Welcome to the Terrordome Read online

  Table of Contents

  Praise

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Foreword

  Introduction

  CHAPTER ONE - Relearning Roberto Clemente

  Clemente: A Latino Jackie Robinson?

  Clemente as a Player: Art, Not Science

  His Era, Politics, and Roots

  Dodgers Disgrace: Jim Crow vs. Brown Pride

  The Pirates Get Good

  Syndicato: Clemente Carries on King’s Legacy

  El Noche Clemente

  The World Series

  Clemente’s Dream

  Unnatural Disasters

  Legacy

  CHAPTER TWO - Béisbol: How the Major Leagues Eat Their Young

  The Death of Super Mario

  CHAPTER THREE - Soccer: The Perilous Practice of Political Projection

  Learning from Soccer

  Women, Soccer, and the United States

  Soccer Today

  Conversion in Chile

  CHAPTER FOUR - The 2006 World Cup: The Politics of Play Personified

  CHAPTER FIVE - The NBA and the Two Souls of Hip-hop

  AI: Nothing Artificial

  CHAPTER SIX - The Olympics: Gold, Guns, and Graft

  Blair’s Olympiad

  The Ghosts of Tlatelolco

  Words from the Dark Genius

  When Fists Are Frozen: The Statue of Tommie Smith and John Carlos

  CHAPTER SEVEN - Barry Bonds Gonna Git Your Mama: When Steroids Attack!

  What’s a Steroid?

  DSHEA and the Den of Idiots

  Sources of the Boom

  Well Then, Why Use Them?

  Steroids and the War on Drugs

  Barry Bonds: The Juice and the Noose

  So What Do We Do?

  CHAPTER EIGHT - The Uses of Sports: How People in Power Exploit the Games

  The Vicious Cycle

  Disrobing the Emperors

  CHAPTER NINE - The Way It Was, the Way It Is

  CHAPTER TEN - In Their Own Words

  Etan Thomas: From Baghdad to Death Row

  Sheryl Swoopes: Out of the Closet and Onto the Court

  John Amaechi Doesn’t Care What You Think About His “Gayness”

  Jeff Monson: Ultimate Fighter for Peace

  The Slave Side of Sunday

  The NBA Draft: Prom Night Gets Political

  Imus, Sports, and the End of Silence

  Marching In:

  About Haymarket Books

  Also from Haymarket Books

  Copyright Page

  Praise for Dave Zirin and Welcome to the Terrordome

  “Dave Zirin is the best young sportswriter in America because he’s the one who understands the x’s and o’s, can arrange them vividly and show us what they mean in a world spinning out of control.”

  —Robert Lipsyte, author, SportsWorld: An American Dreamland

  “Dave Zirin’s writing is the opening shot in the battle to reclaim sports.”

  —Jim Bouton, former NY Yankee; author, Ball Four

  “Dave Zirin is an incredibly talented and courageous writer, the sort of scribe sorely needed in America in these early days of the twenty-first century. With Zirin no topic is sacred, no argument is ever evaded, no search for truth, real truth, is ever suppressed. That marks, to me, Dave Zirin as a uniquely American writer who understands that freedom of speech, the desire to be free, means nothing if we don’t exercise that freedom muscle every single day of our lives.”

  —Kevin Powell, author, Someday We’ll All Be Free

  “If there was an award for ‘Most Valuable Spor tswriter,’ I would vote for Dave Zirin. His writing combines vivid narrative, good humor, impressive knowledge of the game, and a keen awareness of the connection between sports and the world outside. In our sports saturated society, his is an important voice that demands to be heard. A talented sportswriter with a social conscience—what more can you ask?”

  —Howard Zinn, author, A People’s History of the United States

  “In sportswriting, attitude is easy. But Dave Zirin’s also got razor smarts, rapier wit, and, most of all, a rebel’s large heart. After you read him, you’ll never see sports the same way again.”

