George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

Page 28 text:

s Academic team Top: In a practice session using a simple buzzer to signal responses, Guy Manning, Bob Doyle, Mike O’Bannon, Scott Watson and Joanne Steane are eager for any challenging questions that might be asked. Above: At the WRC-TV stu¬ dio in D.C. our “It’s Academic” team prepares to compete with teams from other schools in the Washington metropolitan area Right: Prior to the first show Guy Manning and Scott Watson try to relax so their minds will work quickly and accura¬ tely. Opposite page: After defeating Annandale and Garfield, team captain Guy Manning accepts the first place prize from a Giant Foods repre¬ sentative. ... r. 2 - %

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STUDENT LIFE 23 ' 72 OLYMPIf IO 111 In the running events, which had usually been an American specialty, an unfortunate lapse by Coach Stan Wright disqualified the two best runners. Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson missed the qualifying finals (while unwittingly watching them on television, think¬ ing they were viewing replays,) because Wright had misinformed them about the starting times. The one American who remained in the race, Robert Taylor, did win a silver medal, but the whole situation was disappointing for the United States. On the whole, however, the American atheletes at Munich justified the nation’s pride in them, and competed very successfully in the games. During the second week of the Olympics a shocking occurrance of terrorism scandalized the world — nine Israeli atheletes were kid¬ napped and held hostage by Arab guerillas, then savagely murdered at a German airport near Munich. The tenseley unbelievable twenty-hour drama was covered by the same world-wide television that earlier had beamed the athletic events via satallitte into homes around the world; universally and interna¬ tionally, people waited and watched as the crisis’ events unfolded. From the initial pre-dawn entry of eight Arabs, disguised as athletes, into the Olympic Village apartment building where the Israeli teams were housed, the incident seemed unbelievable. One Israeli was machine- gunned to death through his own door as he tried to keep it shut against the terrorists; another was killed in a knife battle as he too tried to defend himself. Eighteen were able to escape the guerillas, but nine other athletes were held hostage by the Arabs within their quarters, as the terrorists voiced their threats and demands. They wanted the release of over two hundred Arab and leftist prisoners from jails in Israel and elsewhere, and they in¬ sisted that they and their hostages must be flown to an Arab capital city. If their demands were not met by noon, they said, the Israeli hostages would be executed at the rate of two every thirty minutes. This deadline was ex¬ tended to three and then five o’clock with skillful negotiating by West German officials who had rushed to handle the situation. Inter¬ national communications among Israel, Ger¬ many, Arab nations and the United State made clear the possible negotiation limits of the countries involved. Eventually, after ten hours of unmet demands, the terrorists decided to fly away with their hostages — with destination to be known after they were airborne. In the shoot-out that followed at the airbase outside Munich, all nine Israelis and five Arabs were killed; the other three Arabs were taken prisoners. As the world reeled in disbelief at this atrocious outbreak of terrorism, international retaliations were already in progress. Israeli jets bombed twelve border guerilla bases in Lebanon and Syria, and a new spate of battles ensued in the Middle East. The Olympic games were postponed and a memorial ser¬ vice for the dead athletes was held. But perhaps the most chilling result of the murders was the harsh realization for the world of its inadequacy to deal with terrorist- outbreaks like the one in Munich. The dif¬ ficulty seen in reaching an international agreement, the insufficient law forces and preventative measures, and the awful irratio¬ nality of the guerillas brought home the fact that the entire world, though ill-prepared for the responsibility, would have to face up to the problems and possibilities of outbreaks from clashes and wars everywhere. Munich brought the localized Middle East conflict into the international arena. GCM

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Lightning quick reflexes and an encyclopedic knowledge were prerequisites for the success of the “It’s Academic” team members. An invitation was sent to twenty- five students to come to Mr. Jack Hurley’s classroom after school if they wanted to pursue a position on the “It’s Academic” squad. These people were selected for their PSAT scores and high grades in certain areas, but the auditions were open to anyone who was inter¬ ested. This was in March of 1972, when planning had already begun on preparation for the next season of TV competition. The skills needed for the participants were a general background in math, science, history and English, not to mention knowledge of a huge con¬ glomeration of trivial facts ranging from the accomplishments of Chopin and Lee Trevino to Picasso and Jane Fonda. Remembering to raise your hand when the answer popped into your mind was the first thing to learn. Those who tallied the most correct responses and possessed the quickest reflexes were not cut. After a trial match at the WRC-TV studio the team was reduced to three principal members with four alternates. Since GCM was to ap¬ pear on the premier show of the season, the “It’s Academic” team’s practices started in the summertime and continued as school began. Every Wednesday afternoon trial tests and drills were held until late buses. Saturday, September 9, was the day of the first competition, where Garfield and Annandale were both defeated by Marshall — 380- 270-245. The team’s pressure to maintain its position mounted as the final weeks of practices pro¬ gressed. On September 23, by a score of 380-310-250, our team lost to Herndon and St. Anselm’s. Though Marshall was ahead at the end of the first third our squad was overwhelmed by the opponents’ disappointing quickness at the end of the match.