The first “ski racers” I was aware of were Billy Kidd and the tragic Spider Sabich, who benefitted from ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” streaming into our family room every weekend. Initially, that meant racers, because those guys were beyond cool. Skiing offered the same treasure trove of spectacular athletes for a youngster growing up in northeast New Jersey in the 1960s and ’70s. I adored the incomparable Pele and Eusébio - the Black Panther! - in soccer, Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier (it’s complicated), and a slew of Olympic medalists, from decathlete Rafer Johnson to sprinters John Carlos and Tommy Smith. J” Erving, Dollar Bill Bradley and Willis Reed in basketball, and Eddie Giacomin, Jean Ratelle and Brad Park in hockey. Daryle “The Mad Bomber” Lamonica, Big Ben Davidson, Fred Biletnikoff and Gale Sayers in football, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Julius “Dr. Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Carl Yastrzemski in baseball. Like most kids, I had my share of sports heroes. The pride of Burke Mountain Academy, Mikaela Shiffrin is a three-time World Cup overall champion.
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