Hats off to the Glasses Guy

2008-09-10T07:14:54-04:00

2008-08-21T23:51:12-04:00

2008-09-10T06:40:13-04:00

By Mark Mravic So I'm just catching up on the men's 110-meter hurdles. (I know it happened, like, Thursday morning. Hang on, what day is it? And where's that rain I was just seeing in the women's 20K walk? Freaking out here, folks. Thanks again, NBC! ) Anyway, I love that Cuba's <a href="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080821/capt.cd1c551cd5714f9ca50a03017662b7b2.beijing_olympics_athletics_mens_110m_hurdles_olyat429.jpg?x=272&y=345&q=85&sig=zbM6_Jyn9zw6plI51iUijA--" title="robles 1">Dayron </a><a href="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080821/2008_08_21t105700_450x298_us_olympics.jpg?x=400&y=265&q=85&sig=gYcpUYBSOMK4lHwTm29VgQ--" title="robles 2">Robles </a>races for the gold and wins, all in his wire-rims. No fancy wraparound Nike shades for <a href="http://www.asianweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/urkel.jpg" title="urkel" target="_blank">Comrade Erkel</a>! Leave it to a nerd to realize you don't need sunglasses at night, whatever <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9p0Ac5bLlI" title="sunglasses">Corey Hart</a> might say. I think Robles just made a lot of four-eyed fans in the Science Club!Robles' commitment to quality eyewear brought back a nice memory: Watching the men's 800-meter final with my family and rooting for another Olympian who didn't care what kind of fashion statement he made, an American whom we dubbed <a href="http://www.sporting-heroes.net/files_athletics/Wottle_Dave_1972_EL_L.jpg" title="hat guy" target="_blank">"Hat Guy"</a> after watching the racers being introduced. It was, of course, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Wottle" title="wottle">Dave Wottle</a>, whose homestretch kick for the gold matches anything the Olympics has produced before or since for sheer thrills, and here I'm including Jason Lezak's finish in the 4x100 freestyle in Beijing, and even Michael Phelps' goldfinger touch in the 100m butterfly. I remember leaping from the couch with my brother and sister, all of us screaming, "Hat Guy won! Hat Guy won!"  Check out the great <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k" title="wottle">video of Wottle's remarkable race</a>, with Jim McKay at the mike, and the nice piece SI's <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1111910/index.htm" title="wottle WATN">Brian Cazeneuve </a>did on Wottle for the magazine's Where Are They Now issue last year.<h3 class="blog-name"><a href="/blogs/show/466639">Beijing blog</a></h3>  2479

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