The saddest thing about the ruckus raised by Tommie Smith and John Carlos was that it dulled the lustre of a superlative track and field meet in which the U.S. once again demonstrated that it is the world's best. The Star-Spangled Banner was played so often that it began to sound like The Stars and Stripes Forever.
As they kept the band working, Americans set record after record. Texas' strapping Randy Matson won the shotput and set an Olympic record of 67 ft. 10¾ in.; California's Bob Seagren soared to another new Olympic mark...
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