Greatness

I don't know about everyone, but there are times when I know I'm watching greatness.  I'm not sure it's something you can appreciate at a young age, instead you need some seasoning before you can really understand it.

One of my first OMG moments came when I saw Tony Hawk on a skateboard for the first time. A boring day and the TV was on ESPN.  A bunch of hacks were out doing tricks and the announcers kept mentioning that Tony Hawk was due up shortly.  I'd heard his name before, but didn't know anything else about him.  I watched a few of the guys doing their routine and then it was Tony's turn.  It took all of about 3 seconds to realize he was at a different level than anyone else.  After he finished, the crowd erupted and I realized I'd just witnessed greatness.

It's something that can take on almost any form, but it helps to have a national stage.  Whitney Houston singing One Moment In Time for the 1988 Olympics is another.  She just brought it.  I saw it again when Adele sang at the Grammy's earlier in the year.  There were various times when the cameras showed other singers in the audience...they were in awe.  When you leave your peers speechless, you've accomplished greatness.

Ronan Tynan singing God Bless America at the Yankees games a few years ago game me goose bumps. And in Chicago, the fans at the hockey games (and occasionally football games) actually cheer for Jim Cornelison when he does the national anthem.   Yeah, they cheer from the second he's announced, all through his singing.  He brings it.

Earlier today, I saw greatness again.  I was reading some Yahoo News articles and something caught my eye.  It was pretty routine until I saw the video.  As you can imagine, the mayor has been on TV quite a bit, talking to the folks devastated by Sandy.  When he's in front of the TV cameras, to his side is a nondescript lady.  However, as soon as the mayor starts to speak, this lady steals the show.

Granted, you can't hear her and she's not really doing anything extraordinary, it's just the way she does it.  I found myself not even listening to Bloomberg, just focusing on the lady and way she spices up the bland.  Apparently, she's caught the focus of quite a few people.  Several news stations are trying to interview her, but she's not talking and isn't returning phone calls or e-mails.  Have a look for yourself.  Focus on her facial expressions and body language.  She's a better 'speaker' than Bloomberg.