"Me, it's been an awesome two weeks,"

[ergott]

"Me, it's been an awesome two weeks," Miller said. "I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level."

no comment.

:beer:
:beer:
:beer:
:beer:
:beer:
ski
:beer:
:beer:
ski
:beer:
ski

[dave thompson]

Me, it's been an awesome two weeks," Miller said. "I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level.
What a putz.

[Kevin]

Schmuck

[Too Tall]

Tell me you are kidding, he didn't really say that?

I was talking to my brother last eve. and he made a valid point...up until I heard this...that Olympic athletes such as Lindsay and Bode who had unexpected downturns would still go on to great accomplishments and $$$ endorsments because their reputation and skill is huge and respected.

BUT THIS, geesh.

[stevep]

having long association with pretty talented athletes and a few very talented athletes...this schmuck will sit down 10 years from now and cry himself to sleep because he has totally blown the talent that he had. a real crying shame and he seems too stupid to realize how much he has blown it.
he has the physical skills but we all know that the brain is at least 50% of the package...and he has no brains.
damn shame

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I think I'd agree with that.

I think everybody has a "D'OH!!" moment in their 30's or 40's when they figure out a few things they really should have done differently before they really "grew up." For most of us we can still tell ourselves everything still turned out pretty much OK.

But for him, he may never figure it out, but I think it's more likely he's going to have one HELL of a "D'OH!!" moment . . .

BBD

[gary135r]

trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it gets harder everyday. conspiracy theorist would say he tanked on purpose. I mean not only did he not medal which is part luck, but he didn't even finish 3 of the 5 races he competed in. A world class athelete should not fail that miserably IMHO.

[scrooge]

Did Bob Costas (is that the guy on NBC?) offer a fairly harsh commentary on Miller's performance last night on NBC? I only saw the last few seconds of it, but it sounded like he wasn't a fan either. Anybody see this? Or am I making it up?

[bironi]

Based on Miller's past record of hit and miss success in races, and his attitude about the Olympics before going to Torino, his latest comments come as no surprise. He said prior to the Olympics that he did not want to go because he felt they were all about winning medals, and had nothing to do with the Olympic ideal. His mind set going in could account for a self-fulfilling outcome.

Personally, I enjoyed the performance he gave when he hit a gate with one ski, and gave an amazing slow motion recovery to bring his trailing ski back into place, all the while looking relaxed on one ski at very high speed. It may not have won a medal, but man it was amazing to watch.

[Mud]

was just never quite good enough; did not have the natural speed that top athletes have, did not have the resources that these guys have, it just is a shame to watch him just pee :beer: it away. Look at him compared to 4 years ago. He is fat, smug and just impossible to root for.

[manet]

Did Bob Costas (is that the guy on NBC?) offer a fairly harsh commentary on Miller's performance last night on NBC? I only saw the last few seconds of it, but it sounded like he wasn't a fan either. Anybody see this? Or am I making it up?

bob really wanted to ask
bodie if he saw brokeback mtn.
and if not, who would he like
to go see it with.

all for parity to his prior nights
harassment of sasha cohen. trying
to get her to comment on her possible
interest in dating a certain red-headed,
gold winning snowboarder.

[manet]

george carlin would be SOOOOO
much better than bob costas.

[gary135r]

was just never quite good enough; did not have the natural speed that top athletes have, did not have the resources that these guys have, it just is a shame to watch him just pee :beer: it away. Look at him compared to 4 years ago. He is fat, smug and just impossible to root for.
That's the theory on why the Olympics in general are not fun to watch anymore. Instead of the purity of amateur athletics, we are inundated with self absorbed pro atheletes that are hard to root for.

[BigDaddySmooth]

Bode said that too. C'mon, who among us wouldn't be out chasing snow- bunny foreign tail everynight if we just got a huge Nike endorsement? BTW, do you think the Nike execs are happy about his 3 DNF's? Are they Bodeism?

The entire Alpine team is an embarrassment IMHO. 2 Golds are great but they also said they would challenge the Austrians for supremacy. 14 medals to 2, Austria.

Why can't these knuckleheads behave more like Ohno and Cheek?

