A Gin Rickey Might Be Nice Right Now

It is fair to say that we have never seen a week like this. It is hoped that we never see another of this ilk. 

The sports world reacted to the incredible events in Washington in strong and unforgettable terms. What happened was an abomination, a travesty of the worst kind. The assault on democracy was heinous and despicable. 

In expletive-laden remarks, Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green angrily gave some context. He said these weren’t protestors. It was a terrorist mob that invaded the Capitol. 

I posted on Facebook on Wednesday night how upset I was with what had transpired. I have a greater interest than most—I spent six months in 1971 as an intern to Congressman Edward J. Patten (D-NJ). 

My familiarity with Congress was enormous. I spent countless hours watching debate in the House and Senate. I met or was in close proximity to some of the great legislators of that era. I was privy to some information that stayed within the walls of Congress and the adjacent buildings (and some bars in the surrounding area). I saw democracy in action. To say I had an absolute blast would be a gross understatement. 

Thus, I love Congress as much as I love sports. And the two were intertwined during my time in D.C. I attended 13 Washington Senators games at R.F.K. Stadium. Some were in the intense Washington summer heat, which didn’t change much at night. I was present at a game when under 2,000 attended for a September weekday makeup game which had Cleveland Indians seated in the visitors dugout; they were actually the home team since the game should have been held in Ohio. I sat adjacent to the Indians dugout due to my association with James Warfield, my F&M trainer, who left to become the Indians trainer. A picture capturing the emptiness of the stadium made Time magazine and there I was. 

My Congressman had season tickets to the Washington Redskins. I attended an early November game against Philadelphia, seated in the club/press area. I quickly learned that it gets really cold at NFL games on the East Coast, which prepped me for my late Fall days watching the Jets. 

Somehow, my name came up in conversation as having played college baseball. I was recruited by the team of the Hon. Bob Bergland (D-MN); Bergland later became the Secretary of Agriculture in the Carter Administration. Such a nice man. He was proud we were the regular season champions but saddened when we lost in the semi-finals of the playoffs. 

I hung out with my older teammates, partied in a lot of places and met some people who ascended to even more public roles. I was a fixture at their Monday Night Football gatherings in SE Washington. Most of them were Baltimore Colts fans, although there were Vikings, Lions and Redskins fans in attendance. 

My giant game winning swing with the bases loaded landed me a date with a Jewish AU cheerleader from NJ who I took to see the Knicks and Bullets play in the Baltimore Civic Center—the day Earl Monroe was traded to New York. Bummer.

I managed to see an American University basketball game at Fort Mc Nair. I actually got to know Kermit Washington, the star player on the squad, while working out in the AU gym “weight room.” Washington was later notoriously known for his terrible punch which shortened the career of Rudy Tomjanovich of the Houston Rockets. 

I traveled to Cole Field House on the campus of the University of Maryland to see the intra squad Red-Yellow game. A friend was a DIII All-American high jumper, and a group of us journeyed to Annapolis on a fall night to watch him compete. 

Fortunately, I was able to practice with the AU baseball team for a bit in the fall. I had my tryout with the Baltimore Orioles in Virginia because a teammate knew someone in the Orioles organization.

I ran. I lifted. I played. I watched Reggie Jackson’s mammoth All-Star Game homer in Detroit on a small TV in the George Washington dorm I stayed in. I read Shirley Povich’s column (Maury’s dad) in The Washington Post. Warner Wolf was a young sports reporter at WTOP and an announcer for the Senators along with the legendary Bob Wolff. 

It goes on and on. Washington was just as much a sports town as it was the hub of American politics. It is even a greater sports mecca since the Capitals and Bullets (now the Wizards) first came to the suburbs then into the heart of the city, and the Nationals built Nationals Park, a beautiful edifice in SE Washington, which became the home of the World Champions in 2019.

It is no small bit of irony that the headline contest of Saturday’s opening weekend of the NFL playoffs features the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to the DC suburbs to meet the Washington Football Team. Bucs’ QB Tom Brady, the G.O.A.T., facing certain Comeback Player of the Year, WFT QB Alex Smith. 

The healing which must go on in strife-torn D.C. must include pro football. As much as Bradley Beal of the Wizards leads the NBA in scoring and the Capitals age again among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup when the season opens next week, it is the local NFL team which is the heartbeat of the sports world in the D.C. Metro area.  

An upset win would create euphoria in a new week, one in which the wounds of Wednesday’s insurrection and the political uncertainty and acrimony is still very apparent. Bragging by star WFT defensive lineman Chase Young that he looks forward to sacking Brady many times will have extra emphasis for the WFT fans. In this way, sports can become part of the antidote to the poison which permeated Congress when attacked. 

