Ep 179: From VHS to Streaming: Olympic Stories Over the Years

Raphael Harry [00:00:00]:
Hi, everybody. Welcome to a special episode of well, an extra special episode of White Label American. I like to refer to this episode as the Olympics Paris 2024 part unes or part 1. I think part is French for 1. I haven't spoken French in a long, long time. I've been speaking more German, so forgive my French literally. Anyway, with the Olympics coming very soon, by the time you hear this, it might be 1 week away from the Olympics. Who knows? Anyway, the Olympics isn't here.

Raphael Harry [00:00:39]:
And in the spirit of the Olympics, I have decided to, yeah, start getting tune with the Olympics. So here's the first episode that I shall be doing about the Olympics, and it's just me this time, you know, give you something not too long, but just, you know, let's get in the mood for the Olympics. So I've been watching a show called Sprint on Netflix, and it's rekindled my Olympic spirit from way back in the day. Well, let me take you way back way back. But before I do that, just in case you haven't met me before, I am your host, Rafael Harry, the one and only host of this podcast. Still looking for, someone to take over part-time. You know? When I would need to have a break. So if you're interested, let me know.

Raphael Harry [00:01:32]:
You have to give me a fingerprint doing your Social Security. I'm kidding. Anyway, back to the Olympic story. So I think when I was 6, between the ages of 6 and 8, my older brother, who has a big age gap between us, used to record Olympics, events on video on VHS. Right? And, yep. Yeah. I'm, pre Internet. So for those who are not aware, yeah, pre you know, I existed before the, you know, Iowa was born in the country that didn't have Internet and all that good stuff.

Raphael Harry [00:02:15]:
So one day, I found one of the VHS tapes, and I put it on. And I saw a bunch of people marching with what happened to be the opening ceremony for, the Olympics and 82 Olympics, which was in Los Angeles. But I didn't really, you know, get too turned on by it. But it was it was just fun, same countries, and I was by then, I was beginning to fall in love with countries and, you know, names of countries. And back then, everybody seemed to wear the same exact same uniform, unlike now where people are now, beginning to be more expressive and represent, their countries and their cultures and traditions and all the good things about where people are from. Back then, it just everybody was wearing a white suit in my little kid's opinion, but it was fun to watch. I don't know why I'd be watching that for hours when I was, outdoors playing with my crew. And sometimes my crew watches with me.

Raphael Harry [00:03:25]:
I will just be making up stuff and, I guess, we're pronouncing countries' names upside down. And that's how I got to know a whole bunch of countries that I've met people from in my adult life now. So, my favorite was Barcelona 92, which was the very first Olympics that I would, watch live events on TV or that or that I remember watching live events on TV, and, boxing and sprints were very big events for us back then in Nigeria. And it's still something that I miss to this day when I compare how the Olympics are shown here, which is every one country-ish. So, yes, we're in United States, so it's very very pro American. I get it. But then it was you you got everybody's story in a way it was shown, back in Nigeria. And although, yes, we wanted Nigerians to win, obviously, and this is celebrated in Nigeria a lot.

Raphael Harry [00:04:38]:
It was beautiful still getting stories about other athletes from other places, and it was made a big deal of and, yeah, the production wasn't that great. I mean, picture quality wasn't that great, but this was back then in days. So that aside, the sprint was, the big theme, and I don't even know if I realized how big it was in the sprints, but, we were crazy about 100 meters. I remember conversations we used to have as kids about Carl Lewis, and then Ben Johnson blew him out in that race in, 88. As kids, we didn't understand what doping was, so we used to argue that it was fake, that, the white man the white I guess that's one of our first the white man tried to set Ben Johnson up, and then, you know, somebody was, oh, because he wasn't American. Americans could make him, lose the race. They told him to give the medal back so that Carlos would win. You know? What what did you know? But who the hell found that out in our crew? I don't even know how old that person is, because we're all kids.

Raphael Harry [00:05:51]:
And for the fact that some other kid came up with that story that the white man did not want, Karl Lewis to have a silver medal. They wanted him to have a gold medal, which now I think of it, how does it make sense? You know? So, yeah. You know? I guess that was my introduction to the white man deciding who gets a medal, and who doesn't get a medal. So stories like Jesse Owens weren't even you know, it was in my adult years that we even get to appreciate how monumental something like that was. But the 100-meter sprint was always a big thing, 200-meter, 400-meter, the huddles. Those were there was always a dream that we could one day produce somebody that could win, and that's why I went Frankie, Frank Frankie Fredricks of Namibia became the fastest African. Well, we used to hate that guy. We used to hit him because it was like, man, Nigerians were the fastest.

Raphael Harry [00:06:55]:
All African games, we came out 1st, 2nd, 3rd. We dominated. Ghanaians were, like, the closest to competing against Nigerians, and then a guy from Namibia comes out and he's competing against the fastest in the world, not even Nigerians can't even come close to him. So I was like, man, I hate this guy. So it was, you know, it was from a place of envy, you know, but, you know, just throw the word hate back then, but it was out of respect. So it wasn't like we hated him literally, but stuff like that is a great memory that the Olympics brings for me. And, yeah, over time, I would not follow it as much as I used to. And, well, of course, when the soccer craze will eventually take over, I'll become the soccer craze like every other Nigerian that you know or West African.

Raphael Harry [00:07:56]:
The athletic side of it would not die completely, but it still retains one of the happiest memories that I have. So watching Sprint on Netflix is highly recommended. It's, I think it's 6 6 episode miniseries following some of the fastest current people in the world, and you have commentary from Usain Bolt, Otto Baldwin, Michael Johnson, and some of the other greats who've held world records and some of the fastest people I've seen in my life, you know, to have done it, and they are describing the current guys in a 100 meters, 200 meters lane right now. And, it just brought back all these memories that I may have forgotten. And there was the 4 by 100 men's final in Barcelona 92. And I remember that race because of the up to, the current the, the coach of, Sha'Carri Richardson, his name is, damn. I forgot his first name. Mitchell.

