As today is both a celebration of past accomplishments and a time of nostalgia for a large group of people born in the 1980s, it is only fitting to look back at this era to see how much, or how little, the sports world has changed during the lives of our graduates.
For me, this topic came up because the final paper in my class, "Sports in American History," asked students to research the sporting world around the time of our births. While my own birth came roughly two years later than those of today's graduates, broad themes and trends from the decade can still be identified.
The 80s were not just an era of hair bands or MTV or federal tax cuts or anything else you could see on VH1's "I Love the 80s," but rather a significant time period in the history of sports, and an intriguing one when compared to the present.
Notre Dame had been out of the football polls since 1980 and was looking for a coach to bring them back into prominence. In 1986, it hired Lou Holtz, who would accomplish just that in 1988. Beginning last year, the Irish seem to have once again found a coach in Charlie Weis who will maintain the program's traditional winning percentage of .700 or better.
Another team with a history of winning, the New York Yankees, had fans that were upset with their owner, George Steinbrenner, not for his continuous asinine outbursts, but for fielding a team that (gasp!) went to the World Series only once in the decade.
In hockey, Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers were actually criticized for their offensively minded, high-scoring style as then-Bruins GM Harry Sinden (who remains with the Bruins today) called the Oilers' tactics a "farce." On the other hand, this current hockey season was the first with rule changes designed to increase scoring and bring the game closer to how it was in the 80s.
At the 1986 NBA All-Star game, miniature high-flyer Spud Webb rode crowd support to steal the Dunk Contest. In the 2006 version, another diminutive dunker, Nate Robinson, mimicked Webb (and jumped over him) to take the title.
Extensive sports coverage and media publicity trace their roots to the 1980s. For the 1986 Super Bowl, NBC used an unthinkable six hours to cover and hype the game. Now, the Super Bowl is an all-day event. The NBC executives in 1986 also officially admitted that the Super Bowl is about entertainment and not just football. Now, just as many people watch the telecast for the halftime show and the commercials as for the game itself.
The world of sports then, like now, was not without its share of scandals and controversial issues. In 1986, three men were tried and convicted of distributing steroids, and all received lenient punishment. Compare this to today, in which the writers of the accusatory book on Barry Bonds could get sentences equal to those who actually participated in the BALCO steroid scandal. In addition, Jose Canseco ushered in the Steroid Era when he entered the Majors as a highly touted prospect.
Other drugs were also prevalent, as the NBA careers of Knick Michael Ray Richardson and Bull Quintin Dailey were ruined by cocaine use, while the career of Boston draft pick Len Bias, who died of an overdose, never began. Today, Ricky Williams' legacy as a running back has been marred by failed drug tests.
Also in the 1980s, there were issues regarding the lack of black head coaches in the NFL, with Tony Dungy being considered as a strong candidate to fill this hole. While Dungy is one of the league's most successful coaches today, there remains talk about minority representation on the sidelines, as rules are in place requiring teams to interview applicants of other races.
So, as today's graduates wait to get their diplomas and wonder how they got to where they are, we, too, can look back to the 1980s to see how the sports world has evolved. In doing so, it is clear that while some things change, evolve and grow, history also has a tendency to repeat itself, for better or for worse.
Just imagine what it will be like in twenty more years. We may just see Notre Dame down on its luck once again and hockey fans lamenting the good ol' days of the scoreless tie.
Ben Swasey is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached via e-mail at benjamin.swasey@tufts.edu
