Page 36 - The Peorian Vol 3 Issue 1 Winter

36 thePeorian.com
The Present
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Winter Olympics begin Feb. 6; local coverage set on NBC
By Lee Hall
M y first Olympic
memory is over 40
years old. I remember
watching the 1972 Winter
Olympics on a 19-inch black and
white TV in my bedroom. I was
fascinated by the ski jumpers,
gliding down that long ramp
and hurtling themselves into the
air willy-nilly, soaring high into
the sky before landing on the
hill below on their long, narrow
landing gear.
These guys were much better
than that “agony of defeat” guy
we saw at the beginning of Wide
World of Sports every week.
Later that year, we would
watch in horror as terrorists
took over the Olympic Village
in Munich and killed Israeli
athletes, overshadowing the
seven-medal performance of
U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz. I was
only 9, but I can still remember
Jim McKay’s words from that
telecast. “They’re all gone.”
That was also the Olympiad
that brought us the controversial
men’s basketball finish that cost
Team USA the gold.
In 1976, it was Nadia
Comaneci’s perfect 10 in
gymnastics, Bruce Jenner’s gold
in the decathlon (long before his
Kardashian crash and burn). A
Miracle on Ice in 1980 on a night
that I was stocking shelves at
the Kroger on Wisconsin. Yes, it
was a “where were you when it
happened” kind of night.
Then came boycotts in the
1980 and ‘84 Summer games. Ben
Johnson’s steroid disqualification
in 1988, the same year the U.S.
basketball team was relegated
to bronze. Hersey Hawkins was
on that team, the last amateur
squad to represent this country.
The Dream Teamers took over
in 1992, kicking some Olympic
rump and regaining the gold
medal.
The Olympics have always
held a special spot in this
sportscaster’s life. Then in 1996,
WEEK-TV sent me to the Atlanta
Summer Games to work for
MSNBC. In return, the station
got “personalized” coverage
from a network correspondent.
I worked mainly as a camera
operator for the fledgling cable
network. John Siegenthaler, a
former back-up to Brian Williams
whose father worked in the
Kennedy administration, was
our anchor man. Nightly News
correspondent Kelly O’Donnell
was also there a lot. Many
celebrities visited our location
in Centennial Park, including
Jenner and Larry Hagman, by far
the most popular celeb.
We worked on location
at President Jimmy Carter’s
library and the Olympic Village,
working alongside Tom Brokaw,
Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric.
The bombing at those games
occurred within sight of our
primary location. I’ll never forget
the bomb squad invading our
area to check out a threat. That
got our attention alright!
Along with the celebrities and
security risks, I was able to attend
four Olympic events in Atlanta.
My first was water polo. Easy
ticket. So was team handball, a
sport for those not good enough
to play basketball or soccer. I
also attended two of my favorite
Olympic events — boxing and
the 10 meter platform diving.