's career was enhanced by the presence of Joe Frazier, his exact opposite in so many ways.
Sports is full of examples like this. Our finest champions climb to their greatest heights on the shoulders of memorable opponents.
The obsession of the popular culture with Winning It All overlooks the essence of sports, which is striving to win. But does that mean Charles Barkley, Dan Marino and Don Mattingly should be forgotten - dismissed - because they have never won it all?
Think about it. Does second place deserve the ridicule we so often give it?
The problem is, our depth of understanding in this area goes about as deep as the thickness of 100 percent cotton fabric. As a nation, we confuse finishing second with being a loser.
There's a message in that, though it may not fit on a T-shirt. by CNB