WEBVTT - Bob Costas: Voice of the Olympics 0:00:01.880 --> 0:00:05.480 I love the Olympics. I love them as a kid, 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:09.080 and I still remember some of the huge personalities that 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:13.080 came out of those games. I remember Dick Fosberry in 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.040 nine eight he invented this new way of doing the 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:19.320 high jump called the Fosberry flop, where he land on 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:23.400 his back, and I recently read he's almost seventy years old, 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:26.120 which quite frankly kind of freaks me out. But I 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:31.520 remember Peggy Fleming, Olga Corvette, so many great athletes, and 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.120 of course, as a little girl, I was most interested 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:39.360 in gymnastics and figure skating. So imagine my delight when 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:43.280 I got to MBC in the early nineties and started 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.440 working on the Today Show and I was told that 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:50.080 I got to cover the Olympics in Barcelona. My daughter 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.000 was a little baby. She and my husband came over 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.480 and stayed for about a week and it was so 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:00.680 much fun. And that was the beginning of my Olympic extents. 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:05.600 I covered eight Olympics in all, and one of the 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.280 great things about covering the Games is I got to 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:11.560 see all these incredible cities. Athens, I got to go 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:15.480 to as I mentioned, Barcelona, or as they say, Barcelona, 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:20.280 And I also really loved Sydney because the people in 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.160 Australia are so friendly and so nice, and they'd all 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.640 gather around the Today Show set and they'd scream azzazazi 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:33.319 Oi Oi Oi. Covering the Olympics was really a positive 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:37.160 experience for me because it was a happy thing to 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:40.960 cover and these athletes had worked so so hard and 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:45.319 this was their moment to shine. These are some of 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:48.960 my Olympic memory, sort of smattering of them through the years. 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:52.000 But we also asked you to tell us your best 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:56.800 Olympic memory and why, and here's what you had to say. Hi, 0:01:56.920 --> 0:02:00.640 my name is Michelle Ducepara Ferrell. I'm actually UM, an 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:04.440 Olympic alumni, member of the nineteen eighty four women's gynastics 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:08.120 team and UM. Of course, one of my most indouble 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:12.160 memories of my childhood was watching Nadia scores first perfect ten, 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:16.519 which just celebrated its fortieth anniversary of it happening. Another 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:18.680 hand Dan, look at that? Why did they hand Dan? 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:26.480 My name is Susan Chapman. I live in Christinity, Florida. 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:30.639 Nineteen seventy two, I think seventeen year old OGA Corp. 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:32.959 But did a couple of moves that are still repeated 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:36.480 today that changed the course of the sport forever and 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:39.960 the excitement of Gordon Annis was the announcer I think 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:43.360 was the Chris Jankos did facts, So you're right to 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:46.399 the other bar. Has that been done before by Earl? Never, 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.440 not by any human that I know of. I mean 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.480 this Oscar from Phoenix, Arizona wanted to share one of 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:56.040 my favorite Olympic memories. We always see the triumphs, but 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.560 the heartbreak of Garrick Redman in the nineteen nine two 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.679 parcels one of games, who was unable to finish this 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:10.240 and it was joined by his father, definitely stands out 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.799 as one of the most emotional, human and touching moments 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:20.040 of the Games. One of the best things about covering 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:24.080 the Olympics for me was having the opportunity to co 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:27.720 host the opening ceremony with Bob Costas. I did that 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:30.919 a few times and we had so much fun. Now 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.840 Bob has covered more than a dozen Olympic Games. He 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.960 started out as the late night host in and he's 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:41.400 his name has really become synonymous with the Olympics, so 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.320 he kind of makes me look like a piker covering 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.280 only eight. I think Bob is a living example of 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.720 the boy scout motto be prepared. So I wanted to 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:53.160 talk to him about that, but also learn how he 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:58.440 got interested in covering sports. So Bob Costas is with us. 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.800 Hey Bob, we're so excited. Hi Katie, let's talk about 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.520 your career. How did you get started. Well, when I 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:08.400 was a kid, like many kids of my generation and 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:11.680 every generation, I was fascinated by sports, and as tried 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.000 as it sounds, it was a connection between me and 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.400 my dad and the other kids that I grew up with. 