More Than a Year Later, He Reveals Soul of Seoul Games

The Los Angeles screening for Bud Greenspan’s “Seoul ‘88: 16 Days of Glory” was held last week and attended by a number of Olympic greats. After the screening for the Nov. 29 Disney Channel premiere ended, filmmaker Greenspan asked a number of those in attendance to say a few words. Some samples:

Greg Louganis, gold medalist diver: “The truth about Seoul is that, when I hit my head on the board, I lost all confidence in everything. I thought I’d gone to the other side of the world to make nine dives and go home a failure. If my coach, Ron O’Brien, hadn’t been there to get me through, I never would have made it.”

(Louganis won gold medals in the platform and springboard events).

John Naber, former gold medalist swimmer: “I worked for TV in Seoul, and I was right there, on the cutting edge, where everything was happening. But as always, the real stories eventually percolate out, away from everybody else, away from all the cameras. Except Bud’s.”

Mark Spitz, former gold medalist swimmer, who will be attempting a comeback in Barcelona in 1992: “Bud had a lot to do with this comeback thing. I saw him at a party and I pulled him aside and I said, ‘Bud, I know this sounds crazy, but I think I want to try a comeback in ’92.’ And Bud said, ‘Good, ‘cause I need something for my next film.’ ”

And Sammy Lee, diving gold medalist and former coach of Louganis, who is featured prominently in the Louganis portion of the film and is captured by Greenspan’s cameras singing the national anthem--badly: “Now that all of you have seen this and heard me, I invite you, if you want to add some grief to your funeral, have me come and sing.”

Trivia time: The Indiana and Purdue football teams play for the Old Oaken Bucket. Which teams play for the Old Brass Spittoon?

Crowd favorite: Bruce Berlet of the Hartford Courant on Michael Chang’s 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jimmy Connors in the Aetna tennis tournament at the Hartford Civic Center Thursday night: “In a 2-hour, 2-minute match of mostly serious tennis, Chang rallied for his second victory in as many exhibitions with Connors. Chang won, 6-3, 7-6, in Chicago in February.

“The one really light moment came when a spectator yelled ‘Come on, McEnroe’ with Chang serving the eighth game of the third set. Chang fired a ball toward the fan, then both players impersonated John McEnroe’s mannerisms as the crowd roared.”

Deadline pressure: Mike Terry of the San Bernardino Sun was among reporters waiting to interview Clipper Coach Don Casey after a game against the Denver Nuggets at the Sports Arena.

Reporters stood by impatiently as a well-dressed man walked up to Casey and congratulated him at length on the Clippers’ come-from-behind victory.

Finally, Terry shouted, “Enough, I’m on deadline!”

The man apologized and moved to one side. After reporters finished interviewing Casey, Terry asked the coach who the well-dressed fan was.

Said Casey: “Oh, that was just Donald Sterling, the owner.”

Trivia answer: Indiana and Michigan State.

Quotebook: U.S. Olympic Committee President Robert Helmick, on the possibility of holding the 1990 Olympics in a unified Berlin: “Any time the Olympics and sports can serve society and can help unify people or governments striving for independence, we should do it.”