| Published When We Feel Like It |
Vol.
14, No.1
|
|
Iraqi sports. . . As the United States and Great Britain work to restore order in Iraq, attention has again turned to the country's Olympic and soccer programs, which since 1984 were headed by Saddam Hussein's oldest son, Uday Hussein. After hearing testimony that under Uday's leadership athletes were routinely tortured and, in some cases, even murdered, the International Olympic Committee has banned Iraq's national Olympic committee from the Olympic Movement. It will be replaced by a new group. According to press reports, an Iraqi team will compete at the Athens Olympic Games next summer. Add Iraq. . . Notwithstanding Uday's brutal leadership, SportsLetter wonders if journalists covering this story have exaggerated the quality of Iraqi sports programs, pre-Uday. In reporting about the man known as "The Butcher's Boy," Sports Illustrated's Don Yaeger wrote, in the March 24 issue, "Iraq, once an Asian sports force that sent 46 athletes to the 1980 Summer Olympics, now rivals Liechtenstein in terms of athletic insignificance. Iraq sent just four athletes to the 2000 Games in Sydney." ESPN.com's Tom Farrey wrote, on April 30, "[T]he historical love of sports in that country ensures that Iraq will rise again as a Middle East power in soccer, weightlifting, wrestling and other sports." Add Iraq. . . AAF Research Director Daniel Bell, author of the recently published Encyclopedia of International Games (McFarland), points out that the number of athletes on Iraq's 1980 team for the boycotted Moscow Games was probably inflated because Soviet officials asked competing nations to send additional athletes as "fill-in" participants. In addition, Moscow's proximity made it relatively easy for Iraq to send a large number of athletes. For the 1972 and 1976 Games, Bell notes, Iraq sent a grand total of zero athletes. As for soccer, Iraq has qualified for the World Cup just once — in 1986 — or two years after Uday gained control of the national soccer team. Add Iraq. . . Perhaps it is Liechtenstein that should feel slighted. Since 1972, Liechtenstein has won nine Olympic medals — two gold, two silver, and five bronze medals — all in winter sports. By contrast, Iraq has won just one Olympic medal, a bronze in weightlifting in 1960. And, according to researcher Herman de Wael, on a per capita basis, it is no contest. De Wael has ranked each medal winning nation based on its population. Of the 116 nations that have won Olympic medals since 1948, Iraq ranks 114th, just ahead of Vietnam and India. Iraq has won 0.05 medals per 10 million inhabitants. Liechtenstein holds the top spot on the list, with a whopping 305 medals per 10 million citizens. Final Iraq. . . So was Iraq ever a sports power? The evidence suggests not. Iraq has never hosted a major games of any kind, according to the International Games Archive, which keeps a database of over 2,150 international multi-sport games. Iraq competed in the Asian Games in 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1986, never finishing higher than 10th. Iraq has not competed in those games since '86. In the Arab Games, its best performance was third at the 1985 Games, in which powerhouse Egypt did not compete. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, at which time Shiekh Fahad al Sabah, the president of the Olympic Council of Asia and a member of the International Olympic Committee, was murdered by Iraqi invaders, Iraq was banned from the Arab Games. In 1999, Iraq was allowed back in the Games and finished 10th. (Kuwait claimed that Iraq was still holding prisoners of war from 1990, and boycotted those Games — the only one it has ever missed). Kick off . . . "Bend It Like Beckham" may have set box-office records in Great Britain, where Manchester United star David Beckham is a household name, but marketing the film in the fútbol-ignorant U.S. was a different challenge. Here, his claim to fame is that he's Mr. (Posh) Spice Girl. Initially, U.S. distributor Fox Searchlight considered changing the film's name for marketing purposes, but the studio decided against it even though Beckham was not available to help support the film when it opened here in March. But now, with the film in its third month and going strong, Beckham may end up giving the film an extra kick. This summer, he probably will play for Man Utd during the club's U.S. tour, which starts on July 22 in Seattle. And, talk about your cross-marketing potential. The four-city series will be televised by . . . Fox Sports. Add Beckham . . . Publicists credit their grassroots marketing efforts for the film's success here. They arranged "hundreds of screenings" for soccer groups — including high-school and AYSO teams, MLS and WUSA clubs, and even the women's national team — and plastered soccer-oriented websites with ads. Fox Searchlight, which acquired the film for $1 million, opened it on six screens in March. Currently, it's playing on over 500 screens and has grossed over $19 million domestically. Of course, if Fox Searchlight can keep the box-office momentum going until September, they may hit the ultimate jackpot: that's when the women's World Cup, relocated from China to the U.S. because of the SARS epidemic, begins play. Final film . . . Meanwhile, soccer fans are readying for two films with the same name that tell two different World Cup stories. "The Game of Their Lives" is a documentary that tells the story of North Korea's improbable win in the 1966 World Cup, when the team downed Italy 1-0, thus becoming the first Asian team to make the quarter-finals. North Korea gave British filmmakers Dan Gordon and Nicholas Bonner permission to interview the seven surviving members of the team. The film, released in 2002, has gotten excellent reviews, winning the Royal Television Society award for "Best Sports Documentary" award. It has not been released here, though it will be shown at the 2003 IFP Los Angeles Film Festival in mid-June. Meanwhile, another film called "The Game of Their Lives" will begin production this summer. This feature tells the story of America's improbable win in the 1950 World Cup, when the U.S. downed England, 1-0. The film, which stars Wes Bentley and Gerard Butler, will be directed by the master of sports underdog films, David Anspaugh ("Hoosiers," "Rudy"), with filming set for St. Louis, where many of the players were from, and Brazil. It is being produced by Crusader Entertainment, part of L.A. Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz's empire, and is due out next year. Future shock . . . The funniest column of the year may belong to Hermann Wendorff of the North Carolina Fayetteville Observer, who in his April 27 column spoofs Nike's $1 million contract with 13-year-old soccer player Freddy Adu. Wendorff "reveals" that Nike has bested its rivals by signing the "unborn child of track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery . . . to a 14-year apparel and shoe contract worth $188 million." Tee it up . . . The New Yorker of March 31 includes a lengthy John McPhee article about the planned relocation of the United States Golf Association museum from Far Hills, New Jersey to the space formerly occupied by the Russian Tea Room in Manhattan. The golf museum, writes McPhee, "will be the only major sports museum in the city." Well, not so fast. USA Track & Field plans to open its National Track & Field Hall of Fame at the 168th St. Armory sometime in 2004. Meanwhile, the National Sports Museum, LLC is working on an ambitious plan to create a multi-sport national museum that would open in 2005 near the site of the World Trade Center. National Sports Museum CEO Philip Schwalb has strong backing for the project from Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Schwalb also has received letters of support from several existing sports museums and halls of fame plus the U.S. Olympic Committee, the NCAA and the Women's Sports Foundation. Add tee . . . McPhee accepts at face value the claim of a USGA official that former pro golfer Babe Didrikson won Olympic gold medals, in 1932, in the long jump and hurdles. For the record, there was no women's long jump in the 1932 Games. Didrikson's gold medals were in the hurdles and javelin. She won a silver medal in the high jump.
For your late night reading enjoyment may we recommend:
Cover up . . . ESPN The Magazine recently celebrated its fifth-year anniversary with a prestigious National Magazine award for General Excellence. With 1.65 million subscribers and $170 million worth of ad revenue last year, according to the March 17 Sports Business Journal, they are clearly a publishing success. The cover of the March 31, 2003, "birthday edition" featured four prominent female athletes — Serena Williams, Michelle Wie, Diana Taurasi, and Tiffeny Milbrett — and the headline "Now.", with an inside headline that read: "Think Women Have No Game? You Don't Know What You're Missing." Actually, we know exactly what we have been missing: women athletes on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. In its five-plus-year history, spanning some 136 cover images, only two female athletes — Serena Williams and Marion Jones — have appeared alone on the cover. Three covers featured, respectively, cheerleaders, groupies, and a male athlete's girlfriend; two included photos of women athletes with other male athletes; and one featured Ricky Williams in a wedding dress. Sandy, Hank & Moe…The American Jewish Historical Society is releasing what it calls "the first complete set of cards of Jewish Major League Baseball Players." Included in the limited-edition, 130-card set are the usual suspects: Sandy Koufax; Hank Greenberg; Al Rosen; catcher-turned-spy Moe Berg; Ron Blomberg, baseball's first DH; and Lipman Pike, considered to be baseball's first professional player. But, perhaps the AJHS needs to temper its support for the "home team." Its publicity material states that the set includes a card of "future Hall of Famer Shawn Green." Green is talented, but AJHS could be a little out in front of the pitch on this one. Time will tell. Add Sandy . . . The May/June Jewish Sports Review reports that eight Jews have seen action this year in Major League Baseball. They are Shawn Green (Los Angeles Dodgers), Gabe Kapler (Colorado Rockies), Mike Lieberthal (Philadelphia Phillies), Brad Ausmus (Houston Astros), Jason Marquis (Atlanta Braves), Scott Schoeneweis (Anaheim Angels), Al Levine (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and Justin Wayne (Florida Marlins).
