Days of Grace
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 03:31PM Growing up, I used to idolize very few athletes and people. I wasn't your typical kid. I didn't know much about sports until I was about 10 years old, but prior to that and for a small time after that there was one athlete I was absolutely crazy for.
It was like there were magic sparks that shot off of Tyson's glove with every bone crushing punch that he threw. I would jump up and down in my parents living room with the television on watching recaps and highlights of his fights. I would shadow box in front of the television set wishing I could deliver punishing punches with my tiny 8 year old hands. Something about the Dynamite Kid made me feel bigger than life, like I could become a champ someday too. It gave me hope that one day my name would echo through stadiums around the country and I would walk out to the loud applause and cheers of the thousands of people in the audience.
I wished that one day I would get a chance to meet my hero, I wondered if there would ever be a real contender to face the impenetrable, unstoppable, lightning fast Tyson who's fighting was half-art half-science. The video game "Mike Tyson's Punchout" for NES furthered my almost unstoppable obsession with Tyson. You would go from fighting tuna cans like E. Honda to facing off against beasts who would beat you ferociously, only to finally make it to Iron Mike Tyson at the end. Though you finally got a chance to beat him and become Champion, you knew nothing like that would ever happen in real life. He was unstoppable and part of my childhood relied on the fact that he remained champion.
He was eventually beaten by Buster Douglas in an unexpected 9th round. Nothing gold can stay. I couldn't manage to stay up to find out the results, and we didn't have the capacity to watch the event on live television at the time. My dad came up to my room and woke me from my sleep to tell me, the Champion of the World was no longer. Some jackass I hadn't ever given a damn about took the belt, and I couldn't believe it. I was half-hoping it was a technicality that would be reversed but it wasn't. That part of my childhood was wounded and slowly dying.
Plenty of people can't find the magic in Tyson's life. There are people who I know that think he was just a blip on the radar of the sporting world. The story of a Black man who climbed out of the gutters, the most dangerous neighborhood in Brooklyn who eventually had parades thrown in his honor in places as far away as Moscow doesn't interest everyone. Those who grew up with privilege and were turned against him at a very young age because of his crass commentary on television or his alleged sexual assault which landed him behind bars turned some people off from him forever. There are some who even believe boxing is a brutal game for savages. They can't see the magic and beauty behind the art of timing and delivery. They can't see the pride these gentlemen fight for.
The new documentary released on April 24th about his life, called Tyson which was directed by James Toback is absolutely brilliant. It brings you from his youth in Brooklyn to his rise up the ranks, bringing a grown Tyson to almost cry while recalling the only person he trusted in his entire life, Constantine "Cus" D'amato who was actually responsible for him becoming Champ in the first place. It's an incredible story of rags to riches.
Outside of the controversies surrounding a sometimes volatile and angry Mike Tyson, there is a story of a boy who was raised in abject poverty with all of the cards of life stacked against him. After the death of Cus D'amato he had no one to trust or turn to and his life spiraled out of control. Regardless of your beliefs about the sport of boxing or the media hype surrounding the fall of Iron Mike, there is an unbelievable slice of America in his story. The documentary explores the idea of finding it in your heart to empathize and feel for the giant that once brought so much joy to your life, versus holding him solely responsible for blowing his big chance.
After seeing this documentary I was amazed. Toback brought back a flood of my childhood memories and elaborated on a lot of common misconceptions about the man, the myth, and the Legend. If you find it in a cinema near you, don't hesitate to watch it. It's worth whatever it costs to see a film these days in your neighborhood. Try not to shadowbox the entire way home.
Reader Comments (2)
Awesome post - Tyson was an indelible piece of my childhood as well, and after watching that trailer I can't wait to see the film.
Here's the link to an awesome Q&A with James Toback about the film if anyone is interested.
http://www.movieretriever.com/blog/318/interview-director-james-toback-talks-tyson