My previous post (and church newsletter article) was about my boyhood admiration for Superman. Well what’s a young kid who loves superheroes to do when he’s too old to believe in the Man of Steel? In the 70s there was a real-life substitute who flew through the air, put his own safety aside for the sake of his cause - heck, he even dressed in red, white and blue and wore a cape. His fame swept across America and through my Elementary School too. I’m speaking of Robert Craig Knievel, Jr.

Evel Knievel was nearly thirty years old when he made what became his most famous jump - and crash - at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I became aware of him when ABC’s Wide World of Sports featured him regularly from 1973-76. During that time, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, had a popular line of toys, and inspired a two-part Happy Days cliffhanger in which Fonzie tried to jump his bike over a line of barrels. (It wasn’t till later that Fonzie - and Happy Days - jumped the shark).

Even today I can’t help watching this guy. Last night I saw him featured on The History Channel, and today I have spent more time than I should have reading about him on the web. But these days, the fascination is more about a guy whose LIFE is a motorcycle crash. Superman was invincible. Evel Knievel has broken up to fifty bones, spent a month in a coma after Caesar’s Palace, and says he has been in the hospital for a total of three years. He had a liver transplant in 1999 after contracting hepatitis C, apparently in one of his many surgeries.

Superman fought for truth, justice, and the (politically incorrect) American way. Knievel beat Sheldon Saltman (who Knievel said wrote lies about him) with a baseball bat while another man held Saltman (Knievel served six months in jail for that). Superman was a force for good. Knievel has been in trouble for tax evasion, soliciting a prostitute, and carrying illegal weapons.

When I was a kid, I looked at Evel Knievel and saw Superman. Today when I watch those old interviews, I see a guy who is just LOST, an Elvis impersonator who has been kicked in the head a few times too many.

And Superman never sold a scooter.

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