Post by TheShadow on Jul 4, 2007 12:39:12 GMT -5
www.ajc.com/
By Terence Moore
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Independence Day. So how about an oddity involving “July 4?”
No, not THAT one.
You probably learned in history class that, not only did founding fathers and U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die on July 4, but they perished in the same year.
The odds of that happening were as great as “July 4” also serving as the birthdays of Al Davis, the king of the Oakland Raiders, and George Steinbrenner, the king of the New York Yankees.
How appropriate. The 78-year-old Davis and the 77-year-old Steinbrenner are clones, and that’s a good thing. While Davis has spent 44 years with the Raiders, Steinbrenner has spent 34 years with the Yankees. They’ve both won multiple world championships as unconventional owners (six for Steinbrenner, three for Davis), and they’ve both been famously stubborn.
They’ve also both been suffering physically. Davis has befriended a walker, and Steinbrenner has vanished from the public after being as visible at Yankee Stadium as pinstripes.
Here’s the biggest contrast: While Davis’ Raiders have reeked for years after decades of dominance, the Yankees have flashed signs of becoming yesterday’s powerhouse only in recent months.
Whatever the case, Davis and Steinbrenner have remained what they’ll be forever: Bigger than life.
That, along with American icons birthed into red, white and blue.