1968

The November 19, 2007 cover of Newsweek has a vintage Sixties look featuring some psychedelic images and news personalities from that year. On the cover is the headline: 1968 – The Year That Made Us Who We Are. As I saw the magazine on then table in the reception area I was struck with how true that was. It certainly was a defining year in my life. It was the year I graduated from college. It was the year I was going to go and change the world. Just like many young people of my era I was very idealistic and willing to question authority. The difference was that now it was OK to question, it was even encouraged. I remember going to see Bobby Kennedy in late May before a packed audience at the outdoor amphitheater at Fresno State. I went there convinced that I would never vote for him because he was poser riding his dead brothers coat tails. I came away convinced that he was the answer. He would solve the racial tensions and get us out of Vietnam. Two weeks later he was dead! The first candidate I had ever voted for was dead, a heavy dose of reality. Two days later I finished college not quite as idealist as I had been, really wondering what was in store.

From a sporting point of view 1968 was a time when sport changed. The Mexico City Olympics was the first track and field competition held on a synthetic surface. The podium protest of Tommy Smith and John Carlos was a rude awakening for some that sport and society were not separate. There was the scandal of athletes actually being paid to wear a certain brand of shoes. They even got bonuses for medals, all under the table of course.

Yea 1968 changed me as it changed many people. My idealism was tempered by a heavy dose of reality. Reflecting back I think that year did much to change the society we live in today, both good and bad.