  —Jeff Chang, author, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

  “Dave Zirin is one of the few writers in sport who refuses to bend to the increasing power of sport and media. His focus is honest and hard-hitting. This book is invaluable given that we live in a time when professional sports seem to be crossing the line from a neurotic national fantasy to psychotic nightmare.”

  —Peter Gent, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver; author, North Dallas 40

  “Energetic, engaging, passionate, optimistic—and angry at all the right things, Dave Zirin has established himself as perhaps the best young sportswriter in the United States today. There’s just no one doing what he does so well: reporting on those many junctures where sports, politics, and the popular culture intersect. He writes with his heart on his sleeve, and his voice is authentic. If you’re a sports fan, you’ll love this book. If you’re politically active, you’ll love this book. If you’re a politically active sports fan, you’ve found your bible.

  “P.S. Zirin is the only person my 15-year-old, basketball-loving daughter reads on thenation.com.”

  —Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, the Nation

  “Dave Zirin says things most of the sports media are afraid to. More to the point, he’s saying things that most in this business don’t have the wisdom or vision to even consider. If your pas- sion for sports reaches beyond the box score—and it should—Zirin is essential.”

  —Ryan Jones, editor, SLAM magazine

  “In my opinion, the people who need to read Dave Zirin most are people who don’t think sports is important at all. Zirin knows it is and he continually shows how it fits into the rest of our world. For sports fans with brains, Zirin simply offers confirmation of every quaking thought we’ve ever had. And still loves the games and the players. He’s indispensable.”

  —Dave Marsh, XM Radio

  “Dave Zirin is an icon in the world of progressive sports.”

  —Dave Berkman, Wisconsin Public Radio

  “Welcome to the Terrordome is both bold and brilliant, funny and fearless, and Dave Zirin may be the most important writer—sports or otherwise—to explode on the scene in many a season.”

  —Mary Ratliff, editor, SF Bayview

  “Allen Iverson may be ‘the Answer,’ but Dave Zirin is ‘the TRUTH.’ Alarming, compelling, provocative—opinions that will slap the taste out of your mouth, but insights that will make you hark back to Arsenio and say HMMM! Zirin’s critical yet out-of-the-box thinking, when mixed together, goes down smooth like Grandma’s Kool-Aid. From MLB eating their young, to the intertwining of the souls of the NBA and hip-hop, to grinding with Avery Brundage, to Barry Bonds in pursuit of your Mama! EXPLOSIVE!”

  —Bobby Ramos, cohost, Sportstalk in Black n’ White

  “Nobody writes sports like Dave Zirin. He is the sole (and soulful) Bambino of the People’s Games. His line-drive analysis cuts left to the basket and tells us what we need to know about the real business and politics of the games we play and watch. Thank you, Dave Zirin, for telling the gut stories buried behind the endless media mega-hype.”

  —Harvey Wasserman, author, Harvey Wasserman’s History of the United States

  “Dave Zirin is hip, funny, and sharp as a tack. He uses sports—sometimes metaphorically, more often literally, to look at where we’ve been and where we’re headed. His latest book makes you devour every page, savor every word, and crave more, redefining sportswritin
g and taking it to its quintessential peak.”

  —Pat Thurston, host, The Pat Thurston Show

  “Separating sports from the world in which it is a part is like trying to separate Limburger cheese from the smell. Ain’t gonna happen. Not that far too many so-called ‘serious’ sports- writers don’t try on a depressingly regular basis. But Dave Zirin ain’t going out like that. His essays never shy away from the often troublesome, provocative social context at the heart of this society (or any endeavor, for that matter), but they are also clearly the work of a man who loves his subjects. Forget all those reactionary, noncommittal, beat-down beat writers. Let these sublime, perceptive essays in your life.”

  —Reuben Jackson, poet laureate of the Jazz Journalist Association; associate curator, Smithsonian Institution

  “Dave Zirin is the most provocative observer of the politics of sport in the United States today. Welcome to the Terrordome is his best work to date and should be required reading for sports fans and those committed to a more just and humane world.”

