So I wanted to attend the Muhammad Ali Memorial Service inside the Yum Center in Downtown Louisville today. However, the ticket line was so long that they ran out of tickets. So I parked myself in front of the TV in order to spend the day taking the entire event from the comfort of my Lay-Z-Boy.
Then my phone rang.
Another local celebrity, Darrell Griffith from the Utah Jazz calls and tells me that he had an extra ticket and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I was ******** and elbows trying to get a suit ready and get out the door.
Holy Cow! What a memorial service THIS turned out to be! First, the funeral procession left the funeral home, headed to the graveyard. But they didn't go straight to the graveyard, they took a detour and decided to cruise the hood and allow EVERYONE to say goodbye to the champ. Muhammad Ali was the "people's champion." He wanted every ordinary person in the city of Louisville (and the world), to partake in the celebration of his life. He didn't want just the rich and famous to remember him because he was a man of the people. So he decreed that the people would see him off.
The motorcade first stopped on the freeway in front of the Muhammad Ali Museum, and paid their respects with Ali looking over them. If you look closely, you can see the 4 faces of Ali.
After exiting the freeway, the procession immediately hit the hood. In most major cities, the hood is always close to downtown. That's definitely the case in Louisville. The significance of exiting the freeway here is not only for Ali to be close to his people, the street that the procession exited the freeway for is Muhammad Ali Blvd. The hood was out in force to greet their champion. :thumbsup:
A tradition with black motorcades is the touching of the Hurst. You will see a lot of people doing that in the following pictures.
The Ali family was so touched by the outpouring that they rolled their windows down and greeted the people. Will Smith was in one of the limousines and whipped the crowds into a frenzy.
The procession went to Ali's boyhood home and my DVR quit recording before it got there, which totally bummed me out. I would have caught it if I was at home but I was on my way to the ceremony.
Now here's where things got interesting. My buddy the retired Utah Jazz Basketball player had seats on the floor with the celebrities. My seat was in the lower bowl of the arena, really good seats. But I wanted to sit on the floor where he was sitting. So I tried to be slick and hope that someone wouldn't show up. I grab a seat and no less than 5 minutes after sitting there, I get called out by the seat owner. She was like, "Hey, you're in MY seat." I look up and it's Whoopi Goldberg. That's Diane Sawyer she's talking to.
So I move to another seat and I didn't get a chance to warm it up because it and the one beside it belonged to Ann Curry and her husband Brian Ross.
So I move again and while doing so, I start to realize just where I'm trying to sit. I look around and start snapping pictures. Luckily, I bought my super high blast flash because the place was dark and you really needed a serious flash the see what you were shooting.
So I try one more time to grab a seat and people start sitting down all around me. None of them ask for my seat but when I look at who sits down around me, I realize that I am WAY out of my league. I had Jesse Jackson beside me and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in front of me!
Lady luck was on my side because I ended up about 4 rows behind the Ali family. There was Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Lenard, George Foreman and a **** load of other celebs. There was also a **** load of directors there too but the only ones I recognized where Terintino and Lucas. But the seats I had were spectacular and made this experience more memorable than any I have ever attended. It was electric! The speakers were from every religion you could think of and the service was the fastest 3-hours that I have ever spent anywhere. It was phenomenal. Here are some speakers that you may or may not recognize.
This first gentleman is the pastor of the biggest black church in Kentucky. His name is Rev. Kevin Cosby. This was the church that Hilary attended when she did her fake visit here. This man is POWERFUL. His speech was as moving as any I have ever heard. I may post it later because it was THAT good.
Then there was Attallah Shabazz, the daughter of the late Malcom X. Very moving speech from her.
Ali's wife, Lonnie Ali also spoke.
Although he didn't speak, there was no denying that this is Muhammad Ali's son, Asaad Ali.
Muhammad Ali's daughters, Maryum Ali and Rasheda Ali-Walsh also spoke.
Next up was a young University of Louisville student (Natasha Mundkur), who was one of hundreds of thousands that Muhammad Ali touched during his life. She was only 8-years old when she met Ali and it changed her life. Her speech brought most of the room to tears, including me. The man touched so many lives. He was incredible.
The next 3 folks should not be a stranger to anyone. Billy Crystal was as funny as ever. I wish he could have stayed on the stage longer. He was followed by Bryant Gumbel, who was followed by the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
There was one more mind blowing speaker who when introduced, was said to be known as a controversial speaker. Folks, he did NOT let the room down! He spit fire and brimstone and brought the room to their feet. His speech is another that I may post. This man was GOOD. I was so amazed with what he was saying (I couldn't believe it in THAT setting), that I forgot to take his picture!
One thing that I want to mention that deserves a LOUD hand of applause is how OUR police department handled the crowds. There was NO incidents that required police intervention. They allowed the people to celebrate the way the people wanted to and the people where VERY peaceful and as orderly as can be expected. I have to really commend our police department for showing the world what community oriented policing looks like. These guys were great today. :thumbsup:
So that's how I spent my Friday. I will always be a fan of the man, Muhammad Ali. He was the greatest of all time. I will cherish the day I met him and Lonnie, his wife took our picture. RIP champ.
