The Towel Boys: Real Sports Heroes
Meredith Steer
Issue date: 10/4/05 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Athletes have always been celebrated persons but today's media coverage has reached such insane heights that Terrell Owens doing sit ups in his drive way is a major story. This article is to give props to those that exhibit the qualities that make a truly great sports figure but who might not reside in daily installments of Sportscenter.
Yoshihiro Takayama
At 6'5" and well over 250 pounds Yoshihiro is one big Japanese dude. He is also incredibly fat and ugly. But whatever he lacks in looks, martial training, and basic athletic ability Yoahihiro more than makes up for in...well...being able to take a helluva beating. Often after fights Yoshihiro's face resembles well-kneaded cookie dough instead of anything human and his 0-4 record attests to the reason for his "facial reconfiguration." However, watching him grapple with his opponent like a seal playing twister is pretty darned entertaining which is more than can be said for many of the dull fests I have seen in Aerican boxing.
Rocky Balboa
The feel-good story of the plucky boxer and his never-quit attitude captured the hearts of millions, won a Best Picture Academy Award, and spawned 3 sequels (don't ever, ever mention Rocky V). I know what you are thinking, sure it was a great film series but Rocky is a fictional character! This may be true to most people in the world, but not for the denizens of Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love is so starved for a winning sports figure that the town has virtually elevated the Italian Stallion to real person status. A statue of Rocky remains a fixture at the Philadelphia sports complex, in the company of other immortalized local sports figures. When a Philadelphia fan attends a sporting event he/she cannot escape hearing such Rocky anthems as "Gonna Fly Now" or "Eye of the Tiger" blasting from the arena speakers. Often scenes from the movies are even shown on the jumbotron to get the crowd pumped. To top it all off, Rocky was the honored guest for the grand opening of the Eagles' new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. He made his appearance during pre-game celebrations to the thunderous approval of attending fans.
Yoshihiro Takayama
At 6'5" and well over 250 pounds Yoshihiro is one big Japanese dude. He is also incredibly fat and ugly. But whatever he lacks in looks, martial training, and basic athletic ability Yoahihiro more than makes up for in...well...being able to take a helluva beating. Often after fights Yoshihiro's face resembles well-kneaded cookie dough instead of anything human and his 0-4 record attests to the reason for his "facial reconfiguration." However, watching him grapple with his opponent like a seal playing twister is pretty darned entertaining which is more than can be said for many of the dull fests I have seen in Aerican boxing.
Rocky Balboa
The feel-good story of the plucky boxer and his never-quit attitude captured the hearts of millions, won a Best Picture Academy Award, and spawned 3 sequels (don't ever, ever mention Rocky V). I know what you are thinking, sure it was a great film series but Rocky is a fictional character! This may be true to most people in the world, but not for the denizens of Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love is so starved for a winning sports figure that the town has virtually elevated the Italian Stallion to real person status. A statue of Rocky remains a fixture at the Philadelphia sports complex, in the company of other immortalized local sports figures. When a Philadelphia fan attends a sporting event he/she cannot escape hearing such Rocky anthems as "Gonna Fly Now" or "Eye of the Tiger" blasting from the arena speakers. Often scenes from the movies are even shown on the jumbotron to get the crowd pumped. To top it all off, Rocky was the honored guest for the grand opening of the Eagles' new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. He made his appearance during pre-game celebrations to the thunderous approval of attending fans.