My sports fantasy is less fantasy and more of a belief. I believe, given the chance, I could stop William Perry from one yard out of the end zone. I see it this way: Someone (perhaps Jay Hilgenberg, the Chicago Bears` center)
hikes the ball to Perry . . . Hilgenberg is not allowed to block me. After that, it`s Perry against me. The way I see it, Perry will get nailed for a loss . . . Loan me a set of football gear for the taping of this sports fantasy and you`ll be fulfilling not only my fantasy but millions of other armchair defensive ends out there who believe that stopping William Perry is no big shake. (Signed) Jay C. Rehak, Chicago.
NBC announced its second sports fantasy show at halftime of its Bears-Colts telecast last December, and the cards and letters started coming immediately. A coal miner wanted to be attacked and bussed by Morganna, baseball`s kissing bandit, and a 7-year-old wanted to skate with and learn beauty tips from former Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill. A longtime female fan wanted to run on the field during a huddle and pat each player (as she so delicately put it) ”on the fanny,” and a 9-handicap golfer wanted to play in a tournament and listed the partners he found acceptable (Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino) and unacceptable (Gerald Ford, Andy Bean).
There were more, many more, and the letters of request eventually grew to 30,000 and included fantasies fit for X-rated movie houses but not network TV.
”But here`s the unbelievable thing,” says Len Berman, the originator, producer and host of the sports fantasy show (Channel 5, March 2, 2-3 p.m.).
”Some 10,000 of the 30,000 letters I got mentioned the Bears. Mostly, they want to do something with Walter Payton. But one letter was from a girl who wants to cut Dan Hampton`s hair. A pretty girl from Kentucky wants to either be viciously tackled by Gary Fencik or have a dinner date with him. Two girls want to do the ”Super Bowl Shuffle” with Payton and someone else. Maybe we can set that up for the next show. Some wanted to tackle the Fridge, or be tackled by the Fridge, or arm-wrestle the Fridge, or have a hamburger-eating contest with the Fridge. It was unbelievable. They came not just from Illinois, but from the whole world.”
Dear Len Berman, Hi. My name is Todd Reynders. I am a 9th grader and I live in Rochester, N.Y. I play basketball for my high school team and I am short. My sports fantasy is to throw an alley-oop pass to (5-foot-7-inch Atlanta Hawk guard) Spud Webb for a dunk. He`s my favorite NBA player.
Berman hit upon the fantasy idea a decade ago, when he was sports anchor for Boston`s WBZ-TV and looking for ways to fill air time on slow days. He was tired of hearing himself pontificate about familiar sports` controversies, and so, one evening, he looked into the camera, noted that he couldn`t play hockey at all and dared then-Bruin Phil Esposito to try and score a goal against him. Esposito accepted the good-natured challenge and, of course, ended up scoring any number of goals, which caused Berman to wonder about the wisdom of his gimmick. ”Do you think anyone will write in?” he asked his wife after being shelled.
Some 100 people wrote in the next day, and their messages either asked for the chance to fulfill their own fantasies or tweaked Berman for failing so miserably at his. (”Hope you didn`t get a sunburn from the red light being on so often,” said one.) Four years later, he introduced the idea to New York City as sportscaster at WCBS-TV and then, last May, his first national sports fantasy show ran as part of NBC`s ”SportsWorld.”
”The networks had obviously seen (the other shows) and, you know, they`re always looking for concepts, looking for something to break the mold. They realize they can`t just do 1,000 basketball games,” says Berman.
”The fun thing about this is that anyone who sees it likes it. What tipped me off was ”TV Guide” wrote a little bit about the fantasies in 1975 and, unsolicited, we got letters from Cincinnati, Los Angeles, all over. It`s the old story–people are people, sports fans are people, and some sports fans are more rabid than others. Some of the letters are great. We got an Illinois fan who wants to throw a pie in Bo Schembechler`s face. And some are simple. Just to walk on Wrigley Field or just to meet Walter Payton would fulfill a person`s lifelong fantasy. It wouldn`t make great television. But that`s all they want.”
My sports fantasy is to have John McEnroe referee my tennis or Ping-Pong match so I can react the way he does to his rulings. (signed) Bill Shepard, Merrick, N.Y.
The fantasies Berman chose to fulfill this time around are an eclectic blend and include a golfer playing sudden death against Arnold Palmer, a teenager in goal against Wayne Gretzky and another teenager bowling against Earl Anthony. (In the final case, the challenger enters the 10th frame needing a strike or spare to win.) A student who is not on the baseball team at Buddy Biancalana`s old high school gets a chance to pitch against the Royal shortstop, an unexpected playoff and World Series hero last fall, and an Indiana University basketball fan gets a chance to fulfill his greatest desire and win one for Bob Knight.
This last fan`s dream was to have an Indiana-Notre Dame game hanging in the balance as he shot free throws with the rabid Irish student section waving at him from behind the basket. To fulfill his desire, NBC outfitted him in a makeshift Hoosier uniform, trotted him out at halftime of its telecast of last month`s Notre Dame-UCLA game and put him on the line in front of screaming and screeching Irish partisans.
The apocryphal game is tied and time has run out. The Indiana fan has two free throws. Al McGuire is slightly berserk describing the moment. The fan misses his first free throw. McGuire notes that Knight is going nuts. The fan is set. The Irish partisans are screaming ”air ball.” The fan shoots. ”A fantasy is supposed to be unfulfilled, and so you should see the reaction when you fulfill it. It`s like seeing a kid in the candy store,” says Berman.
”I think the idea of being on national television is secondary for them. In fact, I know it`s secondary. The filming is just icing on the cake. And some of them, when they get on camera, obviously get nervous. The coal miner who wanted to be attacked by Morganna. Here`s a guy in a very dangerous line of work and he handles it no problem. He`s got no nerves doing that. But get him on television where he`s going to be kissed by a woman with a 60-inch chest, he gets nervous. It was cute. It was human nature.”
It has always been my sports fantasy to hang out with a pro sports star when he`s out on the town trying to meet women. I`ve seen enough wives and girlfriends of our heroes to confidently agree to accept the discards and rejects on my night out with the pros.
