An obscure bit of Ali's past before he was Ali (that will not let me turn autoplay off, hence the link instead of and embedded video.)
RIP champ.
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Dammit Drifty!!! That shit made me start crying like a baby. I hadn't seen it in decades and it just flashed me back to the exact moment in time when I first saw it. Thanks, Brother. The Big Fella is next.
He was one of a kind. I remember watching one of his televised fights when I was a little kid and seeing the reaction from my racist father when I rooted for him. My dad was mad at me for rooting against the white guy, but not that mad because of how good a boxer Ali was. It turned out that the old man was a golden gloves boxer himself in Oklahoma back in the day, and he couldn't deny what he saw on the little screen. I learned a lot about life watching that fight.
-Doug in Oakland
What a great photo. The four figures descending (Ali's silhouette and reflection, the photog, the figure in the distance.) The posters in the background attesting to his fame and fierceness. Ali (Clay) inspired so many incredible photos. RIP to an absolute legend.
Nearly 10 years ago, as a worker helping to set up the IOC fat cat tent in the Olympic Corporate Sponsor center across the street from the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, my partner and I were, at the last moment, given tickets to the Opening Ceremony (to help "paper" the house) by the IOC representative in charge of seeing their tent was ready for the post event reception; nevertheless, I was delighted to be able to attend the opening ceremonies.
The highlight of that event was when Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic Torch. There could be no one who more deserved that honor than Ali, a great Olympian and a man of exemplary moral courage. We can only hope to one day see another of his stature. Farewell Champ.
I was very young when, then, Cassius Clay won that fight against Sonny Listin. I can remember watching footage of him shouting "I am the Greatest!" I only have vague memories of his issues with protesting war at first. Later, as I got more involved with the anti-war movement, I realized what he had done to protest - what a huge sacrifice to make that statement, and my admiration of him grew.
My small college invited him to speak sometime around 1970. Muhammad Ali was an impassioned and impressive speaker. He not only spoke against the War in Vietnam (or the American War, as they call it), but he spoke about Black power and the civil rights movement.
Listening to Ali was one of those seminal moments in my young life. He awakened me, more than almost anything else, to how our govt operated, what civil rights struggles really meant, and what it really meant to be black in the USA.
I was prepared for his death but mourn his passing. Muhammed Ali was truly The Greatest. A real Champ. Not just an amazing athelete - he's the only person I'd watch in a boxing match, as I really don't like that sport (while realizing that it's a way for usually poor men to make money) - but a truly great man on many levels.
Thank you, Muhammed Ali, for teaching me and many others so many valuable lessons. You are missed. RIP.
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