I wouldn’t normally care too much about the game. It would seem to be a mismatch on paper. However, they play the games for a reason, and the predicted results don’t always come true. Just like elections. 

I like the story of Smith and the difficult, life-threatening recovery he struggled to complete and get back on the field. My dislike for Brady is on multiple layers—from his cheating, to his politics, to his arrogance. 

So count me in for the WFT on this one. I love the city. I love the people. I love Congress for what it symbolizes. And I love happy endings.

What happened at the Capitol made me think of some games I went to where there was unruliness. My first instance was when I was in high school and snuck into Rutgers Stadium for the game against rival Colgate. RU won and the fans stormed the field. Someone grabbed my arm and there I was on the field as they brought down the wooden goalposts and took souvenirs. I was given some shards and took away something that I shouldn’t have but still is in great shape nearly 60 years later. Believe me, I learned how wrong my behavior was. 

I was at that last Senators game with the Yankees and saw the fans run onto the field, tear apart the stadium, ultimately causing the home team to forfeit. I was at Shea Stadium for the last home game of the Jets before they moved to Giants Stadium. The pillaging and looting was incredible to the eye. 

I saw fans pile onto the stadium turf after RU upset Louisville on national TV. I have seen guns flashed at Madison Square Garden. Tossing eggs at fans after the Islanders downed the Rangers in the play-offs. I was present in a quad at the University of Delaware when women and men streaked, the crowd turning into a drunken mess with bottles smashing heads and chaos ensuing. 

These are my personal recollections. There are countless other instances when mobs created a riot during or after a sporting event. 

I may have learned from my mistake. But in the sports world as well as in the political arena, we have not learned that peaceful protest is necessary. 

Colin Kaepernick is still vilified for taking a knee and is black balled from the NFL. The comparison of the actions of those in charge on Wednesday are in sharp contrast to what the response was when protest occurred after the deaths of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor. 

We must learn from this dark episode in America’s history. We must recover. Perhaps, in this year plus of COVID-19, sports will daringly defy the odds and take us to a better place and a feeling of freedom, fun and joy. 

The entire country will be watching. The whole world will be waiting. 

I had intended to talk at length on a number of topics. Instead, I will cover them in short order. 

The Mets pulled off a great trade in obtaining SS Francisco Lindor and P Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland. The NL East now became that much more competitive. 

D.J. LeMahieu may have a price which is heftier for the Dodgers, who really want his services. The Yankees are reportedly his favorite, but could the Mets, with Lindor at short, steal LeMahieu away from the Yanks?

Two other baseball notes. Hall of Fame Dodgers’ manager Tommy Lasorda died on Friday. He was colorful and passionate. A tremendous loss for baseball. And Tommy John, namesake of the famous arm surgery, has COVID-19. Well wishes to a player who should be enshrined in Cooperstown. 

After a weekend of some thrilling games and a tanking by the Eagles which gave Washington the NFC East crown, as mentioned, the NFL playoffs start this weekend. While I will be watching most, if not all of the games, I will become more interested in the second round matches when Kansas City and Green Bay join the fray. Mahomes and Rodgers. A State Farm bonanza?

Teams seeking new head coaches have begun the process. The Jets have interviewed Eric Bieniemy, the KC Offensive Coordinator, and Marvin Lewis, former head man at Cincinnati. Former Florida and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer’s name has surfaced as a possibility in Jacksonville. 

Trevor Lawrence declared for the NFL Draft. Is he bound for the Jaguars, or did his poor performance versus Ohio State knock down his stock?

The College Football Championship game is Monday night. Alabama is favored over Ohio State. Nick Saban’s daughter insensitively accused OSU of looking to postpone the game due to an outbreak on the campus. I think this game is a toss up. Either team emerging victorious would not be surprising. 

This week the aforementioned Bradley Beal scored 60 points in a loss to Philadelphia. Steph Curry was unconscious in hitting for 62—looking like his old self again. And James Harden still hasn’t been traded by Houston. 

COVID-19 is everywhere, forcing multitudes of college hoops postponements. Seth Curry, Steph’s brother, was yanked from the game in Brooklyn on Thursday night when he learned of a positive test. Kevin Durant is sidelined due to contract tracing. The NCAA is creating its own bubble for March Madness in sites in and around Indianapolis. 

Let us not be distracted from what is even more troubling than the attempted coup. The coronavirus is running rampant in many sections of the country, even as the vaccination effort has begun. 

More than ever sports has its place in society—as a tonic for our societal ills and a forum for its anger. I know that is true for me.

I wish I could drink. With all that’s gone on and will continue to unfold, a gin rickey might be nice right now.