I spent Mother's Day with my mom, and in the course of catching her up on my activities, I mentioned covering the De La Hoya match. I told her about my controversial question. She laughed at the consternation I had caused.
Then she told me, "Oscar - Andrea, do you know I have his autograph?"
I gaped. My mother doesn't follow sports. She doesn't like violence of any kind. I don't think she's ever watched any boxing match in her life, except perhaps while flipping channels. The capper is that she doesn't care much for celebrity news in general and would recognize very few famous folk if she saw them in person. I couldn't imagine her ever asking anyone for an autograph, and the idea that she had De La Hoya's already boggled my mind.
She explained.
My mother worked as a nurse for the Blood Bank, and teams of staff members occasionally traveled out to donor events in different towns. In Barstow (basically a pitstop on the way to Vegas) for a blood drive, they had parked near a local restaurant for lunch. My mom, however, had packed her own food and was eating in the vehicle with another nurse, Sandra. Then a bus pulled up. "De La Hoya" and "Goldon Boy" were emblazoned the side of the transport. Sandra was giddy with excitement as the star and his entourage entered the eatery. She wanted an autograph, but she was too nervous to ask for one. My mom being the friend she is, offered to do it (this part of the story really surprised me - my mom's quiet, and quite shy). Yet she marched inside, where she realized she didn't have any paper. She decided to ask the cashier (yep, at the place where she wasn't even a customer) for some cash register paper. The clerk was accomodating, even when my mom ventured to ask for two pieces. Paper now in hand, she approached De La Hoya. He was gracious and took a quick break from his meal to sign two autographs, one for an exaltant Sandra, and the other for my mom, who had decided she might as well commemorate the event.
"Where's this autograph?" I demanded. It wasn't that I didn't believe my mom, but rather that I wondered if she'd kept it anywhere. She had.
In 1997, De La Hoya was probably at the height of his career, still undefeated. I had to laugh at the coincidence that the only autograph my mom ever got was from the boxer I'd recently put on the spot about his soccer involvement. Small world, no?
Now that Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Productions have invested in the Dynamo, AEG has returned the favor. Speaking of favors (and quid pro quo) LA's Ruud Gullit may not know who Scott Bolkan and Vardan Adzemian are, but he certainly knows who Josh Wicks and Bryan Jordan are (by the way, his Galaxy teammates do call him BJ, so I'm going to blame them for the nickname and go ahead and use it). Wicks and Jordan originally belonged to the Portland Timbers, so perhaps it wasn't surprising that Portland later acquired two players from their own open tryouts who were conveniently loaned to them by the Galaxy. It also makes sense that Gullit, busy with coaching the Galaxy squad, would leave the wheeling and dealing (beyond delegating, "I want Jordan and Wicks - make it happen.") to someone else. So here is the latest on Bolkan, and surprise, his Galaxy connection is through Paul Bravo.
It was nice to see Jaime Motta at the De La Hoya/Forbes fight, because since Jaime often covers soccer, he was one of the few familiar faces I saw that evening. We chatted for a bit in the pressbox before he went to perform his television duties. Jaime got a short exclusive with Oscar after his win.
People say that David Beckham is charming, but I'd have to say that Oscar holds his own in that department as well. He was cracking jokes on the stage, making the guy he'd just defeated, Steve Forbes, laugh.
I sincerely meant no disrespect to Oscar De La Hoya at the postfight press conference. I wanted to get a question in about why he took on partial ownership of the Houston Dynamo, and though I was willing to acknowledge the publicity he garnered for the team by fighting in their colors, I also wanted to ask about his level of involvement this year, since he has two other big farewell fights coming up. It was intimidating, though, to be surrounded by so many boxing reporters, because I was pretty sure they didn't care much about soccer. I raised my hand anyway, trying to claim the traveling microphone being used for questioning. "One more," said the moderator. I was relieved to be handed the microphone and blurted out my questions.
"Oscar, you're so respected in the boxing world - why take on owning a soccer team? And are you going to have time, with all your fights, to do anything with the Dynamo besides wear their colors?"
I didn't expect the reaction that followed. Heads swiveled, and murmurs of surprise/disapproval/confusion broke out. Oscar seemed a bit stunned. Bernard Hopkins, hovering over his shoulder, looked like he was ready to walk off the dais to confront me. The moderator glared at me, asked who I was writing for, and informed me my question was "smart-ass". I guess I have to work on my polite phrasing, but I thought the questions were legitimate.
