Friday, October 17, 2014
Ted Koppel And Al Michaels 25 Years Ago Today; All You Really Need To Know
You're going to hear a lot today about the '89 Earthquake--25 years ago today at 5: 04 PM--I don't know how much more you need to relive the obvious: It was long, it scared the shit out of pretty much everyone who felt it and it postponed the World Series and shut down the Bay Bridge for over a month.
I found this clip of Ted Koppel and Al Michaels having an extraordinarily calm conversation --much needed and valued in a sea of otherwise verbal mayhem from some other media types at the time. This is why Michaels is so good--able to go from mundane sports anchor to newsman on the spot from the scene of the crime. Kopel is Kopel.
I'm sure some of you have some interesting stories of that hot and sunny October day--earthquake weather.
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I'd bet money that several commenters here will denigrate Al Michaels because of his political views, rather than focus on his quality as a broadcaster.
ReplyDeleteStrange, that's the sort of thing the leftists are always saying that conservatives do. It would seem McCarthyism is alive, it's just changed colors...
Wait a minute 9:33, you are complaining about comments that HAVEN'T BEEN MADE and accusing your imaginary commenters of McCarthyism.
DeleteInteresting argument you are having with yourself.
Not sure what you were referring to so I 'looked up' Michaels political views.
DeleteHad no idea he was a regressive, wow.
Moving new "30 for 30" program (Titled "The Day The Series Stopped," from ESPN) on the '89 quake, World Series, and subsequent community response. Lots of interesting media shots, some of which I have never seen.
ReplyDeleteI was there covering that event and let me tell you, it was quite a night. I don't think any of us who felt the quake at the time it hit, knew how devastating it was to the Marina District of SF, the Cypress Structure of Highway 880 in Oakland, and the city of Santa Cruz. The city was changed forever by this event and it will never be forgotten by any of us who lived through it.
ReplyDeleteJack in the Box drive-through on Stevens Creek Blvd in Santa Clara. It's now a Jiffy Lube.
ReplyDeleteThe J in the B is still there, isn't it? There is a Jiffy Lube across the street from it, I think.
DeleteIt moved down the street.
DeleteI was at Candlestick....beer in hand, jotting down the line-ups on my scorebook. Where I was out in the lower deck LF seats (old General Admission section), you barely felt the quake. There was a loud rumble that felt like fans stamping their feet. I had a portable Sony watchman (remember those) and saw what was going on with the Bridge and the Cypress structure. No one knew for a good 45 minutes if the game would continue. Finally, SFPD used bullhorns (power was out) to tell the fans to go home. Quite the sight to see players and coaches, broadcasters in cars, in Candlestick parking lot traffic trying to drive out. I parked out on Bayshore Blvd., and remember being able to see the smoke from the Marina up in the sky. Also remember all the power out and seeing some guy driving 70 mph on Bayshore straight through all the intersections where the signals were out...despite all the 'feel good' stories about good samaritans, there were still nuts out there. Lastly, remember all the rush of excitement of the quake giving way to the worry about whether my house was damaged or about family and friends. Took awhile to get back home and get answers....fairly angst-ridden drive home.
ReplyDeleteHey Richie,
ReplyDeletePhyllis Diller, yes Phyllis Diller kicked but the night of the quake. As an aside, KGO-ABC with a kick ass engineering department had the back up generator up and running. Everyone else was off the air. So, Nightline was looking for a SF perspective and managed to line up Diller who was performing in Tucson. ( no one else was available ) Our Tucson crew set up her appearance, and dealt with Ted Koppel on the phone. Koppel/Diller live??? We all thought it was going to be a train wreck. Wrong! Ms. Diller was exceptional! She was so nervous she hugged all of us after the shot. I'll never forget her or that moment! We all shed tears that night.
Fascinating footage - especially for those of us who were very much "old enough to remember", and did not have power to see any of the coverage immediately following the event. I remember walking around my house, and the neighborhood, clutching my portable radio - disappointed that the game wouldn't be broadcast, and at the same time, terrified there would be aftershocks. My next-door neighbor's husband was at - or trying to leave - Candlestick. He arrived home about midnite.
ReplyDeleteI have no interesting stories to share about that day.
ReplyDeleteI lived in San Mateo, worked in the Financial District, and parked my car that day in a garage on Hawthorne (back when you could park all day for $5-$10 in a garage of any of those half-empty new SoMa office buildings). The most memorable and surprising aspect of that day was having to drive halfway across the city to get on 280 at San Jose Ave (280 skyway had already been closed, and I didn't want to head down 3rd toward 101 @ Candlestick given the likely traffic mess there). No electricity and no traffic lights, but everyone politely took turns at intersections. I hate to think how that situation would go down today.
ReplyDeleteSome may remember that Peter Jennings was the lead national ABC anchor and had gone home before the earthquake hit, so he listened to Al Michaels as he was driven back to the studio and announced over the air "Next time you are in New York, dinner is on me".
ReplyDeleteI was living on the top floor of a building at the corner of Pierce and Green in Cow Hollow with a view of the fires in the Marina and the bay. The entire Bay Area was without power except for the Alcatraz lighthouse and structures, as well as the lights on the Golden Gate Bridge (they must have emergency power). It was so bizarre to see the entire North Bay so dark, and therefore to be able to see so many stars in the night sky. With the traffic almost stopped by midnight, you could hear the seals barking down at the wharf as if they were right next door. The city was silent!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure at what time, but a police car was driving through our neighborhood warning us that the fire could jump Lombard and burn towards Cow Hollow and we should be prepared to evacuate. As you know, the Marina was saved with the fire boat that came and pumped water to the fires.
On Green Street we did not have electricity for about one week, no gas service for about 2 months, and I remember the water service was not restored for 48 hours.
If all that damage could be caused by a quake at that moderate size with an epicenter near Santa Cruz, what will happen if we get a larger one closer to the urban area? BTW- how many people remember how long the ATM's were down , and how the you had to go into a bank branch and write a check to get cash?
Yep ..I ran to stop my largest aquarium from possibly falling off its stand. And that is a big 240 gallon tank. Water sloshed out. I survived. Still have that thing with fish.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of back when..I just saw Ibanez on 2...the dude needs to lay off that eye lifts. He's another who confuses looking young and looking hyped up on a gallon of expresso as the same thing. As Kim Carnes might say "He's got Hunter Pence eyes"...
There's Mark McGwire and his wife with 'champagne tastes,' in the opening shot. That cracks me up. She wouldn't have even give the poor lug a look if he wasn't rich or famous. Those kind of women are really pathetic!
ReplyDelete