THE WILD WEIRD WORLD OF SPORTS

But seeing pictures from EK Days 2006, I felt like I might have missed the last chance to photograph Evel. He looked so old. (Oxygen tanks do not make people look younger, that’s for sure.)

There was an AP story about his poor health. This past spring, he had a stroke. Didn’t think he had much more left in him. But apparently, before dying, he wanted to return to Butte for the celebration in his honor.

And then to die.

He didn’t look like he’d make it through the weekend.

I could ramble about EK Days, how fun Butte was (and it WAS), great laughs w/ Melissa and Lane @ the M&M…

…but I think what struck me most about the weekend was realizing how little I really knew about Evel.

Lane bought a highlight DVD. His interviews were very condescending. He talked about avoiding drugs, but was a chain-smoker and drinker. He’s bragged to Lane back in St. Pete about bagging 1,000 women. Classy.

As a kid, I – like the rest of the country – was simply impressed by his acts of daring. He WAS the X-Games before there was an X-Games. An American Hero. Part of what made sports cool to me.

But like many heroes, he has his flaws. He’s not as cool as he’d like you to believe. Seeing him in person and in old interviews, he no longer has that superhero aura. He’s just an old man with some crazy stories to share.

After Butte, I’ve asked friends and random people what they think of Evel Knievel. They seem to have the same hazy, romatic ideas about him that I did before I met him. At least I was not alone.

Please read Lane’s story on EK in the St. Pete Times.

EAST DUBLIN, GEORGIA

The Redneck Games.

Where to start?

I think what was special for me was to see my friends having a blast photographing the shit out of this small town festival.

Photos were EVERYWHERE.

Started in 1996 by a local radio station looking to spoof the Atlanta Olympics, the Redneck Games has turned into a thriving gathering for muddy debauchery, Southern Style.

The “sports” themselves, for the most part, aren’t much to speak of: armpit serenading, toilet seat horseshoe toss, bobbing for pigs feet. Fun and quirky, but not very photogenic.

Then comes redneck mud pit diving. And you feel like you’re in heaven, photographing what looks closer to Dante’s Inferno.

Rob and Chip were brave souls – and it paid off in killer photos.

What I think is exciting about photographing with friends is that we all shoot and see things differently. Tamika shot Polaroids. Bob shot with a ring light. Haller shot video, stills and collected audio.

It was fun and inspiring to see what everyone came back with. Simply killer work. I’m curious to see what SI’s Bill Frakes left with. (I’m secretly hoping to be in the background of Leading Off…)

When I see my friends laughing and having fun while working, it reminds me of the Golden Rule: Make your own assignments. Photograph what you love to shoot. Even if that means a cross-country red-eye flight and 13 hours round trip by car.

One reason why there were so many great images this weekend was because we were all having so much fun. Very liberating, especially for newspaper shooters caught in the daily grind.

Poor Chip returned to Sarasota on Monday to shoot 3 business portraits and a cookbook in the studio. Oy.

But he sure had a blast on Saturday, as we all did. And we have the photos to prove it.