I was a sports loving teen in the 70s and had an uncle who tuned into Saturday Night Fights religiously. Every now and then, I had the really cool opportunity to watch with him. He appreciated talent, skill and sportsmanship. I remember watching the heavyweight battle in the early to mid 70s with Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Norton and a couple of other dudes - that period of boxing cannot be equaled. Holmes came along, Tyson was freakin devastating, Lewis and Holyfield were deserving world champs, but the 70s were the epitome of heavyweight boxing and I was lucky to witness it.
The superstar was Muhammed Ali - love him or hate him; he was glorious. The story was always whether he won or lost. I was mesmerized. I met him once at our local movie theater, which was close to his Deer Lake training camp. "Met" is a bit exaggerated - I yelled and he waved. Anyway, that was a highlight for me. I knew nothing of his politics or religion - I only learned later of his gold medal. He was a god.
Ali transcended sports, transcended most everything. His life in and out of the ring was stuff of controversy and legend. I spent a few hours today watching his old fights (good and painful), reviewing eulogies and biogs, and unfortunately, reading some venomous attacks on his character (a lot here). Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but class rises above all and I believe Ali had class to go along with his God given talent. RIP champ.
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