  —Robert W. McChesney, author, The Problem of the Media

  “As a sports fan I am a big fan of Dave Zirin. He gets into the arenas, dugouts, and bullpens of the mythologies enveloping our modern-day gladiators, the owners who control them, and the media that deify and crucify them. Zirin breaks it all down with insight, humor, and the passion of someone who knows all aspects of the game. He is simply the best sportswriter around.”

  —David Barsamian, director, Alternative Radio

  “Dave Zirin, author of the sizzling What’s My Name, Fool? has written another book you don’t want to miss (Welcome to the Terrordome), probing into the hot topics at the intersection of sports and society as no one else could.”

  —Lester Rodney, sports editor, The Daily Worker 1936-1958

  “If Chuck D were a sportswriter, he’d be Dave Zirin, intelligent, well researched, and more than willing to give the mainstream sports establishment and our assumptions about race the middle finger. Dave tells the stories that America has purposefully forgotten. His focus is the game within the game. Dave is a real MC.”

  —Nathan Ive, host, The Nathan Ive Show

  To Sasha and Amira y las luchas de mañana.

  You are both smart and strong and fearless.

  Acknowledgments

  No one gets thanked before I give all gratitude to Chuck D for teaching a generation of us growing up in the political desert of the 1980s that resistance is righteous.

  Eternal thanks to Haymarket Books for continuing to produce “books to change the world” and allowing my work to be in that company. It’s an honor, and any writer would be lucky to work with them. For the uninitiated, the Haymarket Dream Team is Anthony Arnove, Julie Fain, Ahmed Shawki, Sarah Macaraeg, Bill Roberts, Eric Ruder, and Rachel Cohen.

  Thanks to my editor Elizabeth Terzakis, scourge and slayer of the salacious simile (and foe of alliteration). Elizabeth—when she’s not teaching or agitating—happens to be the most talented editor on earth. She deserves all credit for fighting for a vision of what this book could be.

  I am very grateful to those who give me the opportunity to write on the regular: the good people at the Nation: Katrina vanden Heuvel, Peter Rothberg, and Joan Connell; Gary Spiecker at the Los Angeles Times; and the folks at SLAM, the only sports magazine that matters: Ryan Jones, Susan Price, and Ben Osborne.

  Thanks to the people in the dog-kill-dog SportsWorld who have been generous with their time and encouragement: Robert Lipsyte, Dave Meggyesy, Jeremy Schaap, Dave Krikst, Greg Sansone, Roy S. Johnson, and the folks at Athletes United for Peace.

  Thanks to Dave Maraniss for writing Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero.

  To the people who explained soccer to me: Nick Chin, Shaun Harkin, and John Cox. Your collective patience is duly appreciated.

  Thanks to the unsung work on this book done by Alex Billet, David Thurston, and Jeff Skinner. And to Paul D’Amato, who corrected me when I went astray.

  Thank you, Frank Fried for introducing me to Lester Rodney.

  Thank you to the people who work at Busboys and Poets and Politics and Prose: two bookstores unafraid of stirring the pot in D.C., particularly Andy Shallal, Don Allen, Pam Pinnock, and of course, Virginia Harabin.

  Thank you Harper, Patricia, and Maia Caron for being a breath of fresh air.

  And then there is family: my mother, Jane; my father, Jim; my stepmother, Marlene; my sister, Annie; my brother-in-law, Jason; my stepbrother, Peter; my stepsister, Maggie; and my in-laws: Ed, Susan, Bryan, Denise, Matt, Meme, and Pop Pop. I’m damn lucky to know you all.

  To my grandfather, Alexander Rubin, who used to sneak me onto a golf course to play baseball. To my grandmother, Sylvia Rubin. I miss you every day.

  And lastly to Michele: thank you for making it all matter.

