AWFUL announcing

Watching the Prefontaine Classic on NBC.

The announcer, whoever he is was talking about Jessie Owens and the Berlin Olympics.

He closes out the story with this line:

"I've done a couple NFL exhibition games in Berlin and you can almost feel the presence of Hitler and Jessie Owens."


WHAT???

 

Yep, Hitler was all about the NFL.

 

Does the "announcer" have a name?

 

Yeah, but I don't know which announcer said it. So... who knows.

 

It was Tom Hammond, and he was talking about having been in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. And I cringed greatly when he said it. As I recall, there was a small silence after that line as if everyone in the booth -- including Hammond -- was cringing, too. You had to know he was wishing he hadn't said that.

 

It's O-S-C-A-R.

 

Actually, I can see Hammond saying that, given the proper context. That was the arena where Owens won the 100 and where Hitler didn't shake his hand, the famed snub that is recalled every Olympiad. I've watched NFL exhibitions from that stadium on TV, and I thought the same thing. The moment and the place are forever linked.
And it's Jesse.

 

The story has been skewed a bit over the years. It wasn't that Hitler shook everyone else's hand and then snubbed Owens. He was told that he had to either shake everyone's hand or no one's, and he picked no one's. At least, that's what I'm remembering as the correct story. I'm certainly not trying to defend Hitler in the least, just wanted to correct a famous misconception. I don't even think Hitler was in the stadium when Owens won his gold medals.

 

But Jesse could feel his presence [/tomhammond/]