1936 Legend

"The Stadium was alive! Everyone's feet were stomping. People were cheering. And everyone watched in anticipation. I was only 12 when dad got enough money to take me to watch the Berlin Olympics. It was the first time I left America and it was the first time we'd left New York since Mom died. I didn't see what the big fuss about these games were. I watched as Adolf Hitler gave the previous winner a gold medal and waved to the crowd. He gave me the creeps. Something about him just seemed fundamentally wrong. Like he wasnt real and just putting on a show for the world. As they announced they'd begin track events my dad got really excited. Before I could even ask why he pointed at the track. "There he is! Jessie Owens!" Quite frankly I should've known. I hadn't heard about anything other than Jessie Owens for the past year now.My dad absolutely idolized him and talked about hin as though he was some legendary hero come to single handedly take down the Nazi party. I knew he was a good runner and all but was he that great? I remember when I'd first asked my dad he'd said, "it's not how fast he runs. It's what he stands for." I didn't understand till we had come to Germany. The city felt like it was hiding something but nobody knew what. Everyone we met had smiles but also acted almost terrified when we started a question. All we knew was there were a lot of people almost preaching aryan supremacy. I didn't pay them much mind. My best friend back home was black and could run just as fast, jump higher, and was probably smarter than I was. Besides we'd been best friends longer than I could remember so I never understood why people thought he was different. But that right there is why Jessie Owen's was a legend in my father's eyes. He was about to prove to the world Hitler had no idea how wrong his philosophy was. Men may have been created equal, but when it came to running nobody equaled Jessie. My mind went back to the race as the runners got set. When the gun went off everyone was shocked. We all screamed and cheered like it would make them go faster but 10.3 seconds later the 100 meter race was already over. Jessie Owen's had outrun every white boy out there and had tied for the world record. The stadium cheer was deafening. Everyone waited to see how Hitler would react when he had to give Jessie an Olympic gold. And nobody would ever know. The "mighty" Hitler was pouting in his chair. Maybe he had meant it as an insult but I saw it as a victory. We had forced him to retreat and beaten him so badly the only power he had was to sit and hide. I waited with anticipation as the next race took place Jessie Owen's lined up for the 200 meter. The gun went off and my fear over whether or not he'd win this one to was gone 20.7 seconds later when Owen's broke another world record. To think that America had been planning on boycotting these games. To think that we had been so nervous about Hitler and his antics that we weren't going to compete. I loved seeing Jessie stand on the podium, tall and proud as though he were an ancient warrior, as Hitler once more cowered and hid from him. All of America was going to sit this out and Jessie had the confidence to stand, straight and tall with cheers and boos alike, before the world on total display and show them how wrong the Nazis were. That was all Owen's had signed up to run, so I sat back excited to see how the American 4×100 meter relay team would do and see if they could keep up Owens' streak. The stadium became deafening loud when we realized that Jessie Owen's and Ralph Metcalf had joined the relay. The race was an absolute joke. They never stood a chance as the American team finished in 39 seconds. The first time it had been finished in under 42 seconds and America had destroyed the competition. Once more the stadium rioted with cheers as the competitors took the podium. America had quite literally run the nazis and their philosophy into the ground. I could almost feel the thrill of what it must have been like for them on that field. As the world cheered and rallied behind what they stood for. I'll never forget the energy that hummed through the stadium that day. I had witnessed history and I couldn't be more proud to be an American. After Jessie won another gold in the long jump he had broken or tied 9 Olympic records and had set 3 world records. He had not only struck a blow to the propaganda he had single handedly destroyed and obliterated Hitlers lies. His return to America however wasn't as triumphant the triumphant return of a hero that it should have been. Most athletes received sponsorships and TV offers but Jessie wasn't white so he didn't get the offers. Even Roosevelt snubbed him. Winners of olympic gold got a presidential call yet Owen's never did. So that boy did what he did best and never stopped running. He joined exhibition races competed and received the prize money so he could survive. I raced him once. Lost badly but watching him speed ahead of me I could almost imagine the Nazis thoughts as they watched their philosophy crumble before them while they choked on the dust he kicked up and their dreams he crushed. I could imagine how much harder they ran to prove that a black man truly was beneath them. I laughed as I imagined their thoughts as they realized that a man with nothing more than an Adidas shoe sponsorship (the first black man to receive one and the only sponsorship he ever had) outran and outperformed them despite their motivation and training. After our race I ended up talking to him. I told him about how 3 years ago I'd watched him race. I saw how his eyes lit up but how he stayed humble about it as well. I told him he had inspired my love of running and my pride in America despite how broken it may seem I knew if more men stood as Jessie had we'd be just fine. He was a man among men and I've never respected anyone more. Sadly as I got older his legend began to slowly die and fade. People began confusing his story with that of other heroes and legends like Jim Thorpe. That's why I'm telling you this. You're my grandkid. If you're going to let history repeat itself then let it be a story like Owen's. Tell the story of a man that didn't boycott the race out of fear and proved the world wrong. Tell the story of a man who despite being constantly snubbed and insulted, never let it detract from what he accomplished. Tell the story of the runner who saw the nazi propaganda about him being little more than an animal and chose to run like a beast. Don't let the Legend of 1936 die.