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.920 But maybe unlike most of them, I was also as 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:22.839 interested in the broadcasters as I was in the games 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:26.760 themselves and the athletes. To me, the games weren't the 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:30.200 same without the soundtrack. And I grew up in New 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.440 York in the late fifties and in the sixties when 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.679 many of the greatest announcers of all time were plying 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:40.000 their trade in New York. And these guys weren't just 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.320 competent announcers. And I say guys because for the most part, 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.760 although there are more women now, there are originally no 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:51.720 women's sports broadcasters at that time. Uh, those broadcasters didn't 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:55.200 just do a competent job. They did a lyrical job. 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.680 In many cases, there was almost a melody to a 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:01.760 good broadcast, and the as of them had a literate 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:06.599 touch without being pretentious. They gave you the notion, the 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.880 understanding that they were men of the world, at least 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.239 to some extent, that they had interest beyond the game, 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:15.680 and they could weave some of those observations in to 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:18.840 give the broadcast a little more texture than ball one, 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:22.120 strike two, or there's a person down or a touchdown. 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:27.080 And their mastery of that craft was fascinating to me. 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:30.200 And that's when the notion of being a broadcaster first 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.440 took hold. And that's what happened to me. I was 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:35.960 going to say you you became a master storyteller and 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.640 a sports fanatic, because I think there are very few 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:43.960 people in broadcasting, in my opinion, who are as sort 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:47.960 of seamless, fluent and eloquent as you are in almost 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:53.000 every situation. And I'm assuming that you weren't at Syracuse 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:59.280 even studying communications or really sports and news. I'm sure 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:01.839 you study a lot of other things that were helpful 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.479 to you in your career. What were those things that 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:08.400 contributed to your ability to be a critical thinker and 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:12.480 to express yourself so well, well, you know, I've always 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:15.640 been a reader, and I've always been someone who was 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.760 interested in pop culture in the biggest sense. Um, I 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.159 think there's a part of me that's probably an old soul, 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.560 but I was interested in what was going on at present. 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:30.400 But I was also interested in history in the most 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:35.040 classic sense, but also the history of pop culture, and 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:38.360 a lot of that just seeped in and I retained 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.679 of the portion of it. And then as I watched 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:45.080 and listened to people on radio and television, I always 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:49.479 admired those who had a certain mastery of language, the 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:52.240 red Barbers of the Vincecullies, who would never miss a 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.920 beat on what was happening in the game, but at 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:58.000 the same time would fill in all the little brushstrokes 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:01.120 along with the broad strokes. Know what the weather was 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.880 at the ball game, or what the atmosphere was, and 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:07.040 you'd find out some interesting story about a ballplayer's hometown 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.400 or something that happened the night before while they were 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:12.800 out to dinner in this city or that, and that 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:16.040 that to me made it a fuller picture. It wasn't 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:19.680 just the primary colors it It had a texture to it. Bob, 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:22.360 could you tell us a little bit more about your 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:26.120 relationship with your parents. I remember reading that sports in 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:30.160 general and baseball in particular, was a way for you 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.840 to connect with your dad. Yeah, my father was a 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:37.440 colorful character. He was very smart, he was charismatic, he 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:41.880 was people of an older generational understand this reference. He 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.760 was a runyonesque kind of character. But he was also 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.680 a compulsive gambler, which led to some exciting and interesting 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:53.200 and numerous circumstances, but also to some heartache because very often, 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.400 no joke, the mortgage would be writing, or our ability 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.720 to pay it would be writing on whether or very 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:02.320 stressed out by that bos I stretched out, Oh yeah, 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:04.840 oh yeah, yeah, the whole the whole family was stressed out. 