[Needs Help]

Personally, I enjoyed the performance he gave when he hit a gate with one ski, and gave an amazing slow motion recovery to bring his trailing ski back into place
Great highlight.

conspiracy theorist would say he tanked on purpose.
It seems like that's what he did in his last race. At the very top, he skidded a turn scrubbing lots of speed, and then he half heartedly went around 3 more gates before it looked like he purposefully straddled a gate, and without any hesitation immediately skied off the course.

Did Bob Costas (is that the guy on NBC?)...
Yes. With his new, hip black hairdo, he looks like death warmed over.

...offer a fairly harsh commentary on Miller's performance last night on NBC?
Yes, he took him to task. You can only be "too cool for school" if you win.

He is fat
Yep. And I doubt US tax payers are going to foot the bill anymore to pay for his full time ski vacation.

[Serotta PETE]

Great highlight.


It seems like that's what he did in his last race. At the very top, he skidded a turn scrubbing lots of speed, and then he half heartedly went around 3 more gates before it looked like he purposefully straddled a gate, and then skied off the course.


Yes. With his new, hip black hairdo, he looks like death warmed over.


Yes, he took him to task. You can only be "too cool for school" if you win.


Yep. And I doubt US tax payers are going to foot the bill anymore to pay for his full time ski vacation.

**** Cheney has invited him on a hunting trip upon his return. :) :)

[slowgoing]

I must be the only one not that disappointed with him. We all knew how he was beforehand. Are we really so surprised that he didn't change his colors after we sent him? Eyes wide open, I say.

[Tom]

Say he winds four gold medals and he parties hearty the whole time. Everybody would be lining up and saying what a wonderful rebel he is, kissing his *** both personally and in absentia.

Difference is, he ain't winning. We don't like people who don't win. Therefore, we don't like him.

Walk the talk? Y'all oughta try and do what he does at the level he does it. (1) You can't ski like that. (2) You can't hold the liquor.

It isn't like turning on a light switch, peoples. That's why they compete. That's why it isn't figure skating.

[Lost Weekend]

I wanna see clips of him partying down - hittin on euro trash woman and going nuts. Let us be the judge of his rebel-ness. Is he really a bad arsh boozer or just another wannabe- does he walk the walk- could he hang with Beleshi- now that guy was the olympian of goood times.

[csm]

he's still a heckuva skier. better than 99.9% of us.

[neverraced]

What's it to you if he wants to party? Is anybody losing money on this deal? Is it important to you that he performs according to your expectations? Does he work for you?

[gasman]

He is one heck of a skier but his attitude was piss poor. Ok, he didn't win a medal but if talked about some Olympic ideas and what an honor and pleasure it was to compete I could have respected him. He was supported to ski for Olympic medals and he could have said something about that but instead we had a kid who seemed not to care about anything but having fun.A success, give me a break. He was flat overweight and out of shape. Yes he is a heck of a skier with lots of talent but some other kid could have gone instead with a much better attitude and be grateful for the chance to attend the games.
I have got to think Nike will drop him like a hot potato. He certainly doesn't deserve to attention.

[ergott]

What's it to you if he wants to party? Is anybody losing money on this deal? Is it important to you that he performs according to your expectations? Does he work for you?

It would have been nice to see someone ski who actually wanted to be there. There was no shortage of skiers that would have loved to have taken his place on the team. They couldn't have done worse.

[Ti Designs]

Back when I was racing I tracked data on what made me ride well and what didn't. The data formed paterns which I took note of and used to make sure I showed up at the races with my best chance of riding well. One thing I noticed was that I raced well after going out for a few drinks. I never raced well if I was nervous the night before and couldn't shut my mind off long enough to race. Along the same lines, my body likes a higher percentage of fat. I would always eat a big bag of potato chips followed by a pint of Ben & Jerry's the day before a race. For the most part I lived up to my expectations. When I didn't there were always people there to say "if you had a better diet and didn't go out drinking the night before..." I have over 10 years of data that says those people don't have a clue.

Now let's say you're Bode. You've never seen eye to eye with the team coaches 'cause for whatever reason doing things your own way just works for you. You also know you're not the guy who's first to practice and last to leave. You're the kind of guy who needs to turn the pressure off right up till you line up at the gate. Now let's say you get to the olympics and for some reason your game is off. Is being Mr serious gonna help? Never has before. You fall back on what's worked before, you take the pressure off and hope that the next time out of the gate you're back to being the world cup champion. If it doesn't work you have a good time, if it does you get to shut up the crowds of people who would call you a schmuck if it didn't.

