E-S-B-N's Tom Rinaldi now with us. I've had plenty of time, as many have had, to read and watch things, so I read The Red Bandana again. Tom, your book, it hits home in ACC circles because it tells the story of former Boston College lacrosse captain Wells Crowther and how he worked in the World Trade Center, and rather than saving his life, he sacrificed it in order to save the lives of many others who were in danger. And strangely enough, Tom, I thought a lot about 2001 because on a walk last week, somebody in Winston-Salem was talking to me about when things become normal again.
And instantly, I thought, well, what does normal look like? In 2001 and here in 2020, what is sports roll and things becoming normal again? Thanks for having me, Josh. I think that that's a terrific question, and I think it's all the things that this pause reminds us of in how much we're missing sport, why we love it. And we love it not only for the vicarious thrill, not only for the chronicling of excellence on display, but we love it because of the people involved in it. Perhaps there are proxy in a way as we see how they bear up under pressure, how they deal with the different seasons and situations in their lives that they have to get through.
And to do it in a public way, in a stark arena where there's a win and there's a loss. For it, if and I know this isn't a given by any stretch, but for anyone who's listening, if even at this time, if your basic needs are met, it can be it can be tough at times to see how the seasons of your life are unfolding. It's never difficult for an athlete, right? It's not difficult for our teams.
They see those seasons because there are standings and scores and wins and losses. And I think we missed that. I started thinking about the things I've missed the most about sports the last few weeks as I was at the ACC tournament in Greensboro when everything went down. Florida State, they were starting to warm up. They were yanked off of the floor.
And minutes later, the entire ACC tournament was canceled hours later, all of March Madness. And some of the things I came up with, it's just something as simple as an empty arena and seeing it fill up and seeing competitiveness, seeing even trash talk, showmanship, things of that nature are things that immediately resonated, immediately resonated with me. And they weren't things I thought about until they were taken away. You mentioned a handful of things that you miss about sports or things you appreciate about it. Which of those things you selected do you miss the most at this moment? I miss seeing greatness.
Period. There aren't that many venues in our lives where we watch the news, which is so important right now, and we are seeing the greatest parts of so many of our fellow Americans on display. The incredible bravery of all of our medical professionals and everything that they're enduring. Josh, all of the first responders, all of the caregivers, all of those things. But most times, Josh, right or wrong, those things are happening outside the public eye.
We don't have broadcasts which show and document and chronicle and display everything that those folks are doing. We do have that when it comes to competitive striving. We have that when it comes to our games and our sports. And so in that, we're able to see greatness displayed in, let's face it, in ways that so many of us once dreamed of being able to display. And that's one is certainly one of the things I miss.
And I also very, very much miss the people, as I'm sure we all do, the people that in some way we feel connected to or that we've gotten to know as we've seen her or him succeed or fail. It's Tom Rinaldi from ESPN, and you've done, this is something that strikes me, you've done so much writing for pieces that we've seen, and I emphasize seen, yet you've only written one book. The Red Bandana, it's the only book you've written, and I wonder what it was about the former BC lacrosse captain turned hero that separated that specific story you reported on from the many others you've covered. Listen, I've been so blessed, Josh, to cover so many stories and to have people place that incalculable and precious trust in essentially a stranger to say, here's some of the most precious territory in my life, my family's life, the lives of people that I love.
I want you to share this story with a country or with the world, and that's an awesome trust to try to honor. Well, in Michelle's case, but maybe the simplest answer is the way the book begins, Josh, and that's when we consider the 2,977 souls who perished in the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the fact that President Obama, when he spoke all those years later at the dedication of the 9-11 Memorial Museum, gives to mention one by name, one, and that was Wells Crowther. For so many of the things, not only that he represents as an individual, but I think, Josh, that maybe, not to be presumptuous, maybe why you find that you went back to the book or why the book, you know, we've been blessed to have some success with it and why it's found a home in schools and curriculum, things like, because of what it represents about not just Wells, but about us, about our country, about character and courage and selflessness, all things that, again, we're seeing displayed not only in America, but around the world as we face this moment's crisis.
