It was daybreak on the 3rd day of the Los Angeles Olympics, July 30, 1984…..which was the 1st day of the “Mission from God”…..which was to see a live event in every medal competition (26 sports) in the XXIII Olympiad…..as Los Tres Amigos (LTA) headed out on their mission to become the 1st ever Olympic fans to see a live event in each sport that was competed in an Olympic Game…..thus setting a record that can ONLY be tied….NEVER broken…..so, the day’s goal for LTA was to do some OJT (on the job training) regarding search and destroy missions in finding scalpers with 3 tickets together in row at the Field Hockey and Volleyball competition that they would see during mission day one…..as Sky had scheduled these two sports to see on this day…..with his directions on how to best attack the traffic.
Olympics – 1984 – L A Games – Men’s Field Hockey Highlights – “Play Making Space” – Pakistan Manzoor Jr R.I. Pass To Hasan C.F.
The Field Hockey competition was at Monterey Park in East LA….where an 11 am match in the men’s qualifying round between Pakistan vs. New Zealand….as the Pakis (which they called themselves) were considered to be the gold medal favorite on the men’s side….while the Kookas (short for Kookaburros) of New Zealand were always a competitive team….who could hopefully give the Pakis a run for their money on this day that Bone Daddy, the original Sportsphile, would see his 1st ever live field hockey match….as the scuttlebutt in the local Olympic publications was that this ought to be a good match.
Olympics – 1984 – L A Games – Men’s Field Hockey Finals Highlights – West Germany Vs Pakistan
Field Hockey is a interesting sport that is similar to ice hockey….except it is played on a grass field instead of on ice….wherein all players use a field hockey stick that has a similar shape to ice hockey sticks….except they are a bit thicker (somewhere between a baseball bat and a hockey stick)….which are a little more rounded down behind the ball striking surface of the stick….while using a ball that is little smaller than a softball.Los Tres Amigos got to Monterey Park around 9:30 am….while fortunately finding that there were still a few general admission tickets left for this match….as this match was basically a sellout….with 99% of the fans being for the Pakisstan…..so, Instead of needing to find a scalper and paying scalper prices…. general admission was $10/ticket to see the match….which as time was to reveal $10 a ticket would a steal at 1/10th the price….as you will soon see if you keep reading my daily Olympic stories….cuz those were the last $10 tickets the boys would find at these L A Games.
Olympics – 1984 – L A Games – Men’s Field Hockey Highlights – Featuring Hassan Sardar With “Classy Moves”
Arriving at the venue Bone Daddy made the comment that he was amazed at how many Pakistan people lived in L A….cuz Monterey Park was loaded with Pakis on this day for this Olympic event. Since BD and Prince are contrarians by nature….just not cut from the same bolt of cloth as most folks….and since they were virtually the only white fans in the whole general admission seating area….they just had to put on their best Australian imitation by beginning to shout loudly while vociferously rooting for the Kookaburras from Australia. Los Tres Amigos from Texas actually talked the whole match in their best Aussie brogue impersonations….and although they were able to stir up a little bit of a hornet’s nest….putting on display of their most obnoxious impressions of Aussie’s….but it only lasted until about four (4) minutes into the match….cuz after that….they had to start eating humble pie….as the Pakis scored their first goal and never looked back. This of course opened the door for the Pakis to shoot a barrage of barbs at the only Aussie fans seemingly for miles around. BD says he can still hear the Pakis yelling at them still today….”you KOOKS don’t know how to play this game”…..as Bone Daddy was heard to say…..”There is nothing more exciting than a sell out crowd of fans who know what they’re cheering about….knowing when a special play is made….both good and bad”….for the fact remains that Bone Daddy, Prince of Pleasure and Sky Pilot were sitting right in the middle of the Pakistan fans….who knew the game so well.
Olympics – 1984 – L A Games – Men’s Field Hockey Semifinal Match – Pakistan Vs Australia – 2nd Half
The Pakis had a tight match the Kookaburras….as Pakis….proving early on that they were the team to beat at the L A Olympics….as they eventually beat West Germany for the gold medal. Leaving Monterey Park in far East LA around 2pm and being able to get to the Long Beach Arena by 4pm could have been a challenge….but Sky had prepared well in order to accomplish the day’s mission….which meant delivering BD and Prince to the site of the Men’s Volleyball Medal Qualifying match on time for the start of the match at 4pm that afternoon…..as his well chosen route circumvented seemingly all traffic….as the boys were never in a traffic jam….which they found rather interesting at that time of day….cuz L A is known for its rush hour traffic jams.
Olympics – 1984 – L A Games – Men’s Field Hockey Finals Highlights – Pakistan Vs West Germany
