Politics & Power Quote by Rafer Johnson

Rafer Johnson isn’t selling glamour here; he’s quietly describing the work of showing up. The sentence moves in a steady progression - local, regional, then Hershey - and that structure matters. It’s the same ladder athletes climb: early rounds that feel invisible, then higher stakes, then the televised finish. By mapping his own schedule onto that ladder, Johnson signals allegiance to process over spectacle. He’s not swooping in for the photo op at the final; he’s present when “the program starts,” where nerves are raw and attention is scarce.

The subtext is mentorship as logistics. Johnson, an Olympic champion with enough status to stay distant, chooses proximity instead. The phrase “I make appearance” is slightly formal, almost bureaucratic, which fits the world he’s describing: park and recreation agencies, qualifying meets, regional competitions. This isn’t the mythic stadium; it’s public infrastructure. It’s youth sports as civic project, run by local departments and volunteers. Johnson’s celebrity functions like a seal of approval that tells kids (and funders) the pipeline is real.

The mention of Hershey, Pa., lands like a deliberately unglamorous anchor. Not Los Angeles, not New York - Hershey in August, where the North American final of the Hershey’s Track and Field Games has long been staged. Johnson frames excellence as something that can begin on municipal grass and end on a national stage, provided someone respected bothers to witness the beginning. That’s the intent: make the “local levels” feel like they matter because they do.