James Graham died of a heart attack on Friday night.
OPINION: James Graham never made it to the game. He died of a heart attack on Friday night. There were no black armbands before the Super 15 final. There was not a minute's silence, except in the hearts of so many of James' friends. For the many of you who were unfortunate enough never to meet him, read on, because JG was one of the finest sportsmen this country has ever known.
It didn't matter if you were Sir Graham Henry or Carl Petersen, a good old boy from the local Wairarapa rugby club, James was there for you. Sitting around, having a beer, James was likely to not just be the smartest guy in the room, but also the kindest. It's what made him special.
Sir Graham says, "James and I were on the board of the Rugby Site together. He was a hell of a good man. It's a shock to hear of his death. He was very supportive of New Zealand rugby, of all rugby. He went everywhere, from internationals to the local club scene.
"I was a guest at his house last year. It was Matt Henry's first ODI for the Black Caps, they were playing India. I carried on for four hours about how Matt Henry was my son and I was pretty nervous for him. James was a top man. You always felt good when you had been in his company."
James cared passionately about sport. An Irishman married to a great Kiwi girl, one of the first things he did when he made his home in the Wairarapa, was to do a tour of the local rugby clubs. As soon as some got a whiff of James's money, they asked him to be a sponsor.
But Tuhirangi were different. A guy came up to James, welcomed him to the club and invited him in for a beer. That was good enough for James. Petersen says, "We held him in massive regard. He was supporter of the year for a couple of years. One year he never missed a game and we all knew how busy he was. He was second to none.
"He saw a bunch of good Kiwi lads having a bit of fun down the valley, trying their best. When I was about to fly off the handle at some official clown, I would ring him and he would give me some quiet advice. I rated him so highly."
I sometimes thought there must be five James Grahams in the Wairarapa. Last Monday, I went down to Clareville to pick up my son from futsal and saw a hockey match going on under the lights. There was a green beanie in the distance. James was there, he always was, supporting his daughter Jess.
And Jess, know this. Dad may be gone, but he will still always be on the sidelines for you, smiling, encouraging, never angry. And he will still be rooting for his wife Rebecca, who represents New Zealand at triathlon in the over-something age group.
James could have been a contender himself. He was a hell of an athlete as a kid, but then in his teens he was told that he had a heart defect. That's how James got to know Rob Waddell later on. They swapped heart stories. I'm not sure whose was bigger.
James cared, he really cared. He was a mate of Rob Morrison at the Phoenix, who he also regularly went to cheer on, and he supported a 15-year-old who plays for Karori. He proudly sent me a video of the kid flicking the ball over the keeper with his left foot.
James was always sending his mates sporting video links. Here are a couple of my favourites from the last six months. Take a look. One will make you laugh your head off, the other will warm your heart. Pure James.
"Oh stop it, Mark," he would say.
On Sunday I asked Rebecca what would happen if Ireland played New Zealand in the World Cup final. Would the part of her that was aching for James, root for Ireland.
"Don't be silly," she said, big smile on her face.
That's why James loved her.
And although James couldn't play sport any more, he didn't just stay on the sidelines. He got involved with the stuff that mattered to him. We were both passionate about concussion. James refused to watch the Mayweather fight. He was disgusted at the man's history of bashing women and he would not pay money to watch men batter each other into unconsciousness.
He loved Peter Fitzsimons' great column when he rails against rugby league namesake James Graham; "Do you get that in the history of the world, no champion footballer – of which you are a prime example – has ever said, while able to stand, "You know what? I have been thinking closely about this, and I really think, for the sake of myself, my future and my family, I am going to have a spell."
So the 'real' James Graham invested in a company called Imprimatur that has developed a non-invasive tool for diagnosing brain injury. He always put his money where his heart was.
The battle scarred Irish tricolor flies today at half-mast outside the house of James, Rebecca and Jess. But for many of us the big Irishman lives on. You can keep your Roger Federers and your Tiger Woods, my sporting hero is James, Jimmy, JG, Graham. He was the ultimate sportsman.
- Mark Reason, Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/70031805/mark-reason-why-jimmy-graham-is-my-sporting-hero
This is such a lovely article, love you JG xx
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