I will share two stories that recently touched me. The one that may mean the most to you (if you are a Baltimore Ravens fan) is the story of the Fiesta 5K race to benefit research and awareness for Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). Former Ravens linebacker OJ Brigance has ALS and his body is being paralyzed by the effects of the crippling disease. OJ does not want pity. He embraces the affliction as his opportunity to bring awareness to it, and he vows to fight to see a cure.

He stood before us on the day of the run (more than 600 signed up for the race) and spoke confidently of his fight. Shortly after his inspirational address, two busses pulled up and the Baltimore Ravens filed out- cutting through the crowd in a line led by head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome. They were followed by all of the Ravens coaching staff and more than 40 Ravens players. Each of them wearing white “Brigance Brigade” t-shirts. What a sight to see Kyle Boller, Troy Smith, Haloti Ngata, Todd Heap, Kelly Gregg, Jarret Johnson, Daniel Wilcox, Gary Stills (and many others) bound proudly off the bus to make their way toward OJ in a surprise appearance of support. Then a number of them lined up along with the rest of us to run the race. Kudos to Derrick Martin and Corey Ivy for sprinting out with the early pack- determined to be the first Ravens to finish (Martin would be the first player to complete the 3.1 mile run). On a cool, foggy Saturday morning in May- witnessed by less than a thousand- the scene was one of the more powerful I’ve experienced first-hand in sports.

The other story that touched me is more personal, as it involves a man with whom I worked early in my broadcast career. Omar Williams died in his sleep on May 4, he was 83 years old. Omar was “The Dean” of sports casters in Dayton, Ohio and was on the air when WDTN-TV signed on for business in 1951. I worked with Omar Williams from 1989-1994, before I came here to Baltimore. He was past retirement age when I worked with him, and I sometimes wondered why Omar bothered with the hectic world of local TV when he could be comfortably retired and pursuing his favorite pastime- golf. He often shared his frustration with the TV tactic of covering interviews with video of the subject being discussed (what we call “b-roll” in the industry). “Why can’t we just let the man talk? Why cover his face with video? If we somehow got an interview with God himself, these producers would probably cover the interview with video!,” Omar would complain. The young ones might shrug off his complaints and think of Omar as a grumpy old man. But there was more to know. On Friday nights during high school football season, we would put together some incredibly ambitious highlight shows. Those half-hour extravaganzas were some of the most hectic and hellish productions I’ve ever been a part of in my career. I’d see the craziness start to get to “The Dean.” Omar would begin to get frustrated with the rapid influx of scores and highlights as we tried to gather it all together with the deadline for airtime fast approaching. Then, I’d see him stop, smile and laugh to himself- he was immersed in a world he loved. The passion was still there for him.

Omar and OJ- I am blessed to know you both.

Posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 8:07 pm.
Categories: Opinion.
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