  Foreword by Chuck D

  My first encounter with Dave Zirin was interviewing him about his book, What’s My Name Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States for my radio show On the Real, which runs on the Air America radio network. I found this dude to be very much on the cutting edge of where sports journalists need to be today. Be open and aware that history beyond the so-called facts arrives from three sides: pro, con, and neutral. It’s wise to back your words with a wide range of perspective, and Mr. Zirin equips himself indeed with a refreshing refrain away from the locker room and neighborhood pub mentality.

  When I first wrote the song “Welcome to the Terrordome” in 1989, it was at the edge of the last decade of the millennium, and I just knew—I could just feel—that a period of deep uncertainty was waiting for us. Upon the completion of the song I envisioned a fight announcer in the middle of a boxing ring amidst a rabid crowd. I don’t think I recalled anyone of color in that audience, and I felt that boxing ring was a roped-off haven or a petri dish of sorts.

  Splattered blood was symbolic in my imagination, and I do remember the flying blood mixed both ways over them ropes, from the aggression of the approaching crowd and the boxers protected in their haven. The song in its literal meaning was introducing a turning point decade for blackfolks in society. I’m quoted in interviews around then saying that the Terrordome was a “test” decade, and based on what I and my group went through in 1989, I felt that it was a litmus test for how well we would do rolling and tumbling through the mainstream and media kaleidoscope.

  I also felt that at that time the microscope of society that had been focused on the most high-profile of Black males, the athlete, had veered into the realm of the young Black male entertainer, with even deeper focus—into the social sphere of the masses. Thus the new examination of the Negro via the rap music video and reality shows like COPS ushered a previously uninvited type into the American kitchen.

  I immediately thought of the Three Mikes who were on top of the American celebrity heap. Jordan, Tyson, and Jackson. More to it than just basketball, boxing, and dance, these areas of performance rank way up high, especially in the appreciation corner of blackfolks. Not that we invented any of them, but in the process of performance, blackfolks had the nerve and audacity to reinvent their focal structure.

  The Three Mikes were tested not far into the decade. Tyson lost in Japan to Buster Douglas right at the top and soon thereafter was jailed on rape charges. From there the growing technology of media not only microscoped his visibility but burned him in the process.

  Michael Jordan early on was tossed through the T-dome. Winning championships but losing a father to murder, losing the game on accusations of betting, perhaps, but coming back to win and to lose, to time and the media machine, which still strips American idol shine off him to this very minute.

  And the world’s greatest entertainer, Mike Jax, who ultimately may have been the smartest of them all. After being arraigned, arrested, then acquitted on rape charges and various other accusations in the worlds of the legal and the tabloid, he ended up leaving the stage of the lower forty-eight states for another country entir
ely. When you’re called the world’s greatest anything, it’s advisable to peep the 191 other countries on the planet to validate that claim, and he did.

  I mention these Black cultural “icons” because, on their paths to iconography, something more radioactive than just another piece of shit littered the road. Somehow, the sunsets of John Elway, Jack Nicklaus, and John Havlicek seem less strewn.

  In entertainment we just know better. John Wayne and Elvis got another viewpoint directed at their iconoclastic relevance in “Fight the Power”; it was very CNN of me then. Rap music stated its position, thoroughly evaluating many American icons, although in the process seemed to lose itself by connecting to the corporate umbilical cord.

  But in Supermedia what giveth is also what taketh away. ESPN, FOX, and their competition in sportsnews, talk, casting, and analysis realized the collision of the collection of athletes and entertainers coming from being “boyz in the same hood” was a convergence of every conversation, contemplation, reservation about race up to that point.

  From 1990 to this minute, the Terrordome has completely expanded the stage for all to see, albeit many cannot interpret what is seen. Mike Tyson made me nervous as he entered the ring with the song in every fight from the song’s inception in late ’89 till the fight before Buster Douglas where he emerged with KRS-ONE’s Boogie Down Production’s “You Must Learn.”