U.S. Olympic athlete Mikaela Shiffrin forgot some four decades-old sage advice a few mornings ago in front of a national audience. Fortunately for her, times have changed.
Robin and I have been fans of the classic Kevin Costner baseball film "Bull Durham" since its 1988 premiere. At least once a year you can count on us to drop the DVD in the tray and settle back with some popcorn. I know — old folks.
The movie appeals on multiple levels. Costner, who is my age, convincingly presents his "Crash" Davis character as a player, nearing the end of his career, who mixes hard-earned wisdom with dollops of endearing cynicism. Tim Robbins' "Nuke" LaLoosh is as full of cockiness and naivete as he is full of pitching talent.
Catcher Crash Davis is brought onto the Durham team to mold finishing touches on the prized rookie before Nuke is called up to major league baseball's "show."
The film's use of the old Durham Athletic Park in the city's downtown brought back more than a few memories. Robin and I enjoyed minor league ball games there in the few years before the team moved over to shiny new environs on Blackwell Street.
For Raider faithful sporting some gray on their heads, scenes of the old DAP evoke memories of the school's first 4A state title, won in that park in 1974. In one of the film's scenes, an opponent has smacked a long home run off of Robbins' Nuke LaLoosh. Costner's Davis needles him with the wry observation: "Anything (that) travels that far oughta have a d*** stewardess on it, don't ya think?"
In fact, 14 years ahead of the scene, Raider outfielder Steve Hodges clubbed a homer over deep center field of the cavernous DAP in 1974's clinching title game.
I found another personal aspect of the film in the house occupied by Susan Sarandon's "Annie Savoy" character — a love interest of both Nuke and Crash. The actual house used by the film's producers is an 1880 Queen Anne-style home on North Mangum Street. It is a short mile-and-a-half stroll from the Watts Street home owned and occupied by my aunt, uncle and their children for many years in Durham's Trinity Park. Their home was iconic to our family and to my childhood.
Robin and I never tire of the amusement found in the "know your cliches" scene of “Bull Durham.” We rarely watch a sports interview without some mirthful ribbing and chuckling about Costner as he takes time on a team bus trip to instruct his youthful charge about handling the press. "I'm just happy to be here, and hope to help the ball club," and, "Gotta play 'em one game at a time," are among the boring verbal pabulum that Nuke is encouraged to employ during interviews.
A few mornings ago on NBC's "Today" show, U.S. Olympic alpine ski medalist Mikaela Shiffrin forgot Crash Davis's advice as she searched for words in response to a query. Unguarded, the 30-year old Shiffrin allowed the pesky "f" word to slip, managing to evade censors, and followed quickly by an embarrassed "s---." The resulting fun and chortling on the "Today" set has, I'm sure, been rarely seen since the days of Dave Garroway and his simian sidekick, J. Fred Muggs!
Clearly, the incident illustrated why interviewers continue plugging away at athletes, even after all of these years.
Any FCC repercussions would fall on NBC; although, if there were any for Shiffrin — who seems full of moxie and mischief — I suspect a certain denizen of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. would just laugh and say, "I'll write that check!"
Columnist Douglas Smith lives and writes in Rockingham.
