From the Archives: The best Larry Bird cover ever
The Internet is a wealth of old college hoops goodies. (I'm looking at you, SI Vault.) On slow days in the offseason, let's scour the archives together, shall we? Email me old photos and videos I need to see, or just hit me up on Twitter.
A few months ago, right as the college hoops season was winding down, I interviewed Seth Davis about his When March Went Mad, a tome dedicated to recounting the behind-the-scenes run-up to the 1979 NCAA title game. Which got me interested in Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as college players. Growing up with them as pros, I never really cared about their college days. That time in my life is over.
No, now I spend a decent amount of my free time Googling around for old photos of the duo. That Indiana State blue is just too awesome. Which is how I stumbled upon this old Sports Illustrated cover back in the spring, and it's since become my favorite photo, like, ever. Actually, that's not true: This companion photo is my favorite photo ever. It's my Twitter avatar AND my Facebook photo. In 2009, there is no higher praise.
And now, I share it with you. Namaste.
One thing about this photo: Where are these cheerleaders now? I can't imagine an Indiana State cheership led to a professional career in the sport, and besides, these women would all be in their late 40's or early 50's by now. I wonder if they're still in some small town in Indiana -- Evansville, say -- raising families, going to work, living out normal lives, every once in a while thinking about that framed photo on the wall, the time they were ever so briefly just as famous as Larry Bird. It's not such a bad claim to fame, when you think about it.
