Paul Silberman wore star-spangled Spandex and lugged around a 70-pound sound rig blasting ’80s and ’90s tunes. Silberman, a dentist, has been an unofficial DJ on two wheels at marathons and bike races for nine years. He recalled one time when Senator Max Baucus of Montana gashed his head on a rock after tripping up on the first eight miles of 50-mile run in 2003, so Silberman played the soundtrack of the movie Rocky to motivate Baucus to continue the 42 miles to the finish line.
Baucus had to undergo surgery to relieve pressure in his head after the race. He has also been a key lawmaker pushing health-care reform in Congress. “By keeping Baucus moving with ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and the theme from Rocky, Dad allowed Baucus to have the aneurysm [by keeping him moving after his fall], which made him interested in health care, which led to him carrying it through the Senate,” joked his son, Joel Silberman. “So yeah, I guess my dad is kind of a hero.”
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