Oscar's mariachi band plays the Mexican national anthem as he gets laced up. He's in Dynamo colors, though it's really an orange stripe on his black shorts. His cornermen are wearing orange jackets, though, and his gloves are orange. Sylvester Stallone is here, Tobey Maguire is here, Kevin Connelley is here, Mike Tyson, and a bunch of other famous folk. The U.S. anthem is sung by Nicole Schrezinger of the P-cat Dolls. A montage of Forbes' fights are shown. He marches in to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)". Meanwhile, the Dynamo/Chivas USA match ends in a scoreless tie, which I suppose doesn't bode well for Oscar tonight. His team still can't get a win, though they manage not to lose on the night they received their championship rings. A special flag waves in front of Oscar's entrance. It's the Mexican flag on one side, the U.S. on the other. Oscar looks vaguely Halloweeny with the orange and black. I don't recognize the mariachi song heralding his entrance, but it's loud. Forbes is introduced to a chorus of boos. Oscar gets thunderous cheers. Round 1 - The upperdeck starts to stomp in anticipation. Forbes comes out swinging. Oscar hits back. Forbes is getting in some good shots to the face, while Oscar seems to concentrate on body shots. A few whistles break out from the crowd. Oscar doesn't look as dominant as predicted. The Dynamo might have jinxed him. Forbes gets in the last punch before the bell. The crowd here is totally different from the soccer bunch. Almost no kids at all tonight. Women with much bigger - ahem - pectoral enhancement, higher heels and less clothing. The guys are bigger too, but in a more general larger body type. Everyone wears a lot more black. Round 2 - Mayweather Sr. must have said the right stuff to Oscar - he had a much better 2nd round - got to Forbes several times. Round 3 - Oscar nearly gets Forbes up against the ropes, but Forbes wriggles free. He's got a speed punch on him, Forbes. He lets loose as he steps forward quickly with it so he gets better range and he's hit Oscar with that jab a few times now. Round 4 - Now it's Forbes' turn to put Oscar against the ropes. He gets in a few hits there, though Oscar recovers to return the favor. Round 5 - What do you guys think of Ruud not using his subs? Well, besides Gordon. The crowd here at the HDC is chanting Oscar's name, urging him on. He's punching a bit tired right now. Still more accurate than Forbes, but Forbes looks faster. Oscar gets to Forbes' nose, though. It's bleeding, while Oscar still looks relatively pretty. Sweaty, though. Round 6 - Pace of fight picking up. Oscar gets the better of it, especially in one flurry where he pounds Forbes. The HDC has filled in nicely. It looks good under the orangey (Dynamo) glow of the ring lights. Round 7 - the upperdeck is stomping again, urging Oscar on. Oscar isn't punching combos much now. He's winding up hard one-shot punches when he sees an opening. Right when I type that, Oscar lands a flurry on Forbes. Round 8 - Forbes is fighting this round smart - moving lively, making Oscar spend energy going after him. He's jabbing Oscar a few times, and ducking Oscar's hard hits. It seems to be a contest with the people around me - who has the smallest cellphone. One looks like a stick of gum. Round 9 - Oscar sharper now. had Forbes on the ropes briefly. Forbes won't be caught, though, ducks away at first chance. Round 10 - Another tough flurry from Oscar, but Forbes staggers forward to land a few of his own. Oscar looked much better, though. Round 11 - random women are screaming. I think they're just taping the telecast at home so they can rewind to that sound and say, "that was me!" Chants of "Oscar" drown them out. Oscar working his jab well, snaps back Forbes' head. Round 12 - Forbes comes out looking determined. He dives into Oscar with punches. Oscar plods along, fighting smart and keeping his guard up. it's not glamorous, but it works. He lands more solidly than Forbes. Forbes punches back, but Oscar is in the center position of the ring and generally always in control. Fight is over. Oscar is declared the winner. It wasn't a decisive victory, but pretty solid.
Tonight I'll be venturing to a place both familiar and yet new; I'll be at the Home Depot Center. That's my regular stomping ground, though I'm usually there to cover soccer. I'm doing that again, but soccer's not the primary event at the HDC this evening. This time, I'll be in the press box to keep tabs on the Houston Dynamo's new owner, Oscar De La Hoya, as he takes on Steve Forbes.
Oscar is wearing Dynamo colors into the ring, and he's said that he hopes the night is a winning one for both of them. The Dynamo take on Chivas USA in Robertson Stadium.
Apparently De La Hoya's soccer ties extend farther than just owning the Dynamo. The USMNT gets a mention here in an article about why so many in Oscar's own community have shunned him.
