Fiction is Dead

In 1951 no one thought the New York Giants could ever catch, much less beat the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Giants won an unbelievable 37 of their last 44 games. They had to do this in order to force a three game playoff with the mighty Dodgers for the National League pennant. They split the first two games, with the Dodgers winning game two by the score of 10 - 0. The third came saw more of the Dodger domination. Going into the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers held a 4 - 1 lead. Then the history of baseball changed for ever, as Bobby Thompson hit what some have called the greatest and most improbable homerun in Major League history. In the bottom of the ninth with one out and two men on base, Bobby Thompson hit what is known as "the shot heard 'round the world." A three run homerun and as legendary announcer Russ Hodges said, "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!"

Afterward, the sportswriter Red Smith wrote in description of the event, "Now it is done. Now the story ends. And there is no way to tell it. The art of fiction is dead. Reality has strangled invention. Only the utterly impossible, the inexpressibly fantastic, can ever be plausible again."

Last night, as I watched Barack Obama win the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States, I could hear Russ Hodges say, "Obama wins the Nomination! Obama wins the Nomination!" I also could not help but think that for the first time in my life we can say the art of fiction is dead. An African-American has a serious chance at winning the White House. What we thought was impossible and fantastic has become reality. This morning as I read Thabiti's blog (a must read today), I was also reminded that we have come a long ways in this country. And though you may not agree with the politics of Obama, you should at least smile that our country is learning to live out its creed.