Injury helped me discover another indoor-training motivational tool. Muhammad Ali fights make perfect interval workouts with three minute intervals, an announcer and clock riding through each round gets your adrenaline flowing. Ali was the greatest! In 1980 I was working as a sports cameraman. I was lucky enough to film an interview with Mr. Ali. Fascinating Humility In This Man! I kept thinking. He would have given Lance a run for his money.
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon Final with Borg winning 18 to 16 games in a five-set masterpiece. Back then no tie-breaker in the fifth set. Here’s a highlight clip of artists playing tennis. A kind of slow motion boxing match.
A Bird VS a Magician; Celtic’s Lakers, all classic’s. Bringing the best out of each other and their teammates in every game Larry and Magic were simply flawless under pressure. The dominance of their collective talents defined the NBA with shear greatness. After sharing a Bird highlight film my son asked with complete sincerity, as the young do Dad does Larry Bird have eye’s in the back of his head?
Any Celtics-Lakers playoff game from the 80’s also great content. Larry Bird was the greatest from the neck up and the wrist up. Larry and Magic Johnson all but saved the NBA after the 1979 NCAA final when Larry and Magic’s monumental skills rejuvenated the NBA hard-wood a struggling league who’s only star attraction seemed to be Dr. J a basketball genius ahead of his time who defined The Art Of The-Dunk.
You’ll find entire Celtics Lakers Playoff games from the NBA’s greatest era on YouTube. Ali, Bird, Magic, Borg, McEnroe these guys will push your competitive buttons. The cheering crowd doesn’t hurt either. I’m riding along thinking, I wonder how McEnroe would have held up against Ali in a fifteen rounder?
