READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Viva Knievel
Published: 11/30/2007 6:30 PM
Last Modified: 11/30/2007 6:30 PM

It's a dark day in history. Evel Knievel died.
The stunt cyclist who wrapped himself in bicentennial colors was my first sports hero.
If you don't believe attempting to jump cycles over cars, buses (and even a canyon) qualifies as sports, then you should know that three of the top eight most-watched episodes of "Wide World of Sports" featured Knievel appearances. The top-rated episode of all time co-starred Knievel and the Harlem Globetrotters (who, incidentally, are coming soon to a Mabee Center near you).
A few years ago, Knievel made a guest appearance at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami. I volunteered to write a feature story on him in advance of his trip. Thankfully, no one else on our staff (as far as I know) wanted the assignment. But I would have fought starving coyotes for the right to do the interview, just like I would have if the "Six Million Dollar Man" had come to Oklahoma. Is that the only TV series you can't buy on DVD nowadays?
I went through a publicist to arrange a call from Knievel and he happened to call me when I was driving on a turnpike after dark (not an ideal note-taking situation). I asked if I could call back at a more convenient time. Often times with celebrity-types, that's the conclusion of the interview opportunity.
I called Knievel a few days later and we talked for probably an hour and some of his answers were salty enough -- and politically incorrect enough -- that I can't swear all the best quotes made it into the newspaper.
Knievel, because of frequent crashes and hard living, may have put more self-inflicted wear and tear on a body than anyone else in the history of mankind. When we talked, I knew he was living on borrowed time. He underwent a liver transplant in 1999 and he was suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that results in scarring of the lungs. He frequently needed oxygen, but would never use it at public appearances because he didn't want anyone getting the idea that he wasn't invincible.
Because of space limitations, and because not everything someone says is interesting or topical, you seldom use everything from an interview when writing a story. I wrote a long story, by newspaper standards, on Knievel and I stashed some of the question-and-answer session to use when -- and I don't mean to be morbid -- the day arrived that Knievel could no longer cheat death.
That day arrived, dang it (punched the dashboard of my car when I first heard the bad news on the radio), and it is with respect that I resurrect some unused dialogue from our interview. He recited me a list of things that make a man or woman successful in life. Count on some not liking his list, but here it is, straight and unfiltered:
1, "You must have faith in God. An atheist, in my opinion, doesn't have a chance and they certainly can't amount to anything here on earth. They might amount to something. They might take up some space or something, but I believe you must have faith in God, your maker. On the other hand, I do not believe in organized religion. I don't believe in giving money to Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts or anybody. I don't think you can buy your way into heaven and you cannot buy your way out of hell. I believe God is the No. 1 thing in life that makes a man successful, and living by the Ten Commandments."
2, "You have to have your health."
3, "You have to have somebody to love that loves you. I'm talking about real things in life that make you a success."
4, "You've got to have a job, something to do that you like to do where you can get up and go to work and nobody has to shove you out of bed and make you go."
5, "Do the right thing by your fellow man because it is right."
6, "Follow your dream. Don't ever give up. You can fall many times trying to reach your dream, but you will never be a failure if you get up and keep trying to follow that dream. Money doesn't even enter into it. You can give Donald Trump a kick in the (butt). You don't need him. If you have all those other things I talked about, wealth will come from that in all different ways."
Knievel told me he felt lucky because he had time to get his house in order before he died. He said he set things aside for his children and made burial arrangements not only for himself, but for family members.
"I bought seven graves in Butte, Montana," he said. "I will have my family buried next to me and my grandparents who raised me. My grandmother and grandfather are the only ones there now. My parents were divorced when they were very young. Dad and mom both had another family. Both wives (including an ex) want to be cremated and I don't know what's going to happen to the kids. I'm holding all those graves. I may be buried there and be there alone. Then it will lonely at the bottom. It won't be lonely at the top. It will be lonely at the bottom."
Bottom? No way. Knievel will stay at the top of my list. I'm sure there are plenty of others from the bell bottom pants era who feel the same way.
Viva Knievel.



Reader Comments 3 Total
bev n (5 years ago)
Yeah, Viva Knievel.
Good interview.
Tulsa Kid (5 years ago)
Good article. I saw him here in Tulsa back in the seventies jump a line of semi's. He was a colorful character and an American hero.
LP (5 years ago)
Nice article Jimmie. If I think about it he was my first hero as well. He was the man and we all thought he was invincible. He had to be the way he was to do what he did. No guts, no glory.
3 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Games People Play

Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

Follow Jimmie Tramel on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
Jimmie Tramel's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.