Wednesday, July 16, 2008

More YouTube

Another great Youtube callout from Reyhan Harmanci in the SF Chronicle.

SPUD WEBB AND DOMINQUE WILKINS DUNKING (1986), 6:24. While surfing for videos of my all-time favorite NBA player, the 5-foot-3 Mugsy Bogues, I came upon this gem. It's an impromptu slam-dunk competition, emceed by Magic Johnson, at the end of the 1986 All-Star Game. While "Charlie B" Charles Barkley tries to get in the game, it's all about Dominque Wilkins and the 5-foot-7 Spud Webb. The dude can dunk - "That little guy. How can he get up like that?," the announcer asks - but the main thing I love about this clip is how spontaneous it appears. Even as late as 1986, the superstars were acting like people instead of brands. When Johnson tells Wilkins to "be nasty, real nasty with it" and warns those in the crowd that "we got all night," I wanted to kiss my computer screen. You'd never hear that now.