This gets back to my armchair quarterback post. Bode has been Bode his whole life, he knows what works for him. You think he wanted to leave the games empty handed? It's all too easy to say what he should have done. The bottom line is that he has a world cup title and you don't. Bode 1, Serotta forum 0. If you want to make a point about how much you know, coach someone. See how far you can take them. See just how good your advice really is.

As for the interviews, I think Bode should ski, not talk. If you must blame someone for his remarks, I think you need look only as far as the press. I know nothing about what he's said and I could care less. I know a little more about another matter that happened during the games, the spin the press put on it and what really happened were two very different things.

[mwos]

Back when I was racing I tracked data on what made me ride well and what didn't. The data formed paterns which I took note of and used to make sure I showed up at the races with my best chance of riding well. One thing I noticed was that I raced well after going out for a few drinks. I never raced well if I was nervous the night before and couldn't shut my mind off long enough to race. Along the same lines, my body likes a higher percentage of fat. I would always eat a big bag of potato chips followed by a pint of Ben & Jerry's the day before a race. For the most part I lived up to my expectations. When I didn't there were always people there to say "if you had a better diet and didn't go out drinking the night before..." I have over 10 years of data that says those people don't have a clue.

Now let's say you're Bode. You've never seen eye to eye with the team coaches 'cause for whatever reason doing things your own way just works for you. You also know you're not the guy who's first to practice and last to leave. You're the kind of guy who needs to turn the pressure off right up till you line up at the gate. Now let's say you get to the olympics and for some reason your game is off. Is being Mr serious gonna help? Never has before. You fall back on what's worked before, you take the pressure off and hope that the next time out of the gate you're back to being the world cup champion. If it doesn't work you have a good time, if it does you get to shut up the crowds of people who would call you a schmuck if it didn't.

This gets back to my armchair quarterback post. Bode has been Bode his whole life, he knows what works for him. You think he wanted to leave the games empty handed? It's all too easy to say what he should have done. The bottom line is that he has a world cup title and you don't. Bode 1, Serotta forum 0. If you want to make a point about how much you know, coach someone. See how far you can take them. See just how good your advice really is.

As for the interviews, I think Bode should ski, not talk. If you must blame someone for his remarks, I think you need look only as far as the press. I know nothing about what he's said and I could care less. I know a little more about another matter that happened during the games, the spin the press put on it and what really happened were two very different things.


Thank you! :)

Kathi

[William]

Say he winds four gold medals and he parties hearty the whole time. Everybody would be lining up and saying what a wonderful rebel he is, kissing his *** both personally and in absentia.





Alberto Tomba. :beer:


William

[ti_boi]

Uh Oh...

[stevep]

won the world cup last year. this year he added 20 pounds of solid fat and could not ski a lick. was totally smoked after each event.
damn shame i say.
they should have replaced him on the team after his 60 minutes episode imho with someone who would have appreciated the experience.

[William]

Another Olympic moment brought to you by...

COCA COLA. When you need something to dilute the rum, Coca-Cola is there for you. Just ask Bode....


William

[Too Tall]

He is a representative of USA. For good bad or otherwise the USOC took a calculated risk that could have been a MASSIVE success. Narcissictic behaviour just ain't Olympic...it just ain't.

The man needs unconditional love to repair his soul. If he survives the next yr. I'll wager you see a new man.

[BumbleBeeDave]

<<Does he work for you?>>

Why, yes, as a matter of fact, he does. I don't think the Olympic training center and all their various programs are funded by kids going door-to-door selling band candy.

<<You think he wanted to leave the games empty handed?>>

I don't see much indication that he really cared.

<<If you must blame someone for his remarks, I think you need look only as far as the press.>>

An easy excuse directed at a convenient--and popular--target. Regardless of whether a TV camera was there, he obviously DID have the attitude he did. If he was saying things like he did in front of the TV cameras, what do you think he was saying when they were not around, when there was no goal except expressing his emotions or impressing some girl? I just hope he wasn't wearing anything with USA on it when he did . . .

