Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is ABC’s Wide World of Sports!
I don’t know about you, but these words still touch a deep emotional cord. I was reminded of that show after Queen Latifah who is in Vancouver supporting Team USA, said, “I wish I could see every event. Ever since I was a little kid, since I watched Wide World of Sports on ABC, I always wanted to see the ski jump. I want to see someone fly down that hill, go up in the air and then land and nail it.”
Like her, I began my love affair with sports watching Jim McKay “span the globe” to bring celebrations of the human spirit into my home. It’s no wonder that I am glued to the competitions of the Olympic games, Wimbledon and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships (just to name a few) since these were all featured on that groundbreaking program. In fact, Wide World of Sports was the first to cover Wimbledon and March Madness.
So here’s to Queen Latifah and all the fans (like my friends Nate and Molly) who are in Vancouver to support our athletes. The Queen said it best, “It’s international. It’s us. It’s America. It’s the world. It’s Canada doing a great job representing their country, and giving us a great show, and welcoming us.” I’m right there with you in spirit.
taking the long way 
Me too, me too! For me, it’s being sick and in the hospital during the 1980 Olympics, but being to watch coverage ALL day and well into the night… And I can remember the thrill of seeing the bobsled track in Lake Placid for the first time in a 1995 visit. It was closing time and I had to bolt past the guard station, since they wouldn’t just let me walk up and peek in, so that I could just see the bare concrete. It was still a thrill.
I just wish they followed ABC’s stellar coverage then and focused less on the human drama AWAY from the actual events and really showed the entire event and the resulting victories and agonies of defeat! How could the take two commercial breaks during the x-country portion of the Nordic combined? I mean, c’mon, the event only lasted just over 25 minutes!!! I am thinking of finding coverage from Germany or Denmark online, so I can pay to actually watch the competitions.
Patrick – Like I say it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. I just think of all the places I’ve gone to take photographs that if I’d asked ahead of time would likely have been denied.
I’m usually a huge fan of NBC, but I’m hoping that the next Games are covered by ABC/ESPN. I haven’t watched a single event where I didn’t know the results beforehand. What’s the fun in that?!
p.s. Did you ever meet my friend Dave from Boston?! You would have likely met him at my place in Brookline at one of the parties Margaret and I used to throw. Anyway, a close friend of his from high school – Steve Mesler – is on the US 4-man bobsled team so I’m excited to watch their events later this week.