GIE 2005: Gumbel Entertains, Inspires Crowd

Sports, specifically the Olympic Games and the spirit displayed by its international athletes, can teach valuable lessons of attitude, courage and heart that everyone can learn from to improve their lives, CBS sports broadcaster and guest speaker Greg Gumbel told participants attending Friday’s Green Industry Expo (GIE) keynote address.

“The stories told and the visions brought to television sets are pictures and memories meant to last a lifetime,” Gumbel told a packed auditorium at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. “They’re what make the Olympics unique and special. I don’t care who you are or what you do, you can learn from the Olympics.”

On the topic of attitude, Gumbel told the story of an American wrestler who lost to his nemesis by the narrowest of margins at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga., but instead of sulking he went to Georgia Baptist hospital to visit people injured in the bomb blast that had taken place outside the events. He was overheard telling one of the injured, “You’re the hero. I’m just a sportsman.”

In terms of lessons of heart, Gumbel spoke of Anna Quirot, a Cuban 800-meter runner who nearly a year earlier had sustained burns to 70 percent of her body and when a kerosene cooker exploded. “Doctors consider her lucky to be alive,” Gumbel says. “She promised doctors she would run again.”
 
Twenty nine operations later, Quirot won the silver medal at the Atlanta games.

Gumbel also told the audience about U.S. swimmer Amy VanDyken, whose asthma was so bad as a child she could barely swim the length of the swimming pool. On her best day, her lungs worked to only about 65 percent of their oxygen-intake capacity.

At the Atlanta Olympics, Gumbel says, she came away from the games with a number of gold medals, despite being prohibited from taking her asthma medication because some of the chemicals were considered banned substances.

“In each event, she swam a personal best,” Gumbel says.

To further stress his examples of heart, Gumbel told the audience about U.S. runner Jackie Joyner Kersee and how the Atlanta games would be the capper to an outstanding track-and-field career. However, during an early event, Kersee injured her hamstring and was forced to withdraw from many of her events.

“But she decided to go for the long jump,” Gumbel says. “She was facing the last jump of her career. Her leg ached and she was in sixth place. She told herself, ‘I’ve got to do it. If the muscle goes – it goes.’ She leapt 22 feet, four and three-quarters inches, only four inches behind the gold medal winner, and three-quarters of an inch behind the silver to earn the bronze medal.”

And on the matter of courage, Gumbel recalled the story of a South African runner who had been shot and sustained back injuries during a car jacking, but came back to win the men’s marathon at those summer games. He also talked about U.S. Olympic athlete Dan O’Brien, who squandered a promising collegiate athletic career to drugs and alcohol, and then let his life hit rock bottom with further substance abuse and legal problems.

And to further emphasize his point on courage, Gumbel reminded the audience of Olympic gymnast Carrie Strug, who during her last event tore two ligaments in her ankle. Many people had doubted Strug’s self-confidence and competitive ability, Gumbel says, but she proved them wrong when she took her final vault and landed, painfully but upright, to earn a 9.2 and secure the gold medal for herself, her teammates and her country.

“Later she said confidently, ‘I had to do it. So I did it,’” Gumbel says. “And how dare any of us approach our lives any differently.”

And while professional athletes sometimes are criticized for being too self-absorbed and caring about little else than winning, Gumbel says Olympians often display the true spirit of sports and serve as motivating examples for others to learn important lessons.

“They are valiant in their efforts and that, more than anything else, is what was important to them,” Gumbel says. “Sports takes a beating sometimes, but I’ve always thought sports does a pretty good job at preparing you for life. Sports is competitive, and so is life.”

On a much lighter note, Gumbel warmed up the audience by recounting humorous anecdotes of professional athletes often putting their feet in their mouths.

“I’ve learned a great deal in life, above all else I’ve learned the value of a good education,” Gumbel says. “This is most evident when you stick a microphone in front of a professional athlete and hear what sometimes comes out of their mouths.”

For example:

• An NBA player, who had broken his nose during a game, was quoted as saying, “It’s the same one I broke three years ago.”
• Gumbel, a Rolling Stones fan, says one he was telling an athlete how he’s “a big fan of the Stones.” The athlete responded: “Me, too: Fred, Wilma and Barney.”
• When asked by a teammate what was the capital of Argentina, one athlete responded, “Buenos dias.”
• One coach geared up for a tough season when, after the playing of the national anthem, he overheard one of his players state, “You know, every time I hear that song I have a bad game.”
• A professional baseball team was crossing the boarder to play a game against Toronto and, when asked if they had anything to declare, one player responded, “Yes, I am darn proud to be an American.”
• One frustrated football player told the media, “We need a coach with an imaginary mind.”