Today legendary sportscaster Jim McKay passed away at age 86, reportedly from natural causes.
The news caught my attention, especially since all through my childhood I was repeatedly asked if I was related to him, given our identical surnames and common area of residence in the Baltimore, Maryland area.
Perhaps ironically, “McKay” was a stage name. Jim’s actual last name was “McManus”.
But whether he was my namesake or not really is of little consequence. I just always really liked the guy.
Not only was he a pioneer and a true original, he flat-out oozed integrity.
I was too young when the fateful and tragic events of the 1972 Munich Olympic games happened that forever cemented his image as a dedicated professional to the U.S. television audience.
But I do vividly remember becoming a massive fan of ABC’s Wide World Of Sports.
In the pre-ESPN era of the late ’70s, Saturday afternoons from 4-6:30 Eastern Time were when it was time to tune in to channel 13 in Baltimore and hope for either demolition derby, Freddie Spencer vs. Kenny Roberts dragging their knees on the pavement, perky American gymnast girls who were still a few years too old for me, or…if God was truly smiling on us all that day…Evel Knievel jumping stuff.
And Jim McKay was therefore a constant in my memories of becoming a sports fan growing up.
Ironically, today was The Belmont Stakes, and Jim–who was especially fond of horse racing–passed without knowing the outcome. Life isn’t fair. But then again, as David DeAngelo said, if it were you wouldn’t be able to gain an unfair advantage versus other guys by learning how to get better with women.
Not surprisingly, horse racing and the Olympics have always been among my favorite sports events to watch on TV. This is probably not a coincidence.
Kind of like a “Walter Cronkite” of sports, you just felt like you were being told things as they really were when Jim McKay spoke. And somehow, you felt as if he were talking to you personally.
All of the above is well and good.
But what prompted me to write this was having read report after report from his friends, colleagues and contemporaries today who reiterated a common theme: Jim McKay was very much the same guy OFF camera as he was on. And this image of integrity and well-developed social skill translated to his personal life.
He was apparently a strong family man, and consistently maintained strong relationships with his wife, kids and friends throughout his long life–even as he “spanned the globe” to bring the rest of us “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”.
Moreover, he spent his life doing what he loved and what he did best, as if he were born to do it. His professional legacy was, I’m sure, subject to very little if any personal regret.
Recently I happened upon a sales page for a men’s pickup/seduction product that claimed “a magazine survey” of men on their death beds had uncovered the “shocking truth” that “the #1 regret of men at the end of their lives was that they had not slept with enough women.”
Sorry, but I’d need more evidence than that to back up such a claim.
I can’t bring myself to believe that the “majority” of us guys get to the finish line and think that way. Just like we likely don’t wish we had worked longer hours, spent more money or cheated the IRS more.
At the end of my life, I want to look back and consider myself to have done my part to make the world a better place for as many people as I could…especially those whom I loved most. I also want to look back and realize that I left every ounce of energy I had on the battlefield when is came to accomplishing my purpose in life.
Were there not those in my life whom I deeply love, and were there not a clear mission for me to go after, then I would find reason to suspect that regret was looming when my days were done. But as it stands, I feel more than validated right where I am for the time being.
No wonder I always liked Jim McKay so much.
Be Good,
Scot McKay
