It was an oddly emotional weekend for me.
Friday was Evan's birthday, with his party at Nationals Park before we hosted a sleepover that night. The party was fun, Evan had a great time with his buddies, the Nats, we were able to post a 'Happy 11th Birthday Evan Manuel' on the scoreboard, AND it was fireworks night.
All day Friday I kept thinking how lucky I am to have a son like him. I'm obviously quite biased, but Evan is an outstanding dude (now know, by the way, by a new nickname 'K Smooth' which I think is short for Karagounis). It was great to celebrate him on his birthday, but everyday with him is great.
We justifiably have celebrated Ariadne for handling her diabetes, making the honor roll at her new school, etc. But we need to also celebrate Evan. He's fantastic. I'm equally proud of him and equally lucky to have him as my son.
But I got oddly emotional thinking about John Wooden's death. I've always been pretty ambivalent about UCLA, but I'm old enough to remember how dominant they were and still remember when NC State beat them in the final four in 1974, and when Notre Dame ended their winning streak early that season.
I think Wooden resonated not just because he was successful, but that he was humble and decent AND successful. He was a model American, and a reminder that if you excel the accolades will come to you even if you don't beat your chest or speak in the third person or whatever.
The morning of Wooden's death - and the morning after the sleepover - I woke up early to catch the US-Australia football game, the final tune up prior to the World Cup next weekend. I watched most of it taped, but right after the match ESPN broadcast an episode of 'Outside the Lines' entitled 'Robben Island: A Greater Goal.'
Robben Island is the infamous site of the apartheid-era prison that housed Nelson Mandela among others. The amazing part of the story is that in a place where TVs, newspapers, and radios were prohibited prisoners were allowed to play football (the black sport in South Africa, with rugby the white sport, as depicted in the film "Invictus.").
The political prisoners eventually organized the Makana Football Association, complete with a schedule, player stats, uniforms, and even a written constitution. The prisoners never lost hope that they would one day get out, and more importantly that apartheid would eventually crumble - and when it did it was up to people like them to build a new, multi-racial South Africa based on reason, justice and fair play.
The constitutionally-guided football league worked so well - in a prison - that when Mandela and his fellow political prisoners were freed they consciously used it to inform the drafting of the new South African constitution. In fact, the drafter of the MFA constitution drafted the national version, and he is now the chief justice of the multi-racial nation's Supreme Court.
As you can tell, it's an incredible story, one that made we tear up as I reflected on what these men had endured and accomplished. They never game up, never let prison make them cynical or feel defeated. Instead, they defeated apartheid.
Persistence, whether you are the Colorado River making the Grand Canyon, or a political prisoner fighting apartheid, always wins. It's the only thing that does.
Finally, in my last blog I questioned whether holding the World Cup in a nation built by an apartheid regime is really a celebration of Africa. I was obviously quite wrong. Men like Nelson Mandela built South Africa, a feat worth celebrating when the World Cup starts on Friday.
Anyway, Evan, Wooden and Mandela kept me weepy all weekend.
Completely random notes:
- On a more ridiculous topic I also stand corrected on Rob Dibble, who I criticized in my last blog post. I've changed my tune after hearing him rag on Joe West all weekend. Dibble and others like Ozzie Guillen are correct - West acts as if fans pay to see him umpire. At Friday's game West, who was the first base umpire, came all the way across the field to call Ian Desmond out at third. And when Desmond apparently complained West threw him out of the game to boot.
- Terrible loss for the Nats today, who now stand a season-worst four games under 500. But this will likely be the biggest week in Washington baseball in a long, long, very very long time. Steven Strasburg makes his major league debut on Tuesday. And the day before, the Nats are expected to draft Bryce "Baseball's LaBron James" Harper with the number pick. Pencil the Nationals in for the 2012 World Series. Great article on Harper, from the perspective of former bonus baby Matt White, by brother John Manuel here.
- Instate replay is not the solution to the spate of bad umpiring lately. They need better trained, less-arrogant umpires who are held accountable when they display a pattern of bad calls.
- Obviously very tough to lose a perfect game, but did anyone have a better week than Armando Gallaraga? He pitched a perfect game, and when it was officially taken away from him he handled himself with class, dignity, and incredible grace. He would have been a baseball legend with a perfect game, but now he's a folk hero. Congrats to him for pitching a great game and being a great guy.
- And congrats to the Detroit fans who cheered empire Jim Joyce the next day. Classy displays all the way around. Perhaps some fans had screened 'Robben Island?'
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