Raphael Harry [00:09:15]:
Actually, I've written that down. He ran the 3rd lap. So he was talking about that because that's the only gold medal he has from the Olympics, And he was talking about how important our race was to him, how he was so happy that he got a gold medal at the Olympics from that race because he won bro bronze in the 100 meters, final. And that's why I remember that race was that I was watching that race live, and Nigeria was leading up to the last lap of the 4 by 100. And when Mitchell handed over to Carl Lewis and Carl Lewis took off, I was like, goddamn. That was it was over, man. It was lower because Karl Louis just blew everybody away and set a world record. And I was like, man, oh, we were we were causing the poor Nigerian dude who ran the last lap.

Raphael Harry [00:10:08]:
I can't remember his name right now. I think it was Izzy. And we were what? The dude ran. He ran. I think he set an African record, but the gap that Carlos gave was it's like the way we're seeing both. You should just leave everybody in the dust, leave everybody way behind him. That's what it looked like. And well, I was so pissed because I was I could I thought I was seeing a gold medal coming.

Raphael Harry [00:10:32]:
I was like, oh, 4 by 100 gold. Finally. Yes. We're going to beat the USA today. Go beat the USA. And then, oops. It's just it's like happening in real time. And watching this documentary on Netflix and coach Mitchell.

Raphael Harry [00:10:48]:
Now he's not a coach and trying to get athletes to get wing gold, and I think Sha'Carri is looking she's looking really good. She really looks like she can take on the Jamaicans. She already did that at the world championship, but 200 is where she struggles. However, when he was talking about that, I was like, man, why you gotta bring up that memory? And then they showed the video. I'm like, oh, man. I wrote it. They took me back to my childhood when I was alone screaming at the TV as if they could hear me in Barcelona. So, it's beautiful, and, I'll try and get people who, love the Olympics, you know, to share memories of the Olympics.

Raphael Harry [00:11:27]:
And, there are also other memories from other sports like boxing. Boxing used to be huge. Boxing used to be a gateway out of poverty in Nigeria a long time ago. I don't know what it's like now. That's another spot that suffered from soccer being huge. Our first medal ever at the Olympics came from boxing, but, fortunately, no funding. So, you know, I think now everything goes to this either soccer. I think mixed martial arts is the hottest thing now, so that's another spot that's really suffering big time.

Raphael Harry [00:12:07]:
But we we just watching that, seeing what Jamaica is doing with the sprints, now I wish, you know, anyone listening in Nigeria or from Nigeria, I wish you guys will remember how when the Nigerian, qualifiers happened and the Nigerian championships happened. Mobile Track is known as Mobile Track and Field Championships because Mobile, the oil company, has always been a longtime sponsor. And in Nigeria, around 10 0 0 to win it. It wasn't impressive. And this was way before I left Nigeria. Like, man, what is that? 100? Man, get out of here. That's not impressive. And last time I checked, somebody was winning that with 10 point something, and I'm and I was seeing seeing the celebration, and I was like, wow.

Raphael Harry [00:13:05]:
I guess I guess times have changed. So, yeah, it's it's sad for me to see that. It hurts, but, hey, I guess well, now I'm Team USA, so all the best to other people. But, I'm happy to see Ivorians. They now have the fastest the current fastest African is Ivorian. But as a guy from well, he's correct. Stand corrected. I stand corrected on that.

Raphael Harry [00:13:27]:
There's a Kenyan who, Omooyang Omooyangla, whose name sounds as if there's a place in Nigeria where if you say that name there's a certain way you pronounce that name, he just sounds like a Yoruba name from the west. So, it's interesting, but he's not tall. He's, a short-start guy, and he is technically the fastest African right now based on, consistency. So if you had said a Kenyan would be dominating in sprints, back then when I was very active in the sprint circles, we'd be laughing at you. We'll just be laughing at you, like, 400 meters was as fast as Kenyans could go. That was it. But, you know, times have changed. I still remember when the white South African was beating Nigerians in sprints, and that's when I knew, Nigeria's, yeah, we've lost the ability to take the sport seriously.

Raphael Harry [00:14:24]:
We've not invested in the spot, and it's just sad to see it because, after we lost Oguna Oguniye, he was the one who was, like, the guy who competed with who who who looked like he could compete with Usain Bolt at one point in time, and then he quit to go join the British Navy because he said he has a family, and he's not being taken care of by Nigeria. So their memories like that, that's sad. That's, but I would rather celebrate right now, and, we look forward to the episode, the roundtable we'll have on the Olympics, and, hopefully, I'll get people from other countries to come, and, also people from here who are interested in chatting about the Olympics. And, yeah, we'll chat about, you know, the good and, what made you cry, what made you celebrate, what made you laugh. And yeah. So this is part 1. And if you enjoyed it, you wanna share a memory with me. Hey.

Raphael Harry [00:15:25]:
You know how to reach me. Send an email leave a comment on the website or leave a voice note. Alright? Thank you for the privilege of your company. See you at the Olympics. And, I don't know about the streaming side of it, the pooping in the water thing. Yeah. We'll we'll talk about that. I still haven't made up my mind.

Raphael Harry [00:15:45]:
Yeah. I'm I don't know about yeah. That's, just use the swimming pool, please. I don't know about swimming in the river. Oh, I can't even touch Gowanus, no. The Hudson water here. I don't know about it. What do you call that? River Seine? River Siene? Ugh.

Raphael Harry [00:16:00]:
I just you know what? Let's end the episode. Alright. Thanks for the privilege of your company.