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.679 And very often my mom, who was the sweetest woman 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.280 you could ever hope to meet, and my younger sister 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:14.280 two years younger than me, they would leave and go 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:18.000 to the neighbor's house or go to grandma's house. But 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.280 I would stay and watch the games with my dad, 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.680 and there was a lot of tension writing. He made 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.160 a pretty good living for a guy in the nineteen sixties, 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:29.600 but you know, we lived in a house that he 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.160 bought for nineteen thousand dollars on the g I bill, 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.760 and it was not unusual at all for him to 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.480 have three, four or five thousand dollars worth of action 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:42.000 going on a weekend. So those bets went well, terrific 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.920 that those bets went less well, then we couldn't pay 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.719 the mortgage. And I remember going with him, and this 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.160 is kind of how we bonded. I remember going with 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:56.400 him once to a donut shop in Brooklyn, was around 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.720 nineteen sixty six, and he was going to meet the bookie. 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:02.400 So there we are sitting at the counter and a 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:05.200 guy who looks like he was sent in by Central Casting. 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.720 He's got a fedora on, he's carrying a pinky ring. 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:14.199 He looks like Nathan Detroit. Nathan Detroited would be charitable. 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.680 He looks like a guy who might be mob connected, 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:18.920 but on the other hand made the Detroit might have 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.760 been too, But he was. He wasn't as handsome as 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.800 Marlon Brando, let's put it that way. But nonetheless I 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:29.520 remember him saying, hey, that your boy. But yeah, he 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:33.240 goes nice boy. He says, you drink milk, And I'm 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:36.320 thinking to myself, I'm fourteen years old, No, you smicked. 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:39.400 I drink tequila. Yes, I drink milk. And the guy 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.280 goes give the kid a glass of milk and a doughnut. 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:46.280 And then while all this stuff is unfolding, he slides 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:49.720 a paper bag across the counter to my father and 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.320 after a few little pleasantries, were back out in the 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:56.560 car and under a street light in Brooklyn in nineteen 0:09:56.640 --> 0:10:00.680 sixty six, my father counts out fourteen thousand dollars in 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:04.120 one hundred dollar bills that he had just collected from 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:07.120 the bookie because he had been on a winning streak. Now, 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.600 in that moment, despite all the anxiety and heartache that 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:14.440 came at other times because of his gambling, at that moment, 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:17.520 I'm thinking, my father is one of the coolest guys 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.000 in the world. The other dad's on the block, just 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:23.000 mow the lawn on Saturday. This guy, this guy is 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.640 living a life of danger and adventure. And in moments 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:30.240 like that, what would happen is he took the money 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:32.880 and he went and bought a Ford Mustang, which, as 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:35.880 you remember, with a really cool car. I remember going 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.120 with him and he does the usual things, you know, 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.440 he's lifting the hood, he's kicking the tires and I 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:45.520 remember distinctly the salesman said, is it a little out 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.600 of your league? And my father reached into his pocket 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:51.360 and he had this giant load of bills. He goes, no, 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.319 I'm gonna bleep in buy it cash if I bleep 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:58.840 and decide to bleep and buy it. Um so, And 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:02.360 he didn't say. To be clear, now there was no 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:07.000 senser involved. Did that mess up your attitude toward money? 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:08.920 I mean, I would think that growing up with a 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.680 father like that and having that much stress didn't make 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:18.920 you a compulsive saver. Did it affect your attitudes? I'm 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:22.679 not a thrifty guy. Um. I think that if you're 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:24.840 lucky enough to have some money, to use it to 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:28.839 enhance your own life and the lives of others. I'm 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:32.000 not that much for material possessions, but I'm big on experiences. 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:34.320 So if you can you can help someone have an 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:36.360 enjoyable time, or if you can do something with your 0:11:36.360 --> 0:11:39.120 family or people you care about that I'm not looking 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.040 to die with the highest possible that we're you know, 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.679 we're lucky enough to not have to worry about that, 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:47.040 which is quite a contrast to the way I grew up. 