<p>haha when bode miller said (largely AFTER his events), that he didn’t care about medals, he was obviously lying. he was very, very cocky before/during the olympics. but what else can you say after you choke, right?</p>
<p>It was interesting to see the USAToday article about what should be done about the Olympics. THEY recommend, it seems, more hype, more extreme sports, more glitter and sparkle and, I guess, more big egos. I would go in the exact opposite direction. And yes, I agree that we saw examples of both good and bad conduct. It just seemed that the bad outweighed the good by a lot, or else the media made it seem that way. (I’m sorry that I can’t find the link to the article, which was posted on AOL earlier today, but that was the gist of it)…</p>
<p>Katiebee…i disagree, I think Bodie Miller went to have a great time and he did. Winning a medal would have been nice but he went for the Olympic experience and that he had.</p>
<p>well im just basing it on interviews etc prior to the games…im sure he also wanted a good experience, who wouldn’t? but i think he’s lying when he says he’s fine with no medals, considering how cocky he’s been in the past.</p>
<p>I too am saddened by Bode Miller’s performance during these Olympics. I am not quite sure why he took a spot on the team, except to have an Olympic experience on someone else’s dollar? On one of the shows this morning, there was a picture of Bode before and during the Olympics. Not sure exactly how much time had passed btwn the 2 photos, but, Bode had put on significant weight, at least 12 pounds…which has to have hurt him …
I think he peaked last year for the World Cup…plain and simple… and all of our Ski Team executives did not want to acknowledge that Bode was already past his prime… neither did Bode…
I was hopeful that he would ski well…for him but also for the USA… and he had some strong finishes, but overall, he was a bust. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I can attest to an incredible athlete…Seth Wescott, who won GOLD in the BorderCross…he came home to Maine… and arrived at our ski mountain, Sugarloaf…on Saturday to a very large crowd…where a small bordercross had been built on the landing right above the lodge…for Seth to put on a demonstration…and then to have any and all kids ski and board on the run with him…he went down the course many times…and it was a delight to watch the kids following him like he was a Pied Piper…he went thru the crowd and high fived them all…showed his medal… congratulated parents for having their kids out and active during winter…he has already filmed at least 1 commercial for a non-profit called Winterkids which provides free passes to all 7th graders (I think, might be 5th graders) and gets kids on cross country skis at many schools thruout the state… Seth has already talked with Joan Benoit Samuelson (you remember her, she is a Mainer who won the 1st Olympic women’s marathon) about how to use his success for good … Seth could be anywhere right now and he chose to bring his gold back home to the mountain where he mastered his sport and that was one classy move… Bode could learn a thing or two from Seth and Joanie… she started an annual race here in Maine… Beach to Beacon… a race from one of Maine’s glorious beaches to the Portland Headlight (commissioned by George Washington) and some of the best runners in the world return year after year… each year a different charity is the primary beneficiary of the funds raised by that race. </p>
<p>There are many other athletes who did represent us well…Joey Cheek and Emily Hughes, Apollo Ohno is a GOLD winner in every way…and others who represented other countries beautifully also… I am glad we got thru this without any major act of terrorism… and overall, I think there was a warm reception for any and all of our athletes…a feat in and of itself considering the political clime these days…</p>
<p>Maineparent…I didn’t know your home ski area is Sugarloaf. I just got back from an exciting day for my D and her teammates at Regional Ski Race Championships in NH. They are racing at Nationals at Sugarloaf in about ten days and we’re going. She has never skied in Maine before. </p>
<p>I don’t think it is all about winning but it surely is about doing your personal best. My D had such a day today. I can’t imagine not caring. But I can imagine not being there necessarily to win but to do your best and for the love of the sport.</p>
<p>As someone with a foot in both countries, I was especially happy to see that Canada finished with only one less medal than the U.S. 
Lots of nice stories, too, especially the one about the men winning gold in curling. Canada is one of the very few countries which does not pay athletes for medal wins. Speculation is that that will change prior to 2010 in Vancouver but I’m hoping it doesn’t.</p>
<p>yeah, i’m canadian too and i was so pleased with them this olympics! especially cindy klassen, who won 5 medals! and i agree, i think it’s great that we don’t pay our athletes-it shows that they do this for the true love of their sport and of their country, and what i love most about the olympics is that its for amateur athletes, and paying them, or using NHL players for hockey, takes away from the amateur athletes’ moment of glory. hopefully we don’t pay them at 2010, where we hope to do even better.</p>
<p>As a kid I remember the Olympics being such a big deal. We all watched with great interest. But now for some reason I’m not the least bit interested, nor are my kids. Its not their attitudes in that I didn’t even know there was a problem with that. I don’t know what it is.</p>
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<p>If you consider stinking the place up every time he competed “having a great time”, then yeah, I guess he did.</p>
<p>I agree with katiebee. It’s way too easy to shrug and try act cool and claim to not care about medals after you’ve failed to win any. Miller is exactly like Aesop’s fox, who after trying mightily to reach some inacessable grapes, turned away saying “I don’t care about those grapes. Anyone can see they are sour.”</p>
<p>i still get really int the olympics…my whole family does. i guess it really depends on the type of person you are. for me, it really brings out my national pride, though hearing about these 16-year-old athletes makes me feel like such an underachiever, lol.</p>
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Speaking of which, did you guys see the men’s hockey final? Sweden/Finland = intense. (I’m Swedish. :D)</p>
<p>My roommate in college was a Finn, so I was sort of cheering for Finland. I can assure you that there are now 5 million crushed Finns out there. For them there is nothing sweeter than beating Sweden - in anything. They suffer from a sort of Little Brother Syndrome.</p>
<p>yeah i saw it! i was so happy for mats sundin, he played so well…im from toronto can you tell? lol</p>
<p>We saw parts of the hockey match…didn’t have a strong preference for either team…DH was rooting for Finland as the underdog, but we both agreed that Sweden deserved the win, their play was better, stronger, more cohesive… I did more thoroughly enjoy the events that were presented as having major rivalry btwn countries for long periods of time…the cross country rivalries, the hockey rivalry… now Ohno’s rivalry with the Koreans… so much fun to see the backstory.</p>
<p>how can you fault a guy for saying that his “quality of life is the priority”? Isnt that the whole purpose of your life? To ensure you have a good quality of life? If it wasnt, you wouldnt be working for that paycheck that comes every week. The double standards people hold athletes to are pretty BS, in my opinion. And please, dont talk about “patriotism” or “pride and country” because those are both overrated. Not many people seemed to care about waving around their american flags and singing that bruce springsteen song prior to 9/11.</p>
<p>I happen to have spent a week with Bode, and you guys should shut up because you don’t know what you are taking about. He was nice, open, and fun. He grew up dirt poor, taught himself to ski, supports lots of people including the handicapped, whom he supports in a big way but doesn’t talk about it as ublicly as some athletes.