Dueling
headlines: Golden goals. . . The Los Angeles Galaxy is trumpeting its new 27,000-seat soccer-only facility in Carson, Calif., as "a shrine to soccer." The stadium is part of the Home Depot Center, which includes official training centers for USA Track & Field, USA Cycling and the United States Tennis Association. The U.S. national soccer teams also will train there. Anschutz Entertainment Group, which privately financed the stadium to the tune of a reported $150 million, has not lost much time figuring out a way to make its investment back. One season ticket in the choice "club seat" section will set you back $1,750. The club seat ticket includes all Galaxy home games, the MLS Cup, and the MLS All-Star Game — as well as the right to buy reserved parking. The cheapest season ticket, located behind the goal, is a veritable bargain at $370. Add goals . . . At its new 27,000-seat stadium, the Galaxy will be unable to repeat some of its impressive attendance figures of yesteryear. The team holds the MLS all-time attendance record of 92,216 set at the Rose Bowl, in 1996, as part of a double header involving the Galaxy vs. Tampa Bay, and the United States vs. Mexico. Of the top fifteen regular-season MLS attendance marks, the Galaxy hosted eight at the Rose Bowl. All-Time MLS Regular Season Attendance Records
Add attendance . . . Despite the ability to draw NFL-sized crowds on occasion, the Galaxy's average home-game regular-season attendance in 2002 was 19,047. Soccer analysts will be watching closely to see if the Galaxy can increase its average home per-game attendance at the new Home Depot facility. Advocates of soccer-specific stadiums argue that such venues will boost attendance because they will offer a better soccer product than a 70,000-seat American football stadium can. The fans will be closer to the field of play. With most of the seats filled, the atmosphere will be more intense and enjoyable. The perceived scarcity of seating may actually stimulate ticket sales. Plus, in the fall, soccer enthusiasts will not have to look at those obnoxious football stripes every five yards. Add attendance . . . So far in 2003, the most popular soccer team in the United States seems to be Mexico. The Mexican men's national team drew 68,035 in a match against Argentina, February 4, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On May 9, in Houston, 69,582 turned out to see Mexico vs. United States. Another 38,858 saw Mexico defeat Bolivia, 2-0, on March 19 in Dallas, despite the fact that match promoters had only 13 days to organize and market the event. The largest attendance in 2003 for the U.S. men, excluding the Mexico game, was 17,819 against Venezuela in Seattle. Last add attendance . . . The preference for things Mexican extends to club sides as well as national teams. As we go to press, or cyberspace as the case may be, the biggest MLS crowd of 2003 was 23,786. Two clubs from Mexico's Primera Division, Chivas and Club America, have surpassed that figure twice this season. They met before 38,713 spectators in April in Los Angeles at the Coliseum, and 38,710 in March in San Francisco. On a roll . . . Speaking of new stadiums, the city of Montgomery, Ala., is turning its train station into a ballpark, scheduled to open in 2004. The $26 million stadium seats 6,000 and offers 20 luxury suites, six of which are built into the old train terminal along the first base line, for a Class AA, Southern League, affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. According to the team's website, owners Tom Dickson and Sherrie Myers recently conducted a name-the-team contest. After receiving more than 3,000 entries, they decided to call the team the Biscuits, a nickname suggested by local resident John "Tripp" Vickers. Wrote Vickers: "It's playful and fun, plus who doesn't like Biscuits? All Alabamians like 'em." Said owner Tom Dickson: "[The name] has to be representative of an entire community. When Sherrie and I first heard the name Biscuits, we fell in love with it. I can almost smell the Biscuits baking at the new ballpark!" Pass the gravy. Add Biscuits . . . Dickson and Myers know a thing or two about team names. They also own the Lansing Lugnuts. Last add Biscuits . . . The Biscuits' mascot is Big Mo, described as "a fuzzy orange biscuit lovin' beast," while the Biscuits' logo is known as Monty, "an animated biscuit character who has a pad of butter for a tongue and wears baseball cleats." You just gotta believe that somewhere up in Brooklyn my cousin Vinny is smiling.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
