 |
 |
The Globe and Mail Drabinsky's concept hopes to stir passion By MICHAEL GRANGE Friday, October 18, 2002 – Page S1 TORONTO -- Never a man of modest goals, Garth Drabinsky has a vision for Sunday's tribute to Muhammad Ali, an unlikely idea that he has nurtured from seed to fruit in barely two months. It is based on seeing Ali light the Olympic torch at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. "I was moved to tears that night when Muhammad Ali was handed the torch," said Drabinsky, the theatre and film producer who is now the Toronto Argonauts' marketing consultant. "I'll never forget that evening and I want the emotion of that moment to be felt in the [SkyDome] Sunday." It would seem a stretch for a halftime show in a regular-season Canadian Football League game between Toronto and the Ottawa Renegades to compare to one of the most memorable moments in recent sports history. But then again, Drabinsky has already exceeded most expectations -- except, possibly, his own -- in putting together a star-studded tribute to the former champion as a fundraiser for the Parkinson Society Canada. Not only is Ali going to be on hand for the halftime ceremony, he will be accompanied by a who's who of sports celebrities, including fellow boxing greats Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Larry Holmes and George Chuvalo; National Basketball Association star Hakeem Olajuwon; Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin; gold-medalist wrestler Daniel Igali; world champion figure skater Elvis Stojko and former CFL and National Football League star Warren Moon. So far, the Argos said about 15,000 tickets have been sold, in what could be the 60-year-old Ali's last Canadian appearance. "It will all depend on the walk-up for the next three days," said Drabinsky, who is predicting a crowd of as much as 30,000. "It's typically huge for these kinds of things. Don't worry, people will be there." Earlier this season, the Argonauts drew 23,000 to a game at which skateboard legend Tony Hawk gave an exhibition. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will begin the tribute with a taped introduction. Telephone pledges and on-line donations will be accepted for the charity throughout the weekend. TSN will broadcast the game and will show the halftime tribute in its entirety. "I've done things like this in film and theatre," said Drabinsky, who co- founded the movie giant Cineplex Odeon Corp., and the theatre production company Livent Inc. "But I've never done anything like this in sports, not to this degree." Few have. "We wanted to do something from a charitable perspective," Drabinsky said, "and I thought the answer was Muhammad Ali and Parkinson's. The first hurdle was securing an appearance by Ali, one of the most famous men on the planet, and someone whose time has been more in demand since he was the subject of Ali, the film biography starring Will Smith that was released last year. Drabinsky was able to reach the Ali camp through Coca-Cola Ltd., since the former champion has a marketing relationship with the Atlanta-based soft drink company. Ali has Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological condition that affects nearly 100,000 Canadians. Once he was assured that Sunday's event was tied to Parkinson's fundraising and research, Ali agreed to make the appearance. The next task was lining up stars to salute him. Much of the heavy lifting -- and pleading and cajoling and phone calling -- was handled by 25-year-old Jeff Goldenberg, a Drabinsky protégé who has been responsible for a string of Argonauts marketing projects this year. "It's been part marketing, part promoting, and part private investigating to find out how to get to these people," said Goldenberg, who could only offer to cover the guest's travel expenses and accommodations. "But the name Muhammad Ali cuts though a lot of layers. "The hardest person to reach was [heavyweight champion] Lennox Lewis. He spends a lot of time in a lot of different places. He was in Africa when I first tried to reach him, and he's based out of the UK." Sundin and Holmes were reached with the help of sports marketing giant IMG Canada, while Holyfield is also aligned with Coca-Cola. But some of the cast heard about the event and simply wanted to be a part of it. "Elvis Stojko called us and said he just had to be involved," Goldenberg said. "He's a huge Ali fan." SOURCE: The Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/200210 18/SFOTO/Headlines/headdex/headdexSports_temp/4/4/26/ * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn