The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard!
It’s July and 100 percent time for my over-the-top American Pride article.
I love this country and I love sports. So, every July 4th there are two guarantees for me. It’s now tradition, and something I have done every year since 2008, when I started writing for the Pulse. First, I watch Independence Day and pretend to be Will Smith, my hero! I am a black man who gets jiggy with it, blows up aliens, saves the president, marries a stripper and shows the world how badass America is.
The other guarantee is watching The Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on ESPN. In this case I pretend to be a middle-aged white man named Joey Chestnut. Joey will not get jiggy with it, but he does know how to stuff an insane number of weiners down his throat in 10 minutes.
He is a superhero who is once again set to eat more than 70 dogs and buns this year. Some say hot dog eating is no sport. I say smack the naysayers with a weiner! Joey is a man who just the other day chugged a gallon of milk in 13 seconds! Joey is a man who has eaten 15 pounds of shrimp, 13 pounds of fried asparagus and 141 boiled eggs, each individually accomplished in less than 10 minutes. So, raise a weiner and let us make a toast to the greatest American athlete ever, Joey Chestnut.
July is a month to celebrate freedom and the United States of America’s birthday. In 1776 the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, making 2021 America’s 245th birthday. FYI, today Independence Day is America’s top beer-chugging holiday, with over $1 billion spent on beer. So, fair warning! Do not drink and drive. Let me remind you that the average DUI will cost you $10,000 dollars!
In celebration of Independence Day, I believe reminiscing on some of America’s greatest patriotic moments in sports history is a better way to spend this article. Happy July 4th. Grill some burgers, some dogs, chug a beer, blow up some fireworks and take a moment to remember all the men and women who served so we can continue to live in a free country.
We start with a former no-name, seventh-round NFL draft pick who later became an all-pro safety and ultimately one of America’s greatest heroes.
I have given love to Pat Tillman every year for the past decade in these articles. Tillman gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Pat was an Arizona Cardinal, an NFL safety who turned down a $4 million offer to join the Army after 9/11. Pat was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 and became the face of heroism for many. God bless you, Pat!
Do you believe in miracles? I wish I could have celebrated with America in 1980 but I was not conceived until 1984, so all I have are numerous movies, stories and documentaries on this event. Few believed a group of goofy college players from America had a chance against the beast that was Soviet hockey. Those men were professionals and had played together for years. This game was played during the height of the Cold War and there were rumors that the U.S. would boycott the Moscow Olympics. Yet somehow, they did it—the U.S. defeated the U.S.S.R. Maybe the most iconic call of all time was when Al Michaels shouted “do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
Many give President Reagan the credit for ending the Cold War, but it was really the 1980 USA hockey team that took down the U.S.S.R. Many forget this was only a semifinal game. The U.S. had to come back and play Finland in the gold medal match. They were down 2–1 heading into the third period when Coach Brooks walked into the locker room and said “If you lose this game, you’ll take it to your grave . . . your [expletive] grave!” The miracle continued and they came back to beat Finland 4–2, to win gold.
Another iconic patriotic moment in sports dates to 1936. Jesse Owens, an African-American, shamed Hitler in Berlin. Hitler had planned on showcasing the supremacy of the Aryan race in Berlin. Jesse had other ideas. Jesse, a sprinter, ran times so fast they would have medaled for the next 30 years. Jesse Owens won a record four track golds. Owens opened many people’s eyes, and although some still shunned him, his achievements equaled progress. Owens’ success is one of the greatest moments in American history, even if some did not know it at the time.
Remember the 1992 Dream Team? Complete domination, they beat teams by an average of 44 points to win a gold medal for USA Basketball. Names like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Barkley, Ewing, Malone? Those guys could suit up in 2020 and probably win another gold.
Let us also not forget the perfect pitch during Game 3 of the 2001 World Series. 49 days after 9/11, George W. Bush, wearing a bulletproof vest, stood alone on the mound, head high in Yankee stadium. Many people say he looked like an unbreakable statue that night. Bush threw a perfect pitch from the mound, something not easy to do. The crowd went wild, and it was a feelgood moment for America when we needed it. I know one truth: America was more united during that time than today’s youth could even imagine.
This is my last patriotic moment. It was 1976 and Rick Monday stopped two protestors from burning a flag on field at Dodger Stadium. One unfurled the flag, the other took out a lighter, but Monday was faster and snatched the flag away before the act was accomplished. “What they were doing was wrong then in 1976, and in my mind, it is wrong now,” Monday said later in 2006. “It was also reinforced by a lot of friends who lost their lives protecting the rights and freedoms that flag represented.”
Alright, my friends, time to wrap this article up! Life is a beautiful thing, and I am so thankful to live in the greatest state in this country, Tennessee. Freedom, yee-yee!
This last year has been wild. That is why I am thankful I live in Tennessee, a state that still understands what freedom is. Look at Canada right now—they just introduced Bill C-10, which would allow Daddy Trudeau the right to censor what Canadians can and cannot look up online, regulating the internet. North Korea or Canada?
Keep your head on a swivel, America, if you care about freedom and the Constitution. I know many of my patriotic brothers and sisters do, and that gives me peace of mind as we prepare to celebrate this coming July 4th. It all stops being conspiracy and nonsense when these things are happening. The fact is, censorship and cancel culture are both extremely toxic and are currently popular with many progressives. It is not a matter of whether or not it’s happening, because it is. It’s a matter of whether you support it or not.
I wish everyone, every single person in this country, a happy Independence Day! God bless you all, and enjoy the day, enjoy the summer, and I pray that we as a country can become more united as time moves forward.
The Train is rolling into the station. Choo-choo!
