He blog me

This blog is from Mike Morgan in Wauwatosa, Wis., which is a suburb of the one-time beer capitol of the world and current capitol of heavyweight motorcycles. It is dedicated to holding court on topics related to life, family, religion, politics, sports, exercise, music, taverns, the Simpsons and anything else I want to discuss.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Have you forgotten? Munich, 1972

Every four years, it amazes me how the Olympic community seems to forget the terrorist murders of 11 Israeli team members at the 1972 Games in Munich.

Much like my oldest son today, I was 10 years old and fascinated with the concept of sports and the Olympics in 1972. I watched as Mark Spitz won an incredible seven gold medals in swimming, gymnast Olga Korbut showed us that Russians actually had personality and Frank Shorter inspired a generation of American runners by winning the marathon. While it was hard for me to understand the theft of a U.S. basketball gold medal by misguided and/or corrupt officials, it was almost impossible to comprehend watching ABC Olympic television host Jim McKay describe the kidnaping and murder of innocent Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists on Sept. 5-6, 1972. While the Games were halted temporarily, they eventually finished under a huge dark cloud of mourning.

Only later would I come to understand the irony of Jewish Olympians being murdered by terrorists in the country of the Holocaust. Not to mention the fact that security was somewhat lacking in Munich due to German efforts to show the world that fascism was a distant memory.
Much like many Americans want to forget the horrific memories of Sept. 11, 2001 by avoiding the painful images and memories of that day, the Olympic community rarely remembers that fateful September 1972. It would seem that there should be a permanent and visible Olympic memorial to the slain Israeli athletes and coaches, whether it be a statue of concrete or marking of ceremony. Even the mainstream media avoids the issue, although HBO aired an Oscar-winning British documentary of the events "One Day in September" just before the Sydney Games in 2000. Much like filmmaker Bud Greenspan's compelling Olympic documentaries, "One Day in September" describes dramatic and important events too often forgotten by most of us. While that program is one of the few reminders we have of those dark days in September 1972, I know I'll never forget.

As my son watches the Athens Games and enjoys the "thrill of victory and agony of defeat," I pray he won't have to endure another Munich-like tragedy or something worse considering the world of terror we are confronting today. Sadly, Munich in 1972 was probably just the beginning when it comes to the war on terror.

Friday, August 20, 2004

Kicking off

I have been writing and reporting both personally and professionally since eighth grade (circa 1977). I thoroughly enjoy life, my family, friends, country, sports and exercise, music, politics, motorcycles and a host of other things, not necessarily in that order. I am jumping into this increasingly popular blog world to have some fun setting the record straight on topics from the relavent to the pointless. The title "He blog me" derives from a sincere appreciation of the XFL, which says a lot about where this is going. Enjoy.