Winter Olympics: I'm a Bodeist
No, Nike didn't pay me to write this, though I will accept money after the fact.
I've decided to Join Bode. I'm a Bodeist.
First of all, there is a whole contingent of Bode-bashers that don't even understand the situation. I heard one guy call into a sports talk show last week and say Bode was the Jeramy Stevens of the winter games. Let's clear that up right now. Here's what he said on the infamous 60 minutes episode prior to the games:
"If I could put down, you know, unbelievable performances, really inspirational performances that you tugged at peopleÂs hearts, where people got emotional and still not come away with any medals, I think that would be the ideal Olympics for me."
So he doesn't want to be defined by his place in the standings, but rather by the effort he puts forth. Isn't that the exact message that Americans love to preach to young athletes?
Bode, of course, didn't win a thing this Olympics. So the skiing announcers blasted him at the end, saying it didn't look like he was putting in any effort and that he was out of shape, even though they'd previously pointed out he races a more grueling schedule than anyone. He skied every race for 3 straight years at one point.
Then in his final word of the night last night, Bob Costas bashed Bode, basically saying he was a hypocrite because he does advertising campaigns and interviews. And then, paraphrasing: "If Bode doesn't start caring more, pretty soon nobody is going to care about him."
I don't know if he could have tried harder. I don't know if he could have been in better shape. But I don't think he should be criticized for not caring about winning. It's hypocriticall of us. We spread the message that having fun is more important than winning, then everyone piles on a guy who just likes to ski and doesn't care about winning.
I'd like to think it hasn't all gotten to Bode, and that he's leaving Torino without any regrets or doubts about his own performance. Not satisfied, because he could have done better, but not angry at himself. Of course, he's probably partying right now. But that's just Bode. As a Bodeist, I'm happy to let him be whoever he wants to be.
I've decided to Join Bode. I'm a Bodeist.
First of all, there is a whole contingent of Bode-bashers that don't even understand the situation. I heard one guy call into a sports talk show last week and say Bode was the Jeramy Stevens of the winter games. Let's clear that up right now. Here's what he said on the infamous 60 minutes episode prior to the games:
"If I could put down, you know, unbelievable performances, really inspirational performances that you tugged at peopleÂs hearts, where people got emotional and still not come away with any medals, I think that would be the ideal Olympics for me."
So he doesn't want to be defined by his place in the standings, but rather by the effort he puts forth. Isn't that the exact message that Americans love to preach to young athletes?
Bode, of course, didn't win a thing this Olympics. So the skiing announcers blasted him at the end, saying it didn't look like he was putting in any effort and that he was out of shape, even though they'd previously pointed out he races a more grueling schedule than anyone. He skied every race for 3 straight years at one point.
Then in his final word of the night last night, Bob Costas bashed Bode, basically saying he was a hypocrite because he does advertising campaigns and interviews. And then, paraphrasing: "If Bode doesn't start caring more, pretty soon nobody is going to care about him."
I don't know if he could have tried harder. I don't know if he could have been in better shape. But I don't think he should be criticized for not caring about winning. It's hypocriticall of us. We spread the message that having fun is more important than winning, then everyone piles on a guy who just likes to ski and doesn't care about winning.
I'd like to think it hasn't all gotten to Bode, and that he's leaving Torino without any regrets or doubts about his own performance. Not satisfied, because he could have done better, but not angry at himself. Of course, he's probably partying right now. But that's just Bode. As a Bodeist, I'm happy to let him be whoever he wants to be.
posted by Prof. A at 11:49 AM
1 Comments:
What did Jerramy Stevens say? Why are you so intent to divorce Bode from Stevens? My recollection was that Joey Porter made a mountain of out Steven's "We want to win, even if it means we're wrecking Bettis' homecoming" molehill.
By every account I've seen, Bode was not only partying immediately after your post, but he was partying most every night of Torino.
I agree with what Costas has to say. In fact, I'm ahead of Costas. I've already given up. I'm not critical of Bode for not winning, but I'm not going to celebrate him for his party-first, compete-second mentality. There are literally hundreds of Olympic atheletes who don't win any medals, and I impressed by every one. But if I'm looking for Olympians to honor, I won't be settling on Bode.
Pete Fenson!
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