Missing Jim McKay On The Eve Of A Wary Beijing Olympics

I can still remember the calm of Jim McKay’s voice. He recently passed away, but he was a broadcaster during 12 Olympics. He had a keen knack for wonderfully accentuating surprising victories and unexpected defeats.

It’s all changed now, of course. McKay’s four words “They’re all gone now,” his tearful goodbye after Munich Massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics, is as much a part of his legacy and his opening words to ABC’s Wide World of Sports, “The Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat.”

Legendary broadcaster Jim McKay

Bob Costas is now the “broadcast host” for the Olympics and he does a fine job. He has what may be the finest vocabulary of any network sportscaster.

I’m not a doomsayer. But thinking about McKay and Costas and all the strife that’s occurred even before the opening ceremonies Friday night, I can’t help but think there’s tragedy on the horizon in Beijing.

Bad air, athletes wearing masks, political protests, a national stadium surrounded by anti-aircraft weaponry are all bad enough. And there are concerns about the potential of anthrax in the water supply and a reported security force of 100,000 awaiting a problem.

The world is full of unrest and poverty and anger, and the Beijing Games are about to begin in a massive haze.

It would be nice to watch the athletic competition for its sheer beauty. And I will do my best. But I’m sure like many others, I’ll be watching with hopeful but wary eyes.