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:51.120 What it did affect was by attitudes toward gambling. UM 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.280 in the past when I've covered some boxing, which I 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.720 haven't done that much, but a lot of the boxing 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:57.760 when I was at HBO was either in Las Vegas 0:11:57.880 --> 0:11:59.839 or an Atlantic city. I could walk to it this 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.840 know a hundred times and never stopped. I'm just walking 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.719 right through and go into my room. UM. And I 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:10.440 never gambled as as an adult, UM, because I saw 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:14.240 what it did to my dad. But at the same time, UM, 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:18.200 it connected me to him. And when I was young, 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.480 really young, like nine, ten years old, he would give 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:23.200 me the keys of the car, not to drive it 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.080 around the block because I could barely see over the 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:28.040 steering wheel, but because you could get radio reception in 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:30.160 the car better than in the house. And at that 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.320 time there's no internet, there's no cable TV, there's no 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.600 way to follow his bets on non New York teams 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:39.240 except to hope that through the crackle and static, maybe 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:42.280 you could pick up far away radio broadcast. So when 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:44.160 I was ten years old, I knew where all the 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.000 games were and if the atmospheric conditions were just right, 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:49.920 and if I calibrated the dial like a safe cracker 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.960 and hit just the right spot. Maybe I could pick 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.120 up these out of town broadcasts. And those were my 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.000 first reporters jobs, because I'd go back in the house 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:00.520 and I would not only tell him what this score was, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.679 but i'd a bellowship. I'd say, well, clement A single 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:08.679 to right, and Stargell doubled. Clement A scored Star was 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:12.600 at second Skinner single, he scored to nothing, Pirates bottom 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:14.480 of the fourth, and he papped me on the head. 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.080 Of course, I'd only do that if I knew his 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.679 bet was on the Pirates. If he bet against the 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:22.280 Pirates and this was bad news, I'm going to tell 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:24.080 him that I couldn't get it, but I couldn't find 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:25.840 it because I didn't want to put up with what 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:27.880 his possible reaction would be to the fact that he 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:32.120 was losing a thousand dollars. Bob, you're talking about fighting, 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.480 and not that long ago, you and I actually went 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.880 to the funeral of Muhammad Ali, and I know he's 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:44.000 somebody you deeply admired. I'm just interested in and sort 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.400 of what that experience was like for you, because it 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:50.959 was a real treat for me to see this very 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:56.520 interesting conglomeration of people, including Don King, who really had 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.559 you figured for someone else? Altogether? Tell that story because 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:04.960 it was very funny. Don King comes walking in. He's 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.959 in his eighties now, he's a slightly diminished version of 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.360 Don King, but he's still unmistakably Don King, with the 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:14.720 outrageous hair and the the outfits that he's waving his 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:19.200 American flags and he's greeting everyone. Lennox lewis, former heavyweight 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.640 champion of the world, not la most of the Today's Show, 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:24.640 blah blah. And he gets to me and you're standing 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.600 right next to me, and he goes, Michael J. Fox, 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:35.560 he wanted his picture with you, and you said, very 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:39.760 very gently, don no, I said Mr King, Mr King, 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:45.200 Mr Kings pok Costice, and he, without missing a beat 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:49.280 in a millisecond, pivots and says Bob cost this greatest 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:55.520 commentator in the world. Don knows no shame. That was 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.200 quite an event. And I'm just curious now that some 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:03.120 time has pass, um, what do you remember most about 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.440 that day other than being with me and having much together. 