Here’s a tradition that I’m sorry to see has fallen in to disuse, both perhaps due to the lack of public interest and the general ennui people seem to feel toward boxing these days. For some reason, I have stuck in my head that every time the heavyweight boxing champion of the world would appear somewhere in public, an announcer would invariably intone, “And, ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have with us tonight a very special guest. Please join the Tropicana in welcoming the heavyweight champion of the world, Mr. Joe Louis!”
Of course, today, due to the various disputes and general state of chaos in the world of boxing, even I am considered a legitimate heavyweight contender (betcha’ didn’t know I was ranked 6th in the IBF rankings, did you?).
Still, there are certain people who I believe actually are worthy of such an introduction at all public appearances.
And one of them is Wayne Gretzky.
Now, if you know me, you know I like hockey. But even if you have not yet overcome your own personal hockey prejudice (and those thrilling overtime Stanley Cup Finals games should have helped), you have to acknowledge excellence. And Wayne Gretzky is hockey excellence personified. It’s not just that the man holds more than 50 all-time NHL records; it’s that many of them he holds by ridiculous margins that must seem like cruel statistical jokes to those who would try to break them.
For example, in the personal stats of hockey, you get one “point” for a goal or an assist. Gordie Howe held the record for many years, scoring 1850 goals and assists during his career. Wayne broke that record. In fact, by the time his career was over, Wayne had registered more assists than any other player had assists AND goals. Oh, and of course, Wayne was also the all-time leading goal scorer. Unbelievable. Good luck trying to catch him.
So what brings all this to mind? Well, the other night at Dodger Stadium, in the new, ultra-expensive, super-close to the field seats, there was Wayne in the best seat in the house, sitting next to Tommy Lasorda. Now, it’s well known that Wayne is a baseball fan; he’s taken batting practice plenty of times, and apparently, has a pretty good lefty swing.
First, I think an “announcement” of Wayne would have been entirely appropriate. They showed him on the big video board, and there was a smattering of applause from those who recognized him, but hey, that could have been for always-mugging Tommy. What was needed was Mike Carlucci, Dodger public address announcer, to bust out with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are honored to have a special guest here tonight. Without a doubt, the greatest hockey player who ever lived, “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky!” Then we would have had an ovation appropriate to the man’s standing in the history of sport. I mean, he’s the Michael Jordan of hockey, the Babe Ruth of hockey, the ... oh, hell, you know what I’m getting at.
And one more thing.
My seat was, oh, only about three levels and twenty rows behind Wayne. But I had a pretty good view of the back of his head for the rest of the evening. And it was interesting to watch the regular progression of well wishers and autograph seekers approach Wayne during the game. As far as I could tell, he signed for just about everyone, and, in fact, stayed for the entire game! Bless you, Wayne!
Now, as happens at most Dodger games, the “wave” began. I don’t know who started this, or why people continue to find it fascinating, but I hate the wave. Sorry; it’s not fun, it’s loud, and it distracts from the reason we’re all there in the first place, which is the game itself. As a Dodger season ticket holder, I have always claimed that I am exempt from doing the wave, and, in fact, have my own Cal Ripken-like streak of consecutive games of “not doing the wave” of which I’m very proud.
And I’m happy to report Wayne Gretzky doesn’t “wave” either. The man truly is a god on Earth.
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