Yes, it gives me hope about the way many in the medical industry and many across this country and across the world can and likely will act in order for us to get past the time that we can all agree is tumultuous. And amid these times, Tom, what kinds of stories are you most interested in telling as you continue to read and learn about what's happening in America today? Well, let me before I even go there, Josh, and I've found it fascinating who I've reached out to in some of the beats that I cover, some of the sports that I cover and who's reached out to me and whether that's been as much a byproduct of getting to the bottom of the contact list for some folks or why I've learned this.
I think, Josh, I don't know. I'd be curious as to how you've handled this. I've tried not always a success that when someone enters my mind, I try to reach out right then, even if it's just as simple as a text, even though a call is almost always better.
When I think of that person, I reach out because what you find is if you don't reach out, then the moment passes, the urgency to do so just doesn't come back. And I found myself reaching out to coaches and athletes and agents and so many of the different people that we cross paths with in the business that we've chosen and you've chosen to and whether that's been the chance to trade text with with some of these folks and to see in so many ways how similar in an absolutely fundamental way. The situation is of everybody trying to find their balance, to be productive, to be a good citizen and to serve their families as best they can. It's been fascinating. You know, the last week, it's reminded me of a time when I first got out of college, how I was going crazy not having a job. And for a month and a half, my goal was every single day to do at least one thing that put me one step closer to being employed in this broadcast industry. We don't have sports to report on and we have a lot of time to think, to read, to watch things. The way I've chosen to spend the last week is think about, okay, what's one thing I can do, one person I can call, one business I can buy a gift card for for a later date that might help them in the meantime. Yeah, what's one thing I can do to help further something?
And to your point, I'm so glad you mentioned personal relationships because it could be a handwritten letter, it could be a call, it could be a text, but just being intentional about it, not asking for something, but more so having an interest, I think can make all the difference. In terms of some of the stories, obviously, our crews, all production has ceased. And so, Josh, what we've done is we've had some things in the pipeline, fortunately, and now we've written those.
Those are being edited with a different kind of workflow remotely between producer, editor and reporter. So we're continuing to create content and we're also creating original content. Some of it essay based. We're going to have an essay here on SportsCenter shortly where we begin perhaps a small series in appreciation of some of the athletes who are absent right now.
The first the first essays about Mike Trout and and perhaps what we miss about seeing him and what would have been the first week of the season also just wrote something, just an appreciation of the outdoors and being outside, of course, in sensible and safe ways, socially distant, following all the protocols and guidelines that our government officials are giving us. But we've also done that and we've brought back a lot of the stories we hope people have had an opportunity to see in case they didn't see in the first time across all our platforms, whether it's been on dot com or ESPN Plus or SportsCenter or some of our other shows. And it's been terrific to see how people are rediscovering or in some cases watching and experiencing some of these stories, the uplifting ones for the first time. That's that's been a kind of blessing so that the subjects of those stories are receiving some attention all over again, which is nice.
It's ESPN's Tom Rinaldi with us. We've got a little bit of production we've been working on the last couple of days as well. We started a segment called Daily Positivity.
Robert, he's been digging up some like music that sounds like it's straight out of like meditation of some sorts. But it's essentially an opportunity for us to outline things we do or things we've seen every day that makes us optimistic, whether it's a guy in the drive through line who is just enthusiastic, like the one I ran into just hours ago. So I ask you, Tom Rinaldi, where do you find optimism today?
Well, that's easy. I mean, I find it in our kids all the time. They are incredibly optimistic.
They're going through their remote learning as so many children are now across the country where schools are shifting into a different mode. I find it in family. I find it in our colleagues. I find it in the people we cover. And, you know, not to be too hokey, but I think I find it in the spirit which is rising up to meet the challenge and the crisis.
