I'm sitting in Midway Airport in Chicago waiting for the final leg of my journey back to Seattle and I'd thought I peruse some of the old footage from the 1978 Belmont Stakes and Affirmed's coronation as the 11th Triple Crown winner in American racing history. The footage is a little grainy and there's a lack of fancy camera footage during the mile and a half journey (unlike what will surely be a huge production from NBC in three weeks), but the thrill of the great Affirmed and Alydar rivalry is alive and well.
It's going to be a long three weeks of hype and anticipation before I'll Have Another gets a shot at racing immortality. While I'm not one that believes a Triple Crown winner will somehow change the fortunes of the sport of horse racing all on it's own, I can't deny that the mere possibility of a historical achievement provides an opportunity for the game to be the center of the national sports stage.