Sports heroes of the century
After following the distressful news reports over the past week on the turmoil and rage in different parts of the country and the threats to our unitary state, a short spell of relief arose in reading the more peaceful news in other sections of the newspaper. Reading the Sunday, Nov. 21, 1999, edition of The Jakarta Post is a case in point. The sports page carried among other thing the AP news report Awards honor sport heroes of the century.
Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 19, 1999, hosted a sumptuous gala at the Vienna State Opera House, where a batch of no less than 93 male and female athletes from various sports -- athletics, ball games, soccer, contact sports, motor sports, water sports and winter sports -- were announced as winners of the World Sports Awards of the Century by a prestigious international jury headed by Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee. Many interesting facets of life and human fate were unveiled at the event.
Foremost was the ingenious, prodigious spirit of Austrian entrepreneur-turned-ski jumper Hubert Neuper, who headed the team that came up with the idea of honoring the "athletes of the century".
It must have been a thrilling event when the acclaimed sports heroes attended the celebration. And obviously only the romanticism of Vienna could have made such an event possible.
Every sports hero receiving the award had a unique comment reflecting on a particular human life. Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser upon receiving her trophy said she came from a working- class family and wanted to take up horse riding but couldn't afford it. So she took up swimming, which after all only required a swimming suit and a towel.
Another world legend in swimming, Mark Spitz of the United States, the winner of nine Olympic gold medals, contributed an exceptional reference to metaphysical motivation, saying: "Many people have asked me why I did it. I think it was the mystery, the magic, the wonder and innocence of never having done it before, which made me want to win."
In Indonesia, one would hasten to invoke the blessing of Providence and the prayers of well-wishers after winning a sporting event. But in the experience of Mark Spitz, it was notably the so-called "innocence of not having done it before" that guided him to victory.
In terms of human values, innocence is a heavenly virtue as it denotes the quality of being free from sin, deception or cunning. To cite the sense of innocence as conceived by Mark Spitz is a rather rare piece of human appreciation.
It must have been a spectacular sight to see the audience rise from their seats when Pele, the Brazilian soccer star, was announced as the soccer player of the century. Everyone would concede Pele was the greatest, considering his record of 1,000 goals.
A standing ovation from the audience also greeted Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing legend whose claim to the title "the greatest" was attested to by the Vienna gala.
Jury member Gian Franco Kasper made a significant observation when he said: "It was not the sporting results that were important. There was also the question of leadership and influence on youth."
Although having not yet entered the orbit of achievement to qualify for the World Sports Awards of the Century, Tiger Woods at age 23 has demonstrated through golf the impact that sports can have on youth. The son of an African-American father and Thai mother, Woods has attracted thousands of teenagers and children to the game of golf.
S. SUHAEDI
Jakarta