The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sports has a way of connecting to life
Funny, isn’t it, how sports make their way into just about everything we read and write. It just happens. How does one connect some of the greatest music ever written with sports? Again, it just happens.
I know nothing about classical music or past and present great composers, but listening to said music can be very relaxing and enjoyable. On a whim some years ago, I bought a series of classical CDs, which I promptly stored and mostly ignored. I rediscovered them the night before the election.
To sooth my jangled nerves as the day of decision approached, I popped in a CD entitled “Sounds of Finland” by Jean Sibelius.
Sibelius, who lived from 1865 to 1957, was, from what I read, pretty much the Babe Ruth of Finnish composers. His most famous and most impactful work, I’ll bet you already know, is “Finlandia.” All the discs came with a brief printed biography of the composer, and facts relative to his life and times. As in anyone’s lifespan, interesting and sometimes
earth-shaking things happen during its course.
One of the more intriguing incidents that occurred during Sibelius’ long life was the Helsinki Olympic Games of 1952. (See? Sports) Running fans have heard the name Emil Zatopec. Zatopec, a Czech athlete, won the gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races and, astonishingly, though he had never attempted a marathon before, entered and won that one, too. For years he was the only man ever to win all three in the same Olympic Games.
However, in Connecticut that year, and throughout the USA, it wasn’t Zatopec who got most of the attention
from the Helsinki games. It was one Lindy Remigino, the Hartford kid who won two golds, in the 100 meter race and the 4 X 100 relay. Lindy, who died in July, became a coaching fixture for decades in distance running and track both in Connecticut (Hartford) and nationally.
As for Sibelius, he didn’t run, but he surely composed. He was Finland’s most prominent composer. Finlandia, which was regarded as a ringing nationalistic anthem, marked him as a patriot for Finland in its struggle to distance itself from Tsarist Russia.
Sibelius was one of the longest-living (1865-1957) of the great composers, but he ended his composing career at age 60, deciding he had given all he had. At one point in his life, according
to his biography, he was forced to stop drinking and smoking because of declining health, but apparently he went right back to those bad habits when his robust health returned. That couldn’t have been good for him, but, since he lived to be 92, he apparently had it all figured out.
This is being written on Wednesday morning and sports are back in vogue. The election, for better or worse, is over. A number of former sports stars, having moved into politics, won their races and I suppose some lost. Three of the most prominent winners were ex-pro football players Anthony Gonzalez (Indianapolis Colts) and Colin Allred (Tennessee Titans) and baseball’s Frank White (Kansas City Royals).
Gonzalez and Allred won seats in the House of Representatives, from their home states, Tony G. from Ohio and Allred from Texas. Allred’s victory was a stunner because he unseated 11-term congressman Pete Sessions.
White is remembered as a five time all-star during his 18-year career as Royals second baseman. He won Tuesday’s Jackson County, Mo. race for County Executive.
All very interesting, but my discovery of the great composers, their music and their lives has made me know that I’ll be drawn to investigate others — not just Mozart and Beethoven but Bach, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and, well, the list is long. Meanwhile, sports remains my passion.