I don't ski. I don't coach skiing. I dislike going downhill on anything that doesn't have brake levers. And you're paying exactly what my opinion may be worth. BUT . . . for me going to the Olympics is not just about winning medals. It's about representing your country. It's about serving as a role model. It's about making the folks back home proud of your being there, and proud to have supported you when you were trying to get there. It's about paying back all the people who stood behind you and helped you and cheered for you and loved you and would not give up on you. And you do that by trying to be the very best you can be both on and off the field. It's not just about how much foreign tail you can score and it's not just about getting a free tote bag with an iPod and cool looking clothes.

You go there because you want to win, and you go there to represent your friends, your family, and your country in a positive light. I don't see much evidence that Miller cared about ANY of those things. He was on the team because there are some important people in charge these days who don't care much about any of those "real" things either. They just care about winning medals, and they made a calculated gamble that Miller would add to their medal count without embarassing us all too much. Well, they lost. Miller lost. The poor guy who could have been there instead of Miller lost. We ALL lost because people around the world got yet another shining example of what America's really all about.

BBD

[DreaminJohn]

Maybe he needs to throw in another gratuitous Lance cheap shot. :D

[93legendti]

Maybe he needs to throw in another gratuitous Lance cheap shot. :D


From reading this Forum, I think I understand how to get and keep the love:

you have to care--unless you are Jan (sorry Bode);
you have to win this year-- unless you are Jan (sorry Bode);
but not too often (sorry Lance);
you have to clap for a teammate at the right time --unless you are Kim Meissner (sorry Chad);
you can't have taken drugs (sorry Tyler), or even be accussed by a journalist of taking drugs -- unless you are Jan Ulrich (sorry Lance);
you have to have no tactical sense like Vino (sorry Lance);
you have to be married to your 1rst wife--unless you are Jan or Bjarne Riis (sorry Lance).
you have to keep every friend you ever had (sorry Lance);
You have to care about your team -- unless you are Shani;
and most importantly, you have to be a good driver--unless you are Jan (sorry Lance).

If you follow these "rules", you will know who is loved by the Forum and who isn't. :rolleyes:

[ti_boi]

From reading this Forum, I think I understand how to get and keep the love:

you have to care--unless you are Jan (sorry Bode);
but not too much (sorry Lance);
you have to clap for a teammate at the right time (sorry Chad)--unless you are Kim Meissner;
you can't have taken drugs (sorry Tyler), or even be accussed by a journalist of taking drugs (sorry Lance)--unless you are Jan Ulrich;
you have to have no tactical sense like Vino;
you have to be married to your 1rst wife--unless you are Jan or Bjarne Riis (sorry Lance).
you have to keep every friend you ever had;
and most importantly, you have to be a good driver--unless you are Jan (sorry Lance).

If you follow these "rules", you will know who is loved by the Forum and who isn't. :rolleyes:


He Definitely rubbed the media's nose in his armpit!

It's like he is the 'cool kid' and is living his life the way he wants to -- I doubt he really wanted the games to turn out this way, but something tells me that he is OK with the outcome.....he is now 'notorious'....and perhaps can go on to win more outside of the vaunted Olympic venue...which is, IMHO...as corrupt and tainted as any giant sports organization....long live the 'amatuer'...yeah, right....yet....good stories abound and sacrifice wins....hedonism, well that is just bad taste...right?

[Tom]

Oh yeah, the way you get on the ski team is you beat the other guys that want to get on the ski team. If those kids that want so bad to be there want to be there they need results.

Not some special skate in front of a bunch of people more interested in merchandising than performance.

Bode blew it. He didn't perform well enough for us all to bask in his reflected glory. Bummer.

[ergott]

From reading this Forum, I think I understand how to get and keep the love:

you have to care--unless you are Jan (sorry Bode);
you have to win this year-- unless you are Jan (sorry Bode);
but not too often (sorry Lance);
you have to clap for a teammate at the right time --unless you are Kim Meissner (sorry Chad);
you can't have taken drugs (sorry Tyler), or even be accussed by a journalist of taking drugs -- unless you are Jan Ulrich (sorry Lance);
you have to have no tactical sense like Vino (sorry Lance);
you have to be married to your 1rst wife--unless you are Jan or Bjarne Riis (sorry Lance).
you have to keep every friend you ever had (sorry Lance);
You have to care about your team -- unless you are Shani;
and most importantly, you have to be a good driver--unless you are Jan (sorry Lance).

