Being Evel Page #5

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for evel.

i had stand there

and watch him and say

you're going fast enough

or you're not going fast enough.

i guess you'd call it

guesswork.

perior:
bob jumped further

and further with each show.

the only thing is

those stands were not full.

not by any means.

how do you convince people

to come to a sport

they had never heard of?

we were $52,000 in debt.

bob kept spending money

we didn't have.

and that's when i decided

i had to leave.

well, of course, then he saw

that he didn't need the team.

he went on his own.

now it would just be him

looking for his big break.

- ( dramatic music plays )

- announcer:

spanning the globe...

spanning the globe to bring you

the constant variety of sport.

few years, i was singing it

in my sleep.

the thrill of victory

and the agony of defeat.

announcer:

and the agony of defeat.

knoxville:
the thrill of victory

and the agony of defeat,

and they always showed

that skier,

where you never knew--

the word was he died.

tony hawk:
the crash, like,

that's what you remember

from "wide world of sports."

announcer:
the human drama

of athletic competition.

i remember, like,

the crazy stuff that they would

show once and a while.

skateboarding was on

"wide world of sports."

i remember that.

announcer:

abc's "wide world of sports..."

we were in the business

of sports theater.

sports was drama.

sports was a story.

announcer:

the trill of victory.

i loved it.

like i covered some of

the weirdest things myself.

as long brought in an audience.

america loved it.

announcer:
the human drama

of athletic competition.

leeuwen:
everybody'd

rush home from church

and watch abc

"wide world of sports" at 1:00,

and that was

the biggest show on tv.

announcer:
this is

abc's "wide world of sports."

knoxville:
evel knows

that the motorcycle race

at ascot speedway is featured

on "wide world of sports."

so he fast-talks the owner

into letting him do his thing.

before we get back to racing,

i'd like to introduce to you

a most unusual young man.

this is evel knievel,

and his specialty in sports

is to take a motorcycle

up over a ramp

and leap through the air

some 90 feet.

that's what he's gonna try to

do today over 15 automobiles.

- you're trying 15 today?

- well, the parachute's ready.

motorcycle's ready

and i'm ready.

and i'm not

gonna miss today.

reporter:

and he's set to go.

he'll build up speed

as quickly as he can.

and here he goes!

he makes it!

a beautiful leap

as evel knievel

gets the roar approval

from the crowd.

leeuwen:
here here we are

at "wide world of sports."

biggest race of the year.

biggest dirt track race

of the year.

and i won it.

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