PUNCH-DRUNK FANS ALI'S FAME DEFIES REASON.Byline: Joseph Honig Local View MUHAMMAD Ali Muhammad Ali, pasha of Egypt Muhammad Ali, 1769?–1849, pasha of Egypt after 1805. He was a common soldier who rose to leadership by his military skill and political acumen. , a faltering 60-year-old man, is embraced round the world for courage, good deeds and an image millions burnish and remember. Forever. The former heavyweight champ, ill with Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. , has gone from ring assassin to cuddly cud·dle v. cud·dled, cud·dling, cud·dles v.tr. To fondle in the arms; hug tenderly. See Synonyms at caress. v.intr. To nestle; snuggle. n. icon in the five decades we have known him. He told us he was ``The Greatest,'' and we believed him. In truth, we were suckers for a big name with a big mouth. Nothing more, nothing less. For if we really needed a national hero, we picked the wrong guy. The real Muhammad Ali, lionized in the current cinema, recently toasted by our own civic leaders, is simply an entertainment commodity who never, not for a moment, believed the majority of his own words. Yes, he could battle. He fought like a combination of Astaire and Patton. He had what astute boxing fans call heart. That along with a talent for finishing stunned stun tr.v. stunned, stun·ning, stuns 1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow. 2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise. 3. or stumbling victims. And he could talk. He understood that drama and controversy sell tickets faster than quiet strength. But if lasting sports memories are little more than national diversions - and some of us maintain they are - why the great to-do about Ali? What did he bring to us that made us a better, smarter or more compassionate nation? Not a lot. Very little, in any honest accounting. Indeed, much of Ali's public life, his less-star-struck biographers assert, is pure invention. His principled stand against serving in Vietnam? A fiction because the then-Cassius Clay knew virtually nothing about the war when called. In fact, he was more distraught over losing paydays than the possible slaughter of innocents. His sportsmanlike conduct Sportsmanlike conduct (or rarely, sportspersonlike conduct, may refer to:
Dedication to his new identity and religion? The early Ali was not a member of any mainstream Islamic movement. He joined Elijah Muhammad's Chicago-based Nation of Islam Nation of Islam: see Black Muslims. Nation of Islam or Black Muslims African American religious movement that mingles elements of Islam and black nationalism. It was founded in 1931 by Wallace D. , believers in scripture proclaiming ``white devils'' were created by an evil sorcerer (tool) SORCERER - A simple tree parser generator by Terence Parr <parrt@s1.arc.umn.edu>. SORCERER is suitable for translation problems lying between those solved by code generator generators and by full source-to-source translator generators. . Ali's career was a jewel in a racist empire, and the boxer helped finance Elijah's - and then Louis Farrakhan's - ministries of hate. A post-boxing career of service and dignity? Yes, Ali has appeared on behalf of charities and the United Nations, but has mostly occupied himself with public appearances, endorsements, autograph sessions and marketing the brand that is Muhammad Ali. And still we revere Revere, city (1990 pop. 42,786), Suffolk co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston, on Massachusetts Bay; settled c.1630, set off from Chelsea and named for Paul Revere 1871, inc. as a city 1914. him and are moved by him. He lights Olympic torches, waves from parade cars and is seen at New York's eerie ground zero, as if The Champ possessed some special healing power. Ali endures - and thrives - because the people who manage his celebrity have our numbers. We are total saps for endless stories about his heroic struggle against Parkinson's - though many equally brave victims carry on with fractions of Ali's medical care and income. Mr. Mouth has now become Mr. Nice, and the news crews and feature writers have field days with a benevolent giant telling jokes or entertaining children with sleight-of-hand. So the worship continues. Fans invest Ali with courage they never had in their own lives, mistaking a veteran entertainer's public likability for virtue. Never do they think about their champion's place alongside men and women who stood for something besides getting attention. Is there a lesson in all this? Who can really say? Ali's brand of fame has eluded those who've led armies, invented vaccines and risked death - not simply beatings - in the name of civil rights. Muhammad Ali took his few and infrequent beatings in the ring. It was safer there for a man of his talents. Today, outside the arena, he needn't worry. There are millions of admirers to comfort him and call his name. Sometimes even the great Ali must be puzzled why they persist. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Muhammad Ali is seen at the taping of ``Muhammad Ali's 60th Birthday Celebration.'' Monty Brinton/CBS |
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