If you follow these "rules", you will know who is loved by the Forum and who isn't. :rolleyes:

That about sums it up! :p

[William]

My hats off to these folks.

http://www.shave.com/kristan/img/index_02.jpg

130 KPH, face first just mike mikes off the ice....that's some cool shi'ate IMHO. ATTFJ. :cool:

Splain'in (http://www.nzskeletonracer.com/What_is_Skeleton_Racing.htm)

William

[Bittersweet]

If you listen to Bode you'll note that what he likes to do is ski race. He doesn't really care about winning all the time or meeting the expectations of others. He is a loose cannon and says wild and often stupid stuff. He doesn't care that much about the Olympics and a lot of people do and he was a terrible ambassador for showing how much we should all care about the Olympics. He said before, during, and after he didn't care. For the US Ski Team though, they had to take him. Posts in this thread that he is terrible this year are nonsense. Best in the US overall. Strong early season results. 3rd overall in the World Cup standings behind Raich, Walchoffer and ahead of Maier. By the way at the Olympics he was 5th in the DH and 6th in GS - first American. He has completely changed the sport technically.

What he did during the Olympics is what he does all season every season and has done since he was at CVA up in ME. The USA just doesn't care about ski racing but for once every four years and they are pissed that Bode didn't suck up, change his whole lifestyle so that it would meet our ideals. Bode was Bode, but the everyone in the USA was just hoping that that couldn't really be what he is like. Oops, shame on us.

[Ti Designs]

I don't see much indication that he really cared.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't sent to the games against his will. I didn't see much of a story there. He made a few comments to the press which were stupid, that doesn't say anything about his drive to win.

<<If you must blame someone for his remarks, I think you need look only as far as the press.>>

An easy excuse directed at a convenient--and popular--target.

You're right, I should blame the people who belive what the press feeds them - I'm just going for the easy target. The olymipcs are a media event. Some things get spun to look positive, some negative. The whole story never sees the light of day - too much money involved for that. Do you belive that it was Michelle Kwan's decision to leave because she couldn't win a gold medal? Try again. She couldn't complete her program, they ageed to put a positive spin on it and she was replaced. It looked better for US figure skating and for the sponsors, it wasn't the true story.

Sorry Dave, this isn't an attack on you or what you do. I just feel that the press in an event like the olympics has all the accuracy of a long range weather forcast - which by the way is why there were only 5 people out on the Saturday group ride. When will they learn???


for me going to the Olympics is not just about winning medals. It's about representing your country. It's about serving as a role model.

OK, on that point I think we can agree that he failed badly. His sponsors are also reading over their contracts looking for ways out.


And you do that by trying to be the very best you can be both on and off the field.

This is where I disagree with most. Being the best you can be on the field (or slope as the case may be) means doing things that work for you. Are you qualified to tell anyone there what works for them? In coaching I don't tell my riders exactly what they need to do before a race, I tell them they need to figure out what they need to do. Some of them are all business, they have a mental toughness that allows them to focus when they need to. Others get nervous, have bad warm-ups and even worse races if they try to do the same. Nervous energy is a hard thing to deal with, I think what the press was showing was how Bode was dealing.

You see this time after time with the public not getting the whole story. Does Jan sit on the sofa and stuff his face all winter. Yeh, it kinda looks that way, but I'm sure there's another story. It's easy to say "lock the fridge", but my guess is that he gains weight because his training level is down and that's just how his body reacts - seen Hinault when he stopped racing??? Armchair quarterbacks have all the answers, it's funny how much more they know than the teams, coaches and directors of the guys who are winning races.

When someone says something about one of my riders that I don't agree with I have a simple answer - "why don't you show up on our training rides and get the real story". I think it would be refreshing if Bode would invite people to come train with him for a day. Two weeks worth of pain followed by a lifetime of respect (if only he would keep his mouth closed).





