New generation
Biaggio Ali Walsh (without helmet) looks on from the sideline during a recent home game.
Photo by Jann Hendry
Sanchez's generation gets the reference — Ali's famous "
Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" poem for George Foreman — but most of Biaggio's generation does not.
"Some on the team don't even know who Muhammad Ali is," Burgman said.
Biaggio, in fact, said he didn't start understanding the scope of his grandfather's fame and influence until he attended the 2007 Orange Bowl in Miami. Ali and Arnold Palmer were honored before the game pitting Louisville (Ali's hometown) and Wake Forest (Palmer's alma mater) against each other. During the coin toss, the throng of more than 80,000 began chanting Ali's name, which happened routinely whenever he fought.
"It really got to me," Biaggio said. "I felt proud and honored. They were chanting 'Ali.' I remember thinking, ‘That's my name.'"
Said Rasheda: "I think at that moment the boys realized their Papi was more than just their grandfather. He was special to a lot of people."
There have been other more enlightened moments, Biaggio said.
Ali surprised his grandsons - Biaggio (left) and Nico - by showing up for
their youth basketball game in 2009.
Photo courtesy of Ali-Walsh family
Like the time in 2009 when Ali and his wife surprised the boys at a youth basketball game they played at Silverado Springs Recreation Center in Henderson, Nev. Rasheda and Walsh knew they were coming, but no one else did, including the head coach, who didn't even know the boys' lineage.
Walsh and Rasheda rarely share the family tree, unless asked. It's not to be secretive, but to simply let the boys make their own path.
Since the boys resemble Walsh's Italian side of the family, more than Ali's African-American side, people rarely make the connection.
"People lost their minds," Rasheda said. "Everyone wondered what the heck is Muhammad Ali doing at this old dingy gym watching a recreation basketball game?"
Biaggio was one of them.
"I'm playing in the game and all of a sudden, I see my grandpa in the corner, surrounded by everyone," he said. "People were taking pictures and asking for autographs. I was kind of shocked myself.
"He loves the attention. But sometimes it (all the attention) can get a little annoying."
It wasn't annoying in February of 2012, when some of the heavyweights of the entertainment world honored Ali for a 70th birthday bash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The event, which also raised awareness and money for Parkinson's disease, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and others, lasted five hours and featured performances from Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Snoop Dogg, John Legend and LL Cool J, who brought down the house with "Mama Said Knock You Out."
Nico, still not comprehending Papi's fame told Walsh: "This is a little over the top, isn't it?"
By now, both boys realize nothing is over the top for their grandfather, especially when Bruno Mars tweeted out that a recent Louisville concert he performed at was dedicated to Ali. Mars is a family favorite.
"That was awesome," Biaggio said.
Said Rasheda with a laugh: "The kids thought that was the neatest thing ever. I think that cemented their grandpa's legacy forever."
Biaggio Ali Walsh talks to his parents Rasheda Ali-Walsh and Bob Walsh after a recent game.
Photo by Jann Hendry
