Inside Studio 42 With Bob Costas
I’ve mentioned more than once before that I’m not a sports-guy, but I do appreciate good sports journalism (like HBO’s Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel) or good storytelling (like ESPN’s 30 For 30). Bob Costas is great at both. But what he really excels at is interviews. And when you combine that talent with his biggest passion—baseball—you get a magical show.
And this show is pure magic. When Costas can glue me to my TV set while talking to someone I had never even heard of about baseball games that happened well before I was even born, that’s pretty special. And he can; every episode.
Costas has a savant-like recall of stats and games from decades ago, but unlike most hosts, he never makes the show about himself. He’s just a tool that gets these great Hall of Fame players to talk about their pasts.
And of the handful he talked with, I learned there is a great dignity about them—especially with the older men. I think that’s still part of the appeal of baseball—the great men who played in the past. When asked about being stuck in a very racist time in America, most of the black former players just said they dealt with it—and thanked the black men who played before them for paving the way. I was also struck by the men who left very successful baseball careers to fight in World War II and then came back and continued playing. And, to a man, none said they regretted losing the best years of their playing lives to fight a war. The very idea of that regret is not a consideration to them.
Not many modern athletes have that kind of humility. Yes, there are probably more humble, dignified players in pro sports than it seems, but I think every athlete—in fact every person—would benefit from watching these men talk about their lives, struggles, and triumphs. We could all learn something from them.
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