You go there because you want to win, and you go there to represent your friends, your family, and your country in a positive light. I don't see much evidence that Miller cared about ANY of those things. He was on the team because there are some important people in charge these days who don't care much about any of those "real" things either. They just care about winning medals, and they made a calculated gamble that Miller would add to their medal count without embarassing us all too much. Well, they lost. Miller lost. The poor guy who could have been there instead of Miller lost. We ALL lost because people around the world got yet another shining example of what America's really all about.

BBD[/QUOTE]

[toaster]

Yeah, armchair quarterbacks.

Bode makes more $$ than the armchair QB's and he's doing it the only way he knows how. Like most everything in life, it won't last for long. What's next, or should I say, who's next to talk about.

[Ti Designs]

**** Cheney has invited him on a hunting trip upon his return. :) :)

Hey, Cheney shot a lawyer, give the guy some credit.

[Tom]

<<Does he work for you?>>

Why, yes, as a matter of fact, he does. I don't think the Olympic training center and all their various programs are funded by kids going door-to-door selling band candy.


BBD
Well, as a matter of fact, that appears to be how they fund it...

By Michael Jay Friedman
Washington File Staff Writer



Washington – Creative financing secured from a variety of individual, corporate and community sources underpins the U.S. Olympic effort, a feature that sets American amateur sports apart from amateur athletic programs in much of the world.

In Sioux City, Iowa, fourth- and fifth-graders sold baked goods and collected the deposits on recyclable bottles and cans. Georgia second-graders collected nearly $400 in pennies. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team held a series of formal balls, inviting their fans to dance, and obtain autographs, at such posh locations as New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The snowboarders raised more than $1 million.

These are only a few examples of how Americans raise funds for the training, preparation and care of their Olympic athletes, including those competing at Torino, Italy, in the 2006 Winter Games.

As with the arts, the funding of the U.S. Olympic effort is highly decentralized and largely shared by private businesses and millions of individual Americans. This system has proven popular; a 2004 Harris Poll revealed that three in four Americans prefer that Olympic training be paid for exclusively or predominantly through private funding. One possible benefit is that everyone -- down to penny-collecting 8-year-olds -- can point with pride to their contribution to what is truly "their" Olympic team

[jeffg]

he's a cyclist, and from what I can tell, a class act.

Bode isn't either of those things, as far as I can tell.

Ti may be right, we have no business telling him how to prepare for his ski races. It is unfortunate that his opinions and his representation of his country leave something to be desired.

Media or not: If Bode doesn't like the trappings of fame and success, thems the brakes for better or worse. Just don't do a Cobain on us buddy ...

As Ti said: World cup wins -- Bode 1, Serotta Forum 0
[TdF wins: Jan 1, Serotta Forum 0 (oh, and 5 2nd places, a third and a fourth, plus a few other wins like the Vuelta and the Olympic RR in Sydney ;) )]

[William]

As Ti said: World cup wins -- Bode 1, Serotta Forum 0
[TdF wins: Jan 1, Serotta Forum 0 (oh, and 5 2nd places, a third and a fourth, plus a few other wins like the Vuelta and the Olympic RR in Sydney ;) )]

That about wraps it up don't you think?


William ;)

[jeffg]

That about wraps it up don't you think?


William ;)

It wraps up whether I am qualified to tell him anything about training or racing. As a fan (in Jan's case) it doesn't tell whether or not I'll be screaming at the TV or live on the road like a hyena when he comes riding by and hoping he kicks ***, or whether I put off buying a TV here in Germany for another month or two since I couldn't care less about the Olympics or Bode. I just gotta get me one for Flanders!

[andy mac]

i could write 5 pages on this but i'll edit it down to:

1. in italy they are having the same discussion about how in the skating Maurizio Margaglio could drop Barbara Fusar Poli.

2. and how Rocca after winning the last 5 world Cup slalom races only made it 20 feet before falling on his face.

3. in canada they can't believe what happened in the men's hockey

4. in australia, how jackie cooper in the women's aerials broke the world record in qualifying, yet only managed 8th in the final. and why after 15 world cup wins and multiple world championships, she will retire without a medal after screwing up at 3 olympics.

5. in france why jean-pierre vidal, the defending slalom champion broke his arm free skiing in powder before his event.

6. in russia why Irina Slutskaya, the unbackable favourite, screwed up in the women's skating.

