Felger & Mazz Remember Muhammad Ali, A True Sports Revolutionary
BOSTON (CBS) -- The archetype of the brash, confident athlete who backed up his trash-talk with dominance in his sport exists because of Muhammad Ali. No one like Ali came before him, and since Ali there have only been except cheap imitators.
Felger & Mazz reflected on the life, career and legacy of Ali on Monday after the legendary boxer and celebrated civil rights figure passed away on Saturday at the age of 74. Ali's outspoken nature and strong personal convictions made him a deeply polarizing figure outside the ring, from his support for the civil rights movement to his opposition to the Vietnam War, but in boxing, it made him perhaps the most compelling athlete of the 20th century.
"Was Muhammad Ali the original trash-talker? Did trash-talking exist before Muhammad Ali?" asked Michael Felger, whose only personal memories of Ali came at the end of his boxing career. A better question would be, has anyone ever talked trash (and backed it up) like Ali did, before or since? In Felger & Mazz's view, in a sports world ridden with clichés and canned remarks from famous athletes, as a pure entertainer, Ali was truly one of a kind.
"The talent in the ring was something else," said Felger. "But just the pure talent outside the ring, in this forum - his quick wit, his intellect, his ability to spar, make fun of himself, recognize the moment, the showmanship ... name the greatest sports showman right now ... Ali puts him to shame."
"I just think [Ali] was a revolutionary," said Tony Massarotti. "When you talk about the 'brash athlete?' They're all trying to be him! He's the one that changed it! He's the first guy to really bring that along.
"To me, he was the origin of it all. ... I don't ever remember the public brashness that existed in athletes before this guy came along."
They also compared Ali's sociopolitical activism to athletes of today, whose battles simply do not compare to those that Ali faced during his career. It's impossible to equate Curt Schilling's complaints about tax brackets or Tim Thomas' refusal to visit the White House to Ali's battle against racial oppression and the Vietnam draft.
Listen to the full podcast below: