Yesterday our “front page,” or mothership if you will, named Misty May-Treanor their Long Beach Person of the Year, making her the site’s second selection for the annual award, after community activist Justin Rudd won the inaugural edition. Congrats to Misty, and great choice in making her the POY.
Picture for one second, if you can, the perfect Long Beach athlete. No doubt, this person would be hard-working, both proud and humble, distinctly Long Beach, and of course, dominant in his or her sport.
Looking back on 2008 – which is arguably one of the greatest sports years in Long Beach history – there are literally dozens of athletes who fit that description. But one of them stood tall among the others; winning at an unprecedented rate, bringing home an Olympic gold medal, achieving international success and fame, and transcending the game as an iconic role model to inspire countless youngsters.
That is why our pick for the 2008 Long Beach Person of the Year is Olympian Misty May-Treanor.
Athletically, 2008 might as well go down as the Year of Misty. She kicked off the year back in January, honored by the Long Beach Century Club as the female athlete of the year – the fourth time she’s won the award. She spoke of the intense support she has received throughout her career in Long Beach, and recalled coming to the Century Club as a young pro to ask for help with tournament entry fees. She was given a check then and there, and hasn’t looked back since. From then on, 2008 was a breeze for Misty.
She and partner Kerri Walsh became the all-time winningest duo in AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) history, and captivated the world in August when they also became the first team to capture back-to-back Olympic gold medals in beach volleyball. The cherry on top: May-Treanor was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Easily the most accomplished player to ever put on a two-piece, she was awarded with Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Valuable Player honors – all in the same season. She stands alone as volleyball’s only superstar; an icon in a sport that has no others.
But let’s forget for a moment that Misty May-Treanor is the most accomplished volleyball player in the history of the sport. Let’s examine the person. The humble, warm, goofy yet razor-sharp woman. Can you think of a person that so loudly screams “LONG BEACH” with their demeanor? Could there be a better worldwide ambassador for Long Beach than Misty, who is never without an ear-to-ear smile, who scarfs down Deli News when in town, who dances unabashedly before (and sometimes during) every single competition, who greeted the President of the United States by displaying the tattoo on her lower back? Who jumped at the chance to compete in ABC’s Dancing With The Stars?
Very few (if any) people know the person behind the player better than Long Beach State head volleyball coach Brian Gimmillaro.
“The qualities she possesses away from volleyball are better than the qualities she has as a player,” he says, calling Misty “a natural comedian” and describing a woman who is acutely aware of her celebrity and the responsibility it brings.
During the Olympic games, throngs of fans gathered all across Southern California to watch Misty and Kerri . Among her fans, May-Treanor’s power is most visible; splashed across the faces of pre-teen girls who lose their minds over Misty. They’re enamored. They see themselves in her. They are her. The fun-loving girl who honed her skills on public beaches, rose to incredible prominence through hard work, and never leaves an autograph unsigned. A near-riot broke out when a wheel-chaired May-Treanor was honored along with the rest of her 1998 national championship team at Long Beach State in October.
“She’s a very caring person,” says Gimmillaro. “Everywhere she goes, kids follow her around, and she won’t leave until everyone is satisfied. She has time for everyone and never shortchanges anybody.”
Between autographs and photo ops at that October ceremony in the Long Beach State Walter Pyramid, she told our LBPOSTSports.com writer Vincent Girimonte how she felt about her adopted hometown.
“That’s why everybody loves coming to Long Beach State,” she said. “For as big as Long Beach is, the community is so supportive and so small, and everybody cares about what’s going on in their city.”
It’s the same glowing review of Long Beach that Misty has given the city every time she’s been asked, which means that this image of Long Beach has been expressed privately to thousands and publicly to hundreds of millions. In the gold medal match against China, Misty was the only player to have her college achievements mentioned. And it was done again and again. Emphasis on the “Long Beach” in “Misty developed into one of the greatest women volleyball players ever during her four years at Long Beach State.” That’s a lot of free publicity for Long Beach, generated by the pure star power of its most famous export.
And then there was the appearances on Dancing With The Stars, ultimately cut short by the only thing that has proven effective in stopping Misty from dominating: injury. A ruptured Achilles tendon forced her to drop out of the competition, but four weeks on the show only fueled her celebrity more. The effect on Long Beach was visible. Her performances were analyzed in the pages of the Press-Telegram, and even the toughest of the tough sports fans turned to ABC and text-voted like madmen – beaming with pride and discussing dance tactics as if it had been their own daughter performing. Which, in many ways, Misty is.
Misty belongs to Long Beach. Her legend was born here, her most supportive fans are here, and her heart is here whether her body is on a court in Beijing or a Letterman studio in New York. She is the most dominant athlete to ever come out of Long Beach, and the most popular female icon this side of Billie Jean King. She has accomplished more than any other player in the history of her sport in a very short time, and not only refused to give up her Long Beach roots but has used her considerable fame and appeal to flaunt them whenever the opportunity arises. She’s done as much to spread the positive image of Long Beach as any public figure possibly could. She can’t help it, such is her love for this city. That’s just how she is. She is you, and I, and our sons and daughters and everything else that we hold dear about our city.
“She’s a Long Beach person,” says Gimmillaro. “This is her home, this is her school. I think we’re all just fortunate to have her.”
Now, if she would just consider a coaching position…