Traditions … Part 2

This post was provided by News Now Warsaw

By Roger Grossman
News Now Warsaw

I am not an “I told you so” kind of person.

My parents raised me to be humble, and while I don’t always succeed in that effort, I do try.

But last week I told you that I was writing about traditions in sports and I knew that I

couldn’t fit all of the best ones into one column, and that you would spend this week reminding me of the ones that I didn’t include.

And you came through with flying colors.

So here are a few more great traditions in sports.

Wearing all white at Wimbledon.

There is something so simple about the color white. It’s the basis for all other colors, and anything white can be turned into anything of any color by simply adding that color to it. At the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, everyone wears white clothes. They wear white shirts, white shorts and white skirts. And there is no varying from that. Every now and then you see someone come out to warm up—mainly men—and they have color in their shirt. Somone from the grounds will politely approach them and remind them of the policy on colors in players’ clothing and ask them to go change…and the players do quickly and apologetically. There is no malice in it. It’s never in protest. It’s never to make a point. They just forget. It happens. The color white at Wimbledon shows a respect and reverence for the place where they play and those who have stood on that grass before, and it’s cool.

The prerace festivities before the Indianapolis 500.

Of the 350,000 people at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day and the tens of millions of people watching at home, I am willing to bet that over 70 percent know the order of events that lead up to the waving of the green flag for the flying start of the biggest race in the world. They know when the Purdue band will be on the track to play “On the Banks of the Wabash”, and they know that is always followed by the cars being
pushed into position on the main straightaway in the order they will start the race. They know the ceremonial laps by former winners, old race cars, and the military are next. They don’t have to ask what happens after that, because they just know. They know about Taps being played and the 21-gun salute. They know that “Back Home Again in Indiana” and the National Anthem are played, and they understand what the appropriate response is (hats off) during that time. I believe that because this event occurs in the Midwest, there is a Midwest respect and appreciation that comes with it.

Singing “My Old Kentucky Home” before the derby.

Going along with the Indy 500, the prerace procedure at Churchill Downs prior to the Kentucky Derby is special in its own right. While the stands are buzzing with anticipation as the horses are led out onto the track, there is a quietness and a serenity in the horses and their riders gently walking to the beginning of the biggest two minutes of the two-legged and four-legged lives. The song is the moment that changes the tenor of the party off the track to the race that is about to be run on it.

Medal ceremonies at the Olympics.
I understand that there are a lot more international competitions today than ever before. There are very few secrets between competitors in a certain Olympic event anymore. Now, athletes have probably done battle head-to-head in not just one international event against their main rivals, but several. But when someone wins an Olympic gold medal, and they climb to the center spot on the medal podium, and their national anthem begins
to play as their flag rises to the rafters … I get goosebumps. American or not, these people have dedicated their lives to this moment, and they are sharing that moment with the world, and I will stop what I am doing to join them in their celebration.

Fantasy football draft parties.

I don’t play fantasy sports anymore. There just isn’t enough time in my week to do all the homework required to properly own a competitive team. I miss that scene because I miss the people in the leagues I used to participate in. And the only time we were all in the same place at the same time was on draft night. That party can take
many forms, depending on what the group is about. It may be a pizza party. It could be a cookout. It could be a carry-in-style gathering. Sometimes it’s just snacks and chips for dipping. But, for sure, there will be food and there will be laughing. The laughing comes from friends being together, but it also comes from the draft itself.

As sure as the sun is still in the sky on a rainy day, someone is bound to lose track of whose turn it is (it’s almost guaranteed to be their turn). Equally assured is that a player will be chosen who was already drafted — probably about 10 picks ago. Even with the emergence of online drafting websites that track players who have been drafted and whose turn it is, someone is going to try to take a player who went to someone else about 10 minutes before. You could be annoyed by it, but it’s more fun to laugh at the offender.

Thanks for the input. I always appreciate your help and I do take suggestions for columns.

The post Traditions … Part 2 appeared first on News Now Warsaw.