Man of the moment? 时下的风云人物

Reader question:

Please explain “man of the moment”, as in (Pedro Pascal is Hollywood’s “It” Actor of the Moment, LATV.com, March 23, 2023): Pedro Pascal is the man of the moment.

My comments:

Pedro Pascal is a Hollywood actor who plays the leading role in two of the most popular shows streaming now: The Last of Us, on HBO Max, and The Mandalorian, in its third season on Disney+.

So, he’s the man of the moment, a person everybody talks about in Hollywood right now.

In other words, he’s the toast of the town.

Or was, back in March, that is, as the story is dated March 23, 2023.

In other words, somebody else may be the local hero now, right now, in June.

Anyways, “man of the moment” is an expression that describes the most popular man of this moment, this very moment, right now.

Or the most popular woman, for that matter. That would be the woman of the moment.

Or if we want to be perfectly gender neutral, we can refer to them as “persons of the moment”.

What’s the same and essential about “man or woman or person of the moment” is that they have done something special and is now the talk of town. Everybody’s talking about them, their achievement and their success story. Everyone feels inspired by them.

Things like that.

And what better way to learn more about this phrase than to read real examples.

Here are a few culled from the Internet during the past year:

1. The professional football world today is celebrating the life of Len Dawson, a champion with the Kansas City Chiefs and their predecessors, the Dallas Texans, and MVP of Super Bowl IV.

Dawson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 1987, has died at age 87, his family said in a statement released early Aug. 24. He had entered hospice care Aug. 12.

“Len grew up only a few miles from where the Pro Football Hall of Fame later was built, and fans in the area have always taken a special pride in seeing one of the greats from this region enshrined in Canton. Fans connected with Len’s story of perseverance, appreciating how he gave the game one more try after five nondescript seasons when many others would have quit,” Hall President Jim Porter said.

“The American Football League, and Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, gave Len a true opportunity,” Porter continued, “and he made the most of it, building the Chiefs into a Super Bowl contender, and eventually a world champion.”

Dawson saw his football career as a player come full circle, beginning and ending at the same stadium.

A native of Alliance, Ohio, a blue-collar town about 20 miles northeast of Canton where his name now adorns his high school’s football field, Dawson first rose in status with a standout game as a sophomore at Fawcett Stadium (now Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium) against Ohio powerhouse Canton McKinley. Three and a half decades later, he delivered his enshrinement speech outside the stadium, recalling the rough start to his pro career and the two men who revived it.

Dawson’s excellence in three sports at Alliance drew the attention of several college scouts. Choosing football and facing a decision between Ohio State’s run-first offense and the more wide-open attack at Purdue University, he headed to West Lafayette, Ind., where the man who had recruited him, Stram, was an assistant coach.

Although modest by today’s standards, Dawson’s passing statistics were tops in the Big Ten over his three seasons as a starter. As a senior, he led the conference in completions, yards and touchdowns. He made the All-America Team.

The Steelers selected him in the first round (fifth overall) in the 1957 NFL Draft. To call his time in Pittsburgh underwhelming would be an understatement: three seasons, one start in 19 appearances and six completions in 17 attempts. A trade to Cleveland didn’t change his fortunes, but a decision two years later to sign with the Texans in the American Football League led to results Dawson himself couldn’t have predicted.

Reuniting with Stram was “my saving grace. Because to tell you the truth, I was awful after five years of not playing,” Dawson said at his Enshrinement, referring to joining Stram and owner Lamar Hunt, another future Hall of Famer, in Dallas. “The skills that I once had were gone.”

Not for long.

In his first season with the Texans, 1962, Dawson flourished. He started all 15 games, led the AFL in completion percentage and touchdowns (29), and guided the Texans to a 12-3 record that culminated in a double-overtime victory against the two-time defending champion Houston Oilers in the title game. The Sporting News named him the AFL’s Most Valuable Player.

…

Stram said Dawson would be remembered for his skills and for his character and leadership.

“When I think of Lenny I also think of honor, I think of class, I think of style, I think of grace and I think of dignity,” Stram said in presenting Dawson for Enshrinement. “When I think of Lenny, I think of winning because he played a dominant role in helping us become the winningest team in the history of the American League. … When I think of Lenny, I think of leadership because he was a natural leader. He was captain of his Alliance football team, Purdue, the Dallas Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs.

“He led by example,” Stram continued, “and the bigger the game, the better he played. He was our man of the moment.”

Dawson’s legacy and his many accomplishments on and off the field will be preserved forever at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

- Chiefs’ ‘Man Of The Moment’ – Len Dawson: 1935-2022, ProFootballHOF.com, August 24, 2022.

2. Jodie Comer is really the woman of the moment. When the actress isn’t captivating audiences in her one-woman show ‘Prima Facie’ or satisfying our beauty curiosity by dropping her skincare routine (seriously, “flawless” does her a disservice), she’s bagging yet more awards.

The 30-year-old’s latest accolade is one of her most prestigious yet. On June 11, the actress attended the Tony Awards, otherwise known as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, at New York’s United Palace Theatre.

The star-studded ceremony, dedicated to honouring Broadway theatrical excellence, shone a light on Jodie’s performance as sharp-witted criminal defence barrister Tessa Ensler in ‘Prima Facie’. The Suzie Miller play opened in the Golden theatre on New York’s 45th Street in April of this year, and Sunday night provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate Jodie’s success.

The star won the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, but she also had another Tony victory on the red carpet.

Dressed by Elizabeth Saltzman, Jodie looked elegant in a dark, strapless gown by NYC-based luxury label Thom Browne. The piece felt understated, and yet, was infused with an element of quiet glitz. The structured bodice was adorned with subtle beading, pairing well with pretty pearl earrings by Ana Khouri.

- Jodie Comer bagged a Tony Award but her greater win was on the red carpet, HelloMagazine.com, June 12, 2023.

3. After being catapulted into fame in 1992 with a stint on The Micky Mouse Club, Britney Spears became one of the most famous pop stars of all time.

In 1999 she released her best-selling album Baby One More Time and by 2002 she had become a worldwide sensation making a record US$40 million (NZ$64.9m) from touring and album sales alone. Unfortunately, things in her private life took a turn and Spears’ mental health deteriorated before the public eye.

In 2008 she entered a conservatorship with her father, Jamie Spears following a public mental health crisis, and an insider told the New Yorker that she had only “a few million dollars” to her name.

Reports claimed that number changed dramatically throughout the 13-year court-ordered arrangement, but her recent – and expensive – battle to dissolve the conservatorship has taken a toll on her finances.

Now, with news that her ex-husband Kevin Federline wants to move their two sons – Sean Preston, 17, and Jayden James, 16 – to Hawaii with fans speculating it’s because of the state’s extended child support laws, it begs the question, how much has she earned and what is the pop icon actually worth?

Britney was the woman of the moment in the early 2000s. She sold out tours, had record album sales and by 2002 Forbes estimated her net worth to be $40 million ($64.9m), naming her the world’s most powerful celebrity.

- Britney Spears’ net worth revealed: As her kids turn on Brit, how much are they set to one day inherit? NZHerald.co.nz, June 14, 2023.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣   编辑：丹妮）