An inside look at Reese
OSAKA, Japan — There’s nothing huffy or hyped about Reese Hoffa, at 5-feet-11 and 305 pounds, a big man with a huge sentimental side. You get that feeling after spending a few hours with him away from the track.
Two days after Reese won his first outdoor world championship, he allowed WCSN into his temporary place of residence at the Hotel Hanshin in Osaka for a lengthy on-camera interview about his wondrous world championship win, his compelling life story and his quest to stay atop his profession. The hotel is the United States’ team headquarters during the world championships.
Reese lacked any sense of pretension or presumption. He wore a worn, white USA track and field T-shirt, flip flops and what appeared to be training shorts. He greeted us in the hotel lobby with a calm smile and congenial reserve.
Our first mission was to find a place to videotape the interview. Since we failed to make specific arrangements with USA Track and Field, we needed to find a place ourselves.
A team manager found a room for us on the third floor, but we moved fearing removal because of restricted access. Reese, his gold medal in hand, then calmly convinced the front desk staff to let us use a room on the 22nd floor. It turned out to be a suite big enough to comfortably accommodate a houseful of grown-up Hoffas.
Reese proved engaging from the start, and talked lucidly throughout the 90-minute interview. He spoke contentedly when recounting his quiet victory night eating a meal at a McDonald’s restaurant.
It was a symbolic celebration. Reese says he rarely eats McDonald’s food at home. But during his two weeks in Japan he dined there twice a day to maintain a sense of familiarity and due to his general disfavor of most Japanese foods.
“I ate a lot of grilled chicken and scraped the mayonnaise off the buns,” he said.
Tears formed in his eyes when he recounted a childhood of abandonment and refuge. A 4-year-old Reese accidentally burned his family’s house down by igniting a curtain during what he thought was playtime with his older brother.
Two weeks later his teenage mother, unmarried and poor, took him to an orphanage and said goodbye. A year later Reese was adopted and ultimately thrived with his new family in an environment that stressed academics and nurtured his athletic interests.
He reunited with his mother and brother while a freshman in college, and has since maintained contact with both.
Reese feels his outdoor world title, although grand, guarantees nothing. He’s more concerned about making the U.S. team at the Olympic trials next summer than winning a medal in Beijing.
Reese has thrived on humility, even during times of unfair consequence. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, he says he was forced out of his room once his competition was over a couple of days into the games to make room for other competitors. He stored his clothes in a hotel basement and slept on a bed in a common area. Typically, it was no big deal to Reese.
After the interview, we handed Reese our video camera to shoot video of his door that was adorned with a balloon and a large paper star celebrating his win, since we had restricted access to the athlete’s rooms.
Later, in the hotel lobby, Reese than displayed his talent deciphering a Rubik’s cube. His personal record for solving the puzzle is 45 seconds. In two attempts in front of a handful of people, he managed a best finish of 1 minute, seven seconds. Not close to being medal worthy. The world record is about nine seconds.
Reese admitted to being a bit rusty. He learned the skill in college to pass time while waiting between rounds during shot put competitions and for a time practiced daily. He limits his Rubik’s routine, saying he’s careful to not overwork his fingers and forearm muscles.
Reese could not avoid the smatterings of attention, not that he wanted to. He gently greeted well-wishers and allowed them to touch and caress his medal. He gracefully returned congratulatory hugs and signed autographs.
That night, his last in Japan, he planned an evening alone and hoped to watch some movies in his room. He had not seen his wife in more than two weeks.
Reese was headed home, happy and content as a hibernating bear.