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:11.480 Of course that's at the top of the list. Um. Well, 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:15.760 when when you've got a range of people that goes 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:20.480 from former heavyweight champions of the world, and Jim Brown, 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:25.240 who's a much respected figure, and Billy Crystal and President Clinton, 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:30.360 but also includes Chubby Checker, who you know. I've known 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:34.000 Chubby Checker for forty years. Uh, And remember being eight 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.600 or nine years old when the Twist was a big hit, 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.520 and I guess the Chubby and Mohammed were close. I mean, 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.000 the number of people that eventually came into Muhammad Ali's 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:47.960 orbit was was fast and the kind of arc of 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:52.240 his life. He wasn't any one thing. Was he this 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:57.280 angry and too many Americans frightening and polarizing figure and 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:01.680 to other Americans deeply inspiring and ages figured, Yes he was, 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:06.360 and was he ultimately a figure of reconciliation and unity 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:10.440 and brotherhood. Yes he was, which didn't negate what he 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.360 was earlier in his life. His life just had an 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:16.400 extraordinary art to it. And when you think of this 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:20.240 guy who was once not only arguably the greatest athlete 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:22.840 in the world, certainly the greatest boxer in the world, 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:26.960 but the most physically beautiful athlete, the most fascinating and 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:32.040 charismatic to watch, the most outspoken, humorous and entertaining, and 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:36.360 then he ends his life with virtually no mobility when 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:39.840 once he was the very definition of athletic grace, and 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:44.080 no ability to verbally express himself when once he was 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:48.200 the most valuable of of athletes. There was something very 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.560 poignant about that, and yet, with the help of his wife, Lonnie, 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:54.240 he still managed to be a public figure in a 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:58.160 way that had some dignity to it. The whole art 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:02.160 of his life is unline that of any other athlete. 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:05.520 I remember Bob doing a piece with Michael J. Fox 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.280 about Muhammad Ali, and that was very moving to see 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:11.720 them join forces. And I think he got a lot 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:14.720 of courage from Michael J. Fox, because I think there 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.439 was a period of time where he was embarrassed to 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:20.639 appear in public and he didn't want people to see. 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.840 You know that he had become diminished from this disease. 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:29.399 And I think all the things that he's done for 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:33.040 Parkinson's research and all the inspiration he's given people who 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.960 are dealing with the disease. My father died of Parkinson's 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.840 and so I became very interested in sort of the science. 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:43.600 I think he sort of died as he lived. I mean, 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.720 he was incredibly committed to this cause and I think 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:57.439 very very inspiring to so many people. We're going to 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:01.840 take a quick break and we'll be right back. Thanks 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:04.480 again to our sponsors. Let's get back to the interview. 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.840 Let's talk about the Olympics. Bob, You've been the primetime 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.639 host for every Olympics on MPC since n you were 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.239 the late night host of the Games. Do you ever 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:21.439 get sick of the Olympics? Be honest, no, um no, 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.600 I don't get sick of them. No matter who some 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:28.320 days succeeds me. That person, if they're a thinking person 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:30.679 I assume they will be, is not going to agree 0:18:30.720 --> 0:18:33.840 with every aspect of it. It's just too vast. There 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:35.960 are parts of it that are going to appeal to you, 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:38.720 arts of it where maybe if you were making the decision, 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.600 you might emphasize this rather than that. But in the 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.440 big picture, being the host is not only an honor, 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:49.000 it's an important responsibility because so many hundreds of thousands 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:52.080 of people work really hard to produce these pieces and 0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:54.520 to put everything in place. You owe it not just 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.640 to yourself and to the audience, but to all your colleagues. 