And I don't think that that's manufactured. I think, like you said, whether it be in the simplest exchanges in pedestrian moments of your day, the chance to see those through a new and fresh lens, that has value. And I think that's happening for for a lot of people that see the music. It's soothing like your voice, Tom. And I may have told you, I don't think my family finds it too soothing. They're a little tired of it at this point. When are you going to get on a plane and go and cover something?
Let's go. And one of our past visits, I think I joke that you've made more grown men cry in the United States of America than anybody else out there. And I wonder, when's the last time Tom Rinaldi watched something the way we've watched many of your pieces and was moved to tears? One thing I don't do, I try not to, is to ever cry while an interview is happening or in front of the subject, because I think that can feel self-adulgent. But I have, and even just last month, did an interview, which is a feature that we're going to be airing here shortly.
It's a UFC feature. Now's not the time to get into all the details. It's a very heavy, it's a tragic story.
And I got in the car and I broke down because of everything the subject had shared. But I'm a very soft mark. I'm the guy that, you know, I don't do well with stories of sentiment and things like that. I'm the guy that never sees, Josh, what's going to happen next in the movie. So I'm great for the thriller because I never, ever, I'm always surprised. I'm always impressed with the plot twist and I'm easily moved by things that I see or that I read. All right.
Well, I got to follow that. I am ashamed to admit I watched the Adam Sandler movie, Click, and I got moved to tears. I am ashamed to admit that happened. Is there a movie you are hesitant to admit that you got emotional watching? Absolutely. Without any hesitation, there'd be no, like if you're asking, you know, this version of what's the most embarrassing song on my iPod or on my iPhone. I mean, where do you want to begin?
But I'll say there's no way I would ever be embarrassed at this. I know this. There are so many moves. I could give you a 50 movies right now that moved me each time I see them.
But I'll give you a quick handful. If you're not moved by Shawshank Redemption, even watching it for the 25th time, then I don't have much for you. I mean, I, you know, I just think that there's there's so much that's so true and so moving in that movie. In the sports movie category, Josh, I also think there's some just incredibly moving. If people have not seen Senna, the masterpiece documentary about the Formula One driver from Brazil, I couldn't suggest it strongly enough. I'm not an F1 fan.
I have only been to one F1 race ever. I found it masterful and deeply, deeply moving. If people haven't seen the Maradona by the same director, Asif Kaspadia, it's just a fan. He's a fantastic director and storyteller.
But I can go on and on on the sports side of things, you know. And I also, in a different way, Josh, I don't know if people had an opportunity. I thought that the not to sound like too much of a company, man, but I love the fact that we re-aired O.J.
in prime time. Because if people haven't gone back and watched O.J., it is an absolute masterpiece. It might be the best thing your company's ever done.
There's a chance of that. It very well might be for, what would you say, Josh, right, for the fullness of how the story is told? It's a story that needed to be all encompassing in order to understand specific aspects of what happened. You needed backstory.
You needed everybody to be cooperative. And it seemed short of O.J. Simpson himself, everybody they wanted to get for this project, they got. And it's a credit to Ezra Edelman. He got them to go to a place where they were willing to be honest.
And that's rare to find. And that's what I think made that special. Now I know in a very different vein, there are so many people so excited about the Jordan documentary and the final season where the NBA Entertainment was involved in documenting and bedded with the team as the Bulls went on that ride and how that'll be wrapped into the Jordan documentary. I can't wait to see that. Tom, you're the absolute best.
We could chat for hours. Get his book. I reread it this weekend.
It's just, if you enjoy any of the E60 or college game day features that Tom has done, or just his work in general, pick up the book, The Red Bandana. You will not regret doing so. Thank you so much for doing this.
Perhaps we could catch up somewhere down the line. Thanks very much, Josh. I appreciate it. And to everyone, please be safe.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-02-11 13:42:29 / 2023-02-11 13:49:28 / 7