7. in scandanavia, why they did so badly in the XC races.

why no discussion here about the US female skaters screwing up? or chad henrick in all the events where he was world champion? or daron rahlves? or the US women's alpine team in general?

the olympic ski events are like the olympic road race. it's every 4 years. you never know who will win and the best often don't.

every 4 years the bob costa's of this world, who know jack all, pipe up and become experts. this expertise is then passed on the the great unwashed.

a winter olympic is generally completely hit or miss. the athletes and educated fans appreciate and understand the miss.

:beer:

the more highly prized and respected world cup season isn't over. i hope you guys stay interested in the sport.

[satty tune]

Is there any chance that Bode just doesn't care what a bunch of wannabe athletes like us (myself firmly included) think about him? He's been at the top of his sport. He's been world champion. Why should he prove anything to anyone, most of all us lot whom he doesn't even know?

Friday I found out a colleague has lung cancer. Very meticulously healthy person who actually denies herself a lot of enjoyment in terms of food and such. Maybe Bode has realized that there's more to life than performing like a monkey for millions of people he doesn't know. He's going to die like everyone else and perhaps, just perhaps, he wants to enjoy the time he has on earth.

[paulh]

He doesn't care about the world cup either.

http://www.skiracing.com/news/news_display.php/3562/ALPINE/newsArticles/

He's passing up his big chance to do some world class partying in Korea.

[gary135r]

What's it to you if he wants to party? Is anybody losing money on this deal? Is it important to you that he performs according to your expectations? Does he work for you?
can anybody say Ryan Leaf.

[gary135r]

<<Does he work for you?>>

Why, yes, as a matter of fact, he does. I don't think the Olympic training center and all their various programs are funded by kids going door-to-door selling band candy.

<<You think he wanted to leave the games empty handed?>>

I don't see much indication that he really cared.

<<If you must blame someone for his remarks, I think you need look only as far as the press.>>

An easy excuse directed at a convenient--and popular--target. Regardless of whether a TV camera was there, he obviously DID have the attitude he did. If he was saying things like he did in front of the TV cameras, what do you think he was saying when they were not around, when there was no goal except expressing his emotions or impressing some girl? I just hope he wasn't wearing anything with USA on it when he did . . .

I don't ski. I don't coach skiing. I dislike going downhill on anything that doesn't have brake levers. And you're paying exactly what my opinion may be worth. BUT . . . for me going to the Olympics is not just about winning medals. It's about representing your country. It's about serving as a role model. It's about making the folks back home proud of your being there, and proud to have supported you when you were trying to get there. It's about paying back all the people who stood behind you and helped you and cheered for you and loved you and would not give up on you. And you do that by trying to be the very best you can be both on and off the field. It's not just about how much foreign tail you can score and it's not just about getting a free tote bag with an iPod and cool looking clothes.

You go there because you want to win, and you go there to represent your friends, your family, and your country in a positive light. I don't see much evidence that Miller cared about ANY of those things. He was on the team because there are some important people in charge these days who don't care much about any of those "real" things either. They just care about winning medals, and they made a calculated gamble that Miller would add to their medal count without embarassing us all too much. Well, they lost. Miller lost. The poor guy who could have been there instead of Miller lost. We ALL lost because people around the world got yet another shining example of what America's really all about.

BBD


nicely said BBDave

[jeffg]

nicely said BBDave

"While it’s corrosive to look at sports in general and the Olympics in particular as simply a question of wins and losses—as if there’s no value in second place or in just competing honorably and well—Miller has set himself up for much of this. He claims to disdain attention, commercialism and hype, yet made himself available for the covers of Time and Newsweek, and for 60 Minutes, and for the joinbode.com campaign, which invites you to go to the effort to find out that Bode doesn’t care so much. Well, Miller will now find out, no matter how he looks at it, if you don’t care enough to consistently give your best and at least sometimes do your best, then pretty soon nobody else will care either."

