Magic Touched Spain : Johnson’s Announcement Hit Hard at Site of Olympics

Please, never lose your smile.

--Letter from Jose Luis Manjavacas, Madrid.

The letters began arriving at the offices of El Mundo Deportivo, a newspaper here, almost two weeks ago, from Valencia and Cadiz and Madrid, and an executive secretary said she lost count around 500. There might be 1,000 now, she said.

Most of the letters are in Spanish, although a few include English phrases, such as, “You’re the best” and “One on one.” Lined notebook paper appears to be the stationery of choice and children’s tortured script the medium.

Virtually all end with the same wish: curate.

Get well.

Magic Johnson’s decision to retire from basketball after he had tested positive for the AIDS-causing virus sent shock waves around the world that are still being felt. But perhaps only in Los Angeles were they felt more than in Barcelona, the 1992 Olympic host city that had developed a special relationship with the former Laker star.

In fact, the mere mention of Johnson’s name recently sent Josep M. Abad, the chief executive officer of the Barcelona Olympic Organizing Committee (COOB), scurrying off into his office in search of something. Abad returned moments later, bearing a basketball autographed by Johnson and photos of their meeting on Sept. 26, 1990.

“I am a big admirer of Magic Johnson’s,” Abad said. “And I am much more of an admirer now. We are very much interested in his problem, and I think his honesty is unbelievable.”

Abad is not alone. International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch, himself a Barcelona native, recently declared his support for Johnson and reiterated that HIV-positive athletes are still eligible to compete in the Games.

The mayor of Barcelona, Pasqual Maragall, has sent Johnson a personal invitation to attend next summer’s Olympics as a guest of honor. Eric Truno, director of sports for the city of Barcelona, said the invitation offers Johnson special accreditation and free accommodation.

“The mayor, acting on behalf of the city, wants to extend his support to Magic Johnson and to show that no one should be rejected just because they have AIDS,” Truno said. “ . . . Mr. Maragall wants Magic to come to Barcelona as a symbol of Olympic valor.”

Johnson has not said whether he will participate in the Olympics.

“We have seen the magic of your basketball and the magic of your life. For this I give you my thanks and I give you all my support.”

--Letter from Jose Antonio Salmeron Mena, Zamora.

Nevertheless, there is a fear that Johnson might have contracted HIV while visiting Spain last summer. According to El Periodico, another newspaper, three unidentified American doctors began an investigation this week into Johnson’s activities while he was conducting basketball clinics in Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona July 28-30. Spain has one of the highest levels of AIDS in Europe--7,489 cases have been reported to date--and 545 AIDS-related deaths occurred here in 1990.

That Johnson’s plight sells as well as his success has only exacerbated the situation. Scandalous stories about limousine rides and wild beach parties here are making the rounds, and one magazine, Tiempo, had a cover story on “Los Noches Locas de Magic Johnson en Barcelona” -- “The Crazy Nights of Magic Johnson in Barcelona”--that quotes everybody from local taxi drivers to the maids at Johnson’s hotel. Johnson’s having eaten a whole box of corn flakes for breakfast one morning got big play.

In addition, at least half a dozen women have come forward to offer wildly conflicting tales of love affairs, even though Johnson was in Barcelona for less than 48 hours.

Still, Johnson’s news panicked both the FC Barcelona and Espanol soccer teams into immediate team-wide AIDS tests, with the results--all negative--printed in the next day’s paper. The rest of Spain’s sports teams have since followed suit, and a recent survey of Spanish athletes revealed that 85% are sexually promiscuous.

“The only reason AIDS isn’t more widespread is because the gods don’t want it to be, I guess,” said Dr. Salvador Barbera, a leading authority on AIDS in Spain.

“I remember when you were in Valencia and I got close enough to get an autograph and to exchange a few words with you. In those moments, you demonstrated to me how great is your caring.”

--Letter from Jaime Utrillas San Jose, Valencia.

Johnson embraced the 1992 Olympic movement like no other athlete--Spanish or otherwise--and that has elevated him to demigod status here. He visited the city twice in the last year, posing for photographs with Olympic construction workers in September, 1990, then sinking the first basket ever in Palau Sant Jordi Arena. He even found time to practice with the FC Barcelona basketball team.

Last July, Johnson returned and drew a crowd of 12,000 at a free clinic. Television commercials featuring Johnson and Cobi, the Olympic mascot, recently concluded a nine-month run, and tickets for the 1992 Olympic basketball final have been sold out for months, largely on the belief that Johnson and the United States would play for the gold medal.

Johnson is also midway through a three-year, $3-million endorsement deal with Campofrio, the Spanish meat-packing giant and an Olympic sponsor. It is the most lucrative promotional deal currently offered to an Olympic-related athlete.

“I’ve never seen anything like the impact he had here,” said Eddy Vidal, the Spanish liaison for the NBA. “When he was here this past summer, I realized what a great communicator he is. Everywhere we went, people loved him. They might know Michael Jordan a bit better, but Magic’s attitude and charisma made the difference.”

“I’ll always say this: The Lakers are my team and Magic is my player.”

--Letter from Ramon Teijeiro, La Coruna.

When Johnson went public with his illness on Nov. 7, it hit here like a concussion grenade. The Johnson saga was the lead story on newscasts for the better part of a week, and the newspapers are still playing the aftershocks and the tributes on Page 1. At last count, 11 Spanish magazines on the newsstands had Johnson cover stories.

Get-well letters flooded not only the offices of El Mundo Deportivo, but some of the other sports dailies and basketball magazines around town. Some fans sent stuffed animals or rosaries, others simply offered prayers. Local editors are hoping to pool their resources and deliver the letters in person before the Lakers’ home game against Sacramento on Dec. 15.

The Spanish players’ association sent a telegram of support, and the Spanish ACB League all-star game observed a minute of silent prayer for Johnson before tipoff on Nov. 17 in Madrid. The weekly “Basquet-mania” television show devoted an entire program to highlights of Johnson in action.

Spanish basketball legend Juan San Antonio Epifanio, whose personal rivalry with Johnson began when both were teen-agers at the 1978 Albert Schweitzer Games in Germany, said he was devastated.

“I was hoping to play against him in the Olympic Games,” said Epifanio, who co-starred with Johnson in his Spanish clinics. “But now it doesn’t matter. You can’t say all the best players in the world are at the Olympics now if Magic is not there.”

Josep Maria Alberich, COOB’s sport director for basketball, reluctantly agreed.

“I think in the world of basketball, there is no player as important as Magic Johnson,” he said. “It would be hard to find anybody more popular than him. Magic’s image is so well known here, and we’ve all been counting the days until he would arrive. I still find it hard to believe we may not get to see him play.”