His brother was in a horrible accident at the beginning of the season( in a coma), the pressure on him was intense as the world anointed him “Golden Boy” of the Olympics, which he didn’t even want to go to because he knew it would be a circus. Two of the races included slaloms, which he NEVER places in and usually doesn’t finish (check out his past record and you’ll see) so I don’t know why the sports announcers expected him to win at the Olympics when he never has before. He didn’t hurt anyone, he didn’t get in fights with anyone. So he didn’t win a medal. If you want one, go try and win one. He is still ranked #3 best skiier in the world. He was under terrible pressure and maybe he didn’t always act perfectly, but he didn’t do anything terrrible, either. In his two best events he came in 5th and 6th. Not medal material, but he didn’t deserve to be ridiculed. Look at his record from last year when he won the World Cup (for best ski results for the year). Even then he skiied off course of fell in a third of his races. He usually does very well, or terribly. That’s his MO.</p>
<p>We all understand the pressure that an Olympic athlete is under, especially when there is a family tragedy. But if the decision is made to compete we expect athletes of that caliber and level to fight through it, not go out drinking and partying, etc. Isn’t that what closing ceremony is about and after it? You are either a serious athlete or not. But I don’t necessarily place all the blame on Bode. I blame the coaches of the team as much. From the info I have read, Bode has been a rebel the whole time, untameable. And, yes, I coached HS sports, and wouldn’t have put up with his shenanigans. But as long as he was able to get away with it, why not? What saddens me is that we had over 200 athletes who performed to the best of their abilities, behaved admirably, some won and some didn’t win any medals, but they represented themselves and the US well. But who gets the spotlight? The one sent home for fighting while drinking, the spoiled brats, and the ones who are out for only themselves. As for blanket statements that we didn’t sing Springstein or wave the flag before, there are many on this board like me, who as immigrants orpatriots wave the flag every opportunity we have. Having attended 2 Olympics, I brought a HUGE flag with me and waved it for the country not for any one athlete. I fly and have flown the flag in front of my house for many years prior to 9/11. Am a major fan of the Olympics, as well. There is a certain spirit, a nobility of sport that is embodied in the Olympics and am saddened by bad behavior on the world stage of any athlete, from whatever country. As for going to the Olypics just to have a good time, you can go as a tourist. This is a time to strive for excellence, not just winning. There were many athletes that didn’t win, but posted personal bests. Those are the ones we should be reporting and let the spoilers go away quietly.</p>
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i honestly doubt you can truly empathize seeing as youve never been in this position in your life.</p>
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<p>if you dont truly know the man in person, how can you say he wasnt fighting through it and not being a serious athlete? just because its not what YOU would do, doesnt mean its the wrong thing to do. i think we can safely say that everyone has a right to be their own person and that no two people are the exact same. you only get what the media wants you to get. dont fall into the trap of believing everything you read or hear. </p>
<p>–i dont usually quote the president or believe the same things he does, but he once said “You’re making a huge assumption that you (mainstream news media) represent what the public thinks.”</p>
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<p>high school competition and olympic competition are not even in the realm of comparability. the difference is one gets paid and brings in huge revenue, while the other one doesnt. if bode wasnt the best, or close to the best, at what he does, he wouldnt be at the olympics, plain and simple. </p>
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<p>and who’s fault is this? the media! dont put this on the athletes. they arent the ones writing the news stories that are going to make the front page.</p>
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<p>youre right, it was a blanket statement. but seeing as you like to use blanket statements as well, i thought you wouldnt have a problem with it. not only that, im quite confident in my assessment that the overwhellming majority of US citizens didnt care about patriotism before 9/11.</p>
<p>Monster,</p>
<p>You make some valid points, however consider your statement below:</p>
<p>i think we can safely say that everyone has a right to be their own person and that no two people are the exact same.</p>
<p>That is true in a CIVILZED world only to the extent that your ‘right to be your own person’ ends at the tip of my nose. In other words, compromise is essential where two or more beings co-exist, if that civilized world is to survive the selfish (and often stupid) whims and fancies of the individual. As for no two people being exactly the same – vive le difference!</p>
<p>Also this: </p>
<p>im quite confident in my assessment that the overwhellming majority of US citizens didnt care about patriotism before 9/11.</p>
<p>Oops, another blanket statement and a gross one at that!</p>
<p>I certainly agree with your comment about the media and how they could choose what to spotlight what not to. Makes one wonder about the ‘values’ of those in charge of “the fourth estate”.</p>