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:00.520 Do the best possible job. But are there lines when 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:04.080 I say to myself, you know what this particular thing 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.840 isn't my cup of tea, or if I was running it, 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.200 I'd do it this way, of course. But of the time, 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:14.560 you know, I'm well aware that no one else has 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:17.040 a better position of broadcasting during those three weeks than 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:18.919 I do. And you do such a great job. And 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:23.280 I think that people probably have no idea of how 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:27.440 much preparation is involved in this, particularly when it comes 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.320 to you. I mean, you are just immersed in all 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:34.480 things Olympics. I mean, you know everything about every athlete, 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:38.080 every event. It's ridiculous. I mean, are you just reading 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:40.840 Olympic material from the time you wake up till the 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.320 time you go to bed and no offense? But that 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:47.480 sounds kind of boring your poor wife. Well, here's here's 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:51.200 what happens before over Olympics. You're doing preparation, at least 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:53.439 in a general way in the months leading up to it. 0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:57.240 For example, with Brazil, I'm aware on an ongoing basis 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.399 of all the issues and obstacles that they face and 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:05.520 the controversies. But about a month before the opening ceremony, 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:08.600 you go into a lockdown mode and you take all 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:12.359 of the research that uh, the outstanding research department has 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.400 prepared and you start pouring through it and you close 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:19.440 everything else off. But one thing that's really become important 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:22.080 for me over the years is I learned fairly early 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:25.719 on what you don't need to know. You don't have 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:29.639 to know everything about or even the name of every 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:34.800 hurdler from Bolivia or platform diver from Peru. That's what 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:37.439 the people at the venues are for. And if those 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:41.399 athletes become a story, the research department is so good, 0:20:41.680 --> 0:20:44.359 and now with everything digitized, you can get it so quickly. 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:47.040 But as long as you're someone who's able to take 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.280 a briefing quickly, and you know this from your days 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:52.520 on the Today Show or as the Network news anchor, 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.520 some stuff can be scripted and planned, and other stuff 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:57.920 just comes up and you have to take it, take 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:00.720 a quick look at it, and use your experience to 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:03.600 make some sense of it and get it out there quickly. 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:06.800 Over time, you develop those muscles and you're able to 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:08.520 do it. You have to be a quick study and 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:11.399 incredibly fast on your feet. You know. I want to 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:15.560 talk about Rio because having covered so many Olympics, and 0:21:16.119 --> 0:21:19.399 many of them have been fraught, I guess at the 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:23.520 onset and usually these cities rise to the occasion. But gosh, 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:26.520 I feel like Rio is under more pressure than any 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:31.040 other city that that I've watched through, you know, the 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:33.760 Olympics that I've been aware of or at least involved in. 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:39.160 Rio faces such an array of issues. The pollution, the 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:43.320 political term, well, the financial crisis, the zeke of virus, 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:48.879 the venues and the infrastructure, and also security. When you 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:52.280 say to yourself, look, if they don't have enough money 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:55.640 to pay the police and security forces when they've got 0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:59.000 to ask the federal government for nearly a billion dollars 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:03.080 in additional cord, can we be sure that everything will 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:05.399 be as fully buttoned up as it should be. And 0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:08.000 in addition to the kind of terrorism that people worry 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.760 about at any big international event, um, Rio has a 0:22:11.800 --> 0:22:15.800 problem with just general crime, street crime. You've got to 0:22:15.840 --> 0:22:19.200 be very careful if you visit what areas you venture 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:21.639 into and what you stay away from. Are you worried 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:25.080 about the athletes? Are are you concerned a about the 0:22:25.119 --> 0:22:28.600 security of the people covering the games? And are you 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:32.159 worried about the athletes as well? Given gosh, where we 0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:36.320 seem to be in such a volatile, uh scary time 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:39.480 all around the world, not just in the United States. 0:22:41.080 --> 0:22:44.720 What they have told the athletes is, if you stay 0:22:45.000 --> 0:22:50.080 in Olympic housing, then we'll have it secured. If you 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:53.000 choose to stay elsewhere, then you're on your own. You've 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:55.960 got to get your own security. And I don't want 0:22:55.960 --> 0:22:59.800 to be Debbie Downer here, but it's worth noting that 0:23:00.400 --> 0:23:03.600 the athletes in sports where the Olympics are not the pinnacle. 0:23:04.400 --> 0:23:07.800 You know, it's great to play on the Olympic basketball team, 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:10.480 but Steph Currier, Lebron James would rather win the NBA 0:23:10.560 --> 0:23:13.800 titled than win a gold medal, or Serena Will's rather 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:17.000 win Wimbledon than win an Olympic gold medal. So a 0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:21.320 great number of these basketball players, golfers, tennis players have 0:23:21.440 --> 0:23:25.000 already announced their intention to skip these Olympics, and most 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:28.000 of them have very rationally said, look, even if the 0:23:28.119 --> 0:23:31.040