One day, I remember like it was yesterday. The news was so shocking, it is impossible to forget.

One man, I knew little about, other than his cool nickname, that he was from Philadelphia, and that he helped make Muhammad Ali famous.

In the same week we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson’s announcement that he had “attained” the HIV virus, we mourned the death of one of the great heavyweight fighters of all time, Joe Frazier.

Nov. 7, 1991 is a day I’ll never forget. Growing up a Celtics fan, I loathed Magic Johnson. As a 17-year-old high school senior, I still wasn’t quite ready to respect the immense talents of the Lakers superstar. He’d delivered too much heartbreak in my household for me to truly appreciate his greatness.

I didn’t know how to react when, walking up the stairs to my living room for dinner that evening, I heard my father say “Magic Johnson has AIDs.” Shocked. Confused. Even a little sad. My teenage mind couldn’t comprehend what that news meant.

In 1991, we knew so little about HIV and AIDs. Many of us didn’t even know the difference. Magic has HIV, the virus that causes AIDs, and not AIDs. That meant little when Johnson made his announcement.

And to most of us, it sounded like a death sentence.

Thankfully, it wasn’t. Thankfully, Magic is still here, 20 years after the shocking press conference. Magic has fought to raise money and awareness for the disease we all thought would have killed him by now. He’s given people hope and helped educate us about a disease that had tremendous stigmas attached to it.

While I vividly remember Magic Johnson, I had very little idea the greatness of Joe Frazier. I wasn’t alive for the first two Ali-Frazier fights. I was 1 1/2 when the duo met in “The Thrilla in Manilla.” I had, of course, heard about the fights and the hype leading up to them (and I’ve heard Howard Cosell’s famous call from Frazier’s fight against George Foreman — ‘Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier’), but I didn’t realize the impact the Ali-Frazier triology had on sports and on the two combatants themselves.

Whenever I hear the phrase, “This game is like a heavyweight fight,” during a baseball or basketball game I cringe. No statement could be more false. There is nothing like a heavyweight fight, where the contestants are literally trying to knock each other out.

And after reading about the Ali-Frazier triology of fights, I’m sure there is nothing in sports that compares to what these two men did to each other. Frazier spent three weeks in the hospital after their first fight in 1971, the only one he won. Ali said after the third fight between the two legends, it was “the closest thing to dying that I know.” That fight ended when Frazier’s corner refused to let him off his stool to start the 15th round because one eye was swollen shut and he couldn’t see out of the other.

Ali isn’t Ali without Frazier and its a shame it took Frazier dying for me to understand that. Frazier was an idol to many, and after reading the story of an undersized boxer with the will to battle the man who many, including himself, called “The Greatest,” I can understand why.

This week is cause for celebration that Magic Johnson is still alive and still thriving. It’s also a time to celebrate the tremendous career Joe Frazier, a boxer who, not only beat, but helped create the legend of Muhammad Ali.

Twenty years ago, I didn’t know how to feel about Magic’s announcement. Three days ago, I didn’t understand the greatness of Joe Frazier.

Twenty years later, I’m thrilled Magic is still alive. And I have great respect for one of the great heavyweights of all time.

Scott Martin is the Executive Sports Editor for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. Reach him at smartin@centralmaine.com, @scottamartin on Twitter, or 621-5618

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