Scott Schultz Schultz wants to hear from
all the backpagers and li’l backpagers in Bruinland. E-mail him at
[email protected].
When I began writing my column, I planned on discussing how
sports was inexorably linked to my existence.
I was a subscriber to Sports Illustrated before I had even
attended kindergarten. I met some of my lifelong friends on my
fourth grade soccer team. Len Bias dying of a cocaine overdose had
more resonance with me than Nancy Reagan telling me to “Just
say no” ever would.
The happiest and saddest moments of my life came 15 minutes
apart, when my beloved Boston Red Sox came within an out of winning
the 1986 World Series, only to succumb again to the dreaded Curse
of the Bambino.
Magic Johnson put a face on AIDS for me when he announced he had
contracted the HIV virus. And I am inspired by the fact that a
decade later, he could probably make himself NBA-ready. That is, if
he wasn’t so busy being a champion in the community.
Sports just has a way of penetrating my ADD-drenched
consciousness in a way that allows me to see a bigger picture.
When I decided to return to school three years ago after a
seven-year hiatus (I was motivated by reading a book written by
Rick Pitino), I made it my goal to become the Daily Bruin sports
editor. And in all honesty, sometimes I still have to shake off my
excitement over actually heading the sports section at one of the
best college sports schools in the world.
But on Sept. 11, my idea for the column changed when I woke up
to find my world changed to the point where sports seemed
meaningless to me. Sports was unreal. The horror on my television
was real.
For the next 48 hours, I didn’t even consider logging onto
ESPN.com, which if you know me, is a major statement. After three
days, however, of round-the-clock viewing of the excruciating
evidence of man-made evil and sorrow, I would have sat through a
Montana State-versus-Central Wyoming checkers match just to get my
mind off the Manhattan horror that was simply overwhelming.
It was at that point that I felt I realized the most important
purpose of sports. It is a diversion from the bummers of everyday
life.
I was wrong, however. Sports is more than a diversion.
It’s more than just games. Sports is about pride, teamwork,
identity and overcoming obstacles. Sports is a microcosm of society
as a whole.
Sports brings people from all walks of life together. 80 percent
of all my dialogue with my stepfather concerns the Red Sox or the
Celtics.
Sports is also big business. The men’s basketball
tournament alone will net the NCAA at least six billion dollars in
television revenue over the next eleven years. That’s a lot
of money. As notable as that is, it is also worth noting that the
NCAA also donated five million dollars to the families of the World
Trade Center and Pentagon victims.
There are all sorts of social issues in sports including racism,
sexism, labor disputes, homophobia and xenophobia ““ and
that’s just college sports. To me that’s the back page
version of front page news. And it always will be.
There has forever been a bond linking UCLA athletics and social
issues. Jackie Robinson was the first African American Major League
Baseball player. Anne Meyers was the first female to sign an NBA
contract. Bill Walton was the first 7-footer to play drums on stage
with the Grateful Dead.
I also love the thrill of victory. When your team wins, and at
UCLA that is a common occurrence, it is an incomparable high. And
even when your team loses in the most gut-wrenching manner, like my
1986 Red Sox, there’s always next year.
I consider myself a Daily Bruin “backpager,” since I
typically open the paper from the back, for the sports section. A
“backpager” can name the starting lineup of at least
three Bruin teams, but they can’t name a single regent.
(What’s a regent, anyhow?) I know there are a lot of other
backpagers on campus, and this section is for you. For you
freshmen, or as we call you in the Daily Bruin sports section,
“L’il Backpagers,” welcome to the best sports
college in the country.
Oh, and you should check out the the other sections of the
paper, too.