Jim McKay, 1921-2008



Watching the tributes to Jim McKay today stirred up both wonderful and poignant memories. In a pre-ESPN world sports lovers survived on comparatively small doses of televised competition and athletic drama. Yet, we were fortunate that much of what did come to us was masterfully presented by Jim McKay. Indeed, the great gentleman taught us to care about sports and people that would have otherwise remained meaningless and obscure. Unfortunately, his most enduring and affecting contribution was not about sports at all. Instead, he had the unenviable task of introducing an entire generation to the evil and hate that is Islamic fanaticism when it struck at the 1972 Munich Olympics.