The Gipper Lives! - in Calvin Trillin's "Uncivil Liberties"

[underpants]

I can't find his old articles anywhere on the net but Calvin Trillin had a great piece called The Gipper Lives!! back in the 80's or early 90's maybe.

In it Trillin uses Reagan's protrayal as George Gipp for some fun. See The Gipper is alive and living in New Jersey. Trillin goes out to meet with him and Gipp tells him how Knute Rockne really wasn't all that successful as a coach at Notre Dame. They really went 3-8 or 7-3 each year but Rockne would wait a few months and call all the sports writers into his office to talk about their undefeated season and national championship. The writers were all to afraid to mention what they each individually knew was different but they were afraid to say anything in front of the old man and *gee* he has been so successful all these years ( get it? ) who are they to question him. They all would file stories just as Rockne wanted to and the truth was changed forever.

I wish I could find it. It was a great parable to the press in the Reagan years and now. Instant revisionist history and no "fact checking".


The book was released in 1982 that is how clearly Trillin read Reagan and the press from the beginning.


Oh and Trillin also predicted the "underwear bomber" 3 years before it happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRco_Uh1rxc

Anyway if you can find the book I can't highly enough recommend it.