1988, the feat of Alberto Tomba: the Sanremo festival stops to cheer on “La Bomba”

Massimo Ranieri is preparing to win the 38th edition of the Sanremo festival with “Losing love” , Italy remains glued to TV for what is the latest prestigious echo of the national song, but a few moments before the spotlight and the stage, albeit ideally, are for a young boy from San Lazzaro di Savena of just 22 years .
One who was able to temporarily interrupt and divert the rigid and plastered festival of Italian music with its rules and labels… he who is a skier . Not a footballer, not belonging to a sport, let’s say, more national -popular .

Alberto Tomba bursts into the final evening of the festival: a live link to snow-covered Canada for the 1988 Calgary Olympics , where the Bolognese is at the starting gate for the second run of the special slalom . [/ Vc_column_text] [/ vc_column] [/ vc_row]

[/ vc_column] [/ vc_row] Alberto Tomba, “the Bomb” , managed to spontaneously involve millions of Italians, with his charisma, the his doing outside the rules, histrionic and extroverted, his being a champion and also a character that Italian sport has known a few other times. One of the first media phenomenawhich made the Italian press fall in love, the only one to polarize the attention of spectators outside the strictly sporting confines and to challenge, with irony, an internationally recognized idol:
Maradona has come to Italy and many kneel in front of him. There are more fanatics in football than in skiing. No, I don’t envy him, I’m fine with that. But I want to challenge him because I’m not bad at football, I want to see him on skis… Here, Maradona I challenge you “(Gazzetta dello Sport – December 31, 1988)
From the orchestra to the demanding audience of the Ariston theater , from the singers to the conductors Miguel Bose and Gabriella Carlucci , passing through the many international guests who took the stage during the four days of the show such as Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker, Bon Jovi or Paul Anka, the only performance they wanted to see was that of Alberto Tomba who, two days earlier, had taken gold in the giant at his first participation in the Winter Olympics.

Silently and in trepidation, everyone watches his test Of him: Tomba part of him, hungry, attacking the track with his unique style. At the end of the test, he scores an excellent time of 1: 39.47 , leads the provisional classification, but we still have to wait for the German Worndl . He goes, reaches the finish line and the clock marks 1: 39.53. Six hundredths of a difference, six hundredths to deliver the second gold medal around the neck of the Italian Tomba . There are 20 million, the Italians who glued in front of the screen that evening during the festival. At the end of the performance, the first to get up from the audience and Aldo Biscardi , conductor of the famous “Trial”.
There will be a total of five Olympic medals (three golds), four world trophies (two golds), a World Cup in 1995 and eight specialties between four slalom and four giant, for a total of 88 podiums in World Cup and 50 wins .
At the end of 1988, when Italy and the world discover the talent of a young boy from Romagna destined to become legend, Alberto does not realize what he has done, indeed, eager to become the best, I confess that I have a dream that Rereading it today, he, a charismatic, media and show character, sounds very appropriate:
Becoming the greatest in the world. Being able to conquer so much, that people who do not know me so much for now, could recognize me everywhere even dressed in civilian clothes. Be known as the Pope, Reagan, Gorbachov or Stallone. No, but maybe they don’t know Stallone in Africa… ”

(Gazzetta dello Sport – December 31, 1988)
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