It was a lovely morning in March 1978 on the University of Alabama campus. That perfect hour of post-spring sunrise pop, when the azaleas awaken with the students, petals of color unfurling as the youngsters rolled out of their dorms and marched to class. Amid it all, Reggie Jackson, the New York Yankee who just five months earlier had hit three home runs in one World Series game, was in Tuscaloosa to participate in an exhibition against the Crimson Tide's baseball team on his way from spring training back to the Bronx. "The straw that stirs the drink" was at the height of his fame. He could no longer go anywhere in public without being mobbed. He starred in TV commercials. He was on magazine covers. He was about to launch his own candy bar.
As Reg-gie(!) took a tour of the Alabama campus, a pack of students stopped dead in their tracks. They pointed. They giggled. Had it been present day, they would have filled the memories of their smartphones with a hundred photos, but in this simpler time, they merely broke out into a spontaneous round of applause. Reggie Jackson raised his hand and tipped his cap. As he did, he realized that -- wait... oh, damn... they weren't looking at him. They couldn't have cared less that the freshly minted Mr. October was there in March. A sympathetic hand rested onto Jackson's pinstriped shoulder. "They aren't cheering for you," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told his star player. "That's for our tour guide."
As Bear Bryant smiled and waved back at the Alabama students, The Boss continued: "Just so you know, if we were in New York right now, this same thing would have happened."
Continued...
As Reg-gie(!) took a tour of the Alabama campus, a pack of students stopped dead in their tracks. They pointed. They giggled. Had it been present day, they would have filled the memories of their smartphones with a hundred photos, but in this simpler time, they merely broke out into a spontaneous round of applause. Reggie Jackson raised his hand and tipped his cap. As he did, he realized that -- wait... oh, damn... they weren't looking at him. They couldn't have cared less that the freshly minted Mr. October was there in March. A sympathetic hand rested onto Jackson's pinstriped shoulder. "They aren't cheering for you," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told his star player. "That's for our tour guide."
As Bear Bryant smiled and waved back at the Alabama students, The Boss continued: "Just so you know, if we were in New York right now, this same thing would have happened."
Continued...