[manet]

"While it’s corrosive to look at sports in general and the Olympics in particular as simply a question of wins and losses—as if there’s no value in second place or in just competing honorably and well—Miller has set himself up for much of this. He claims to disdain attention, commercialism and hype, yet made himself available for the covers of Time and Newsweek, and for 60 Minutes, and for the joinbode.com campaign, which invites you to go to the effort to find out that Bode doesn’t care so much. Well, Miller will now find out, no matter how he looks at it, if you don’t care enough to consistently give your best and at least sometimes do your best, then pretty soon nobody else will care either."

unless of course bode wants to date sasha cohen, then bob will care

[shaq-d]

i could write 5 pages on this but i'll edit it down to:

1.... <snip>
7.

why no discussion here about the US female skaters screwing up? or chad henrick in all the events where he was world champion? or daron rahlves? or the US women's alpine team in general?


because they didn't devalue the sport by belittling the events or the goals.

sd

[shaq-d]

Friday I found out a colleague has lung cancer. Very meticulously healthy person who actually denies herself a lot of enjoyment in terms of food and such. Maybe Bode has realized that there's more to life than performing like a monkey for millions of people he doesn't know. He's going to die like everyone else and perhaps, just perhaps, he wants to enjoy the time he has on earth.

doesn't sound to me like he's out there enjoying himself. enjoyment has a lot to do with how one is perceived, and i've never met a happy hedonist.

sd

[chrisroph]

Ski racing is a really tough sport. Didn't he have a couple fifth place finishes, in the downhill and the super g? That is not too bad but it is certainly disappointing for the defending world cup champion. Also, wouldn't he have been leading the combined after the first slalom run if he hadn't just barely hooked a tip? Yes, he is apparently a little out of shape and he has gone out of his way to tell the media f*** you. He ought to be a little shrewder. But the guy is a supremely talented ski racer that appears to be a little burned out. I'm willing to cut him some slack. He is still not as bad as 50% of the NBA players.

[Grant McLean]

3. in canada they can't believe what happened in the men's hockey


Bittersweet actually. The women rocked! Men, not so much.
(newspaper headline: Men, please play hockey more like girls!)
The same day the men's hockey team lost we won 5 medals.
Canada won 24 medals, 1 less than the USA, with 1/10th the population,
and a billionth less funding and sponsorship.

Canadian cyclist Clara Hughes won GOLD in 5000m speedskating,
to add to her '96 Atlanta Road race bronze and Atlanta TT bronze,
and medals at Salt Lake, making her the one of very few athletes
to medal in Olympics in both winter and summer games!

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/stories/newsmaker.shtml?/story/olympics/national/2006/02/25/Sports/hughes_newsmaker060225.html

Then there is Cindy Kassen, who won 5 medals in speed skating,
at 1000, 1500, 3000, 5000, and team persuit. She rocks!

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/stories/newsmaker.shtml?/story/olympics/national/2006/02/23/Sports/klassen_newsmaker060223.html


-g

[Dr. Doofus]

results --

who cares?

women alpine skiers are hot

hips

hips

apple booty

hips

that's what doof is talkin about

bro

[flydhest]

doesn't sound to me like he's out there enjoying himself. enjoyment has a lot to do with how one is perceived, and i've never met a happy hedonist.

sd

dude, I gotta disagree. In fact, if enjoyment is linked to how one is perceived, I think there's a serious, serious disconnect. Of the things I've achieved in life, among the most important is a severely reduced value I put on how others perceive me. I've realized that most of the people in the world are small, petty, and unpleasant to each other. Their view of me means very little.

[shaq-d]

dude, I gotta disagree. In fact, if enjoyment is linked to how one is perceived, I think there's a serious, serious disconnect. Of the things I've achieved in life, among the most important is a severely reduced value I put on how others perceive me. I've realized that most of the people in the world are small, petty, and unpleasant to each other. Their view of me means very little.

we agree. i was referring to hedonistic enjoyment above... not the deeper sense you mean here. semantix

sd

[manet]

.

[flydhest]

we agree. i was referring to hedonistic enjoyment above... not the deeper sense you mean here. semantix

sd

I really think I mean both. I think it's possible that Bode just doesn't give a rodent's sphincter what anybody else thinks about him. As a result, he might ski for himself and his own satisfaction without buying into other people's views of what's important for the sport or what the goals should be.

That said, if I could get 5th in the Olympics, I'd be pretty pleased with myself. Forget winning.

[ti_boi]

Besides, that Austrian Dude is Bionic.....not a fair contest.