My Rant About Olympic "Achievement"

Message

MarleysGh0st · #26 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:47 am

dimmzy wrote: Like they do in American schools. Where everyone is above average (apologies to Garrison Keillor).

You're doing a good job as Curmudgeon of the Day, dimmzy!

dimmzy · #27 Post by **dimmzy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:53 am

Tan is their captain.

He brought them together on the fly as a team, with two 11th-hour replacements.

At that point in the night, the one thing that group IS going to do is buck him up.

After the job he did bringing them together, they aren't going to greet him in stone silence or lackluster pats on the back.

Why was Jonathan Horton doing all the cheerleading then in the huddle? I had never even heard Kevin doing an interview! (Still haven't)

They must have named him captain because he's the Chinese one. Not there there's anything wrong with that.

Here's Fanny! · #28 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:56 am

dimmzy wrote:
That is a GOOD thing. It is TEAM competition. That team stuck together and won the medal together. I hate teams made up of snobby individuals. That is a GOOD thing. It is TEAM competition. That team stuck together and won the medal together. I hate teams made up of snobby individuals.
Good point. That's where I would have expected team members to ACKNOWLEDGE his poor performance and say that DESPITE that, they were a team. Instead, they said, GOOD JOB!!!

Right.

Nothing destroys a team's cohesiveness more than teammates calling each other out when they didn't perform up to expectations. When an athlete (anybody really, but especially an athlete) fucks up, they know it. They don't need their support system pointing it out to them.

dimmzy · #29 Post by **dimmzy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:56 am

You're doing a good job as Curmudgeon of the Day, dimmzy!

You betcha! I believe the Chinese coach has the right idea. He said that if China doesn't win 5 gold medals, he will throw himself off the tallest building in Beijing.

-- dimmzy, who will be sure to look up when she's walking in the shadow of tall buildings in Beijing

Nit Picker · #30 Post by **Nit Picker** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:00 am

dimmzy wrote:
You're doing a good job as Curmudgeon of the Day, dimmzy!
You betcha! I believe the Chinese coach has the right idea. He said that if China doesn't win 5 gold medals, he will throw himself off the tallest building in Beijing.

-- dimmzy, who will be sure to look up when she's walking in the shadow of tall buildings in Beijing

So, we need to book a cab for Kevin Tan to the closest tall building?

Here's Fanny! · #31 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:00 am

Here's Fanny! wrote:
dimmzy wrote:
That is a GOOD thing. It is TEAM competition. That team stuck together and won the medal together. I hate teams made up of snobby individuals. That is a GOOD thing. It is TEAM competition. That team stuck together and won the medal together. I hate teams made up of snobby individuals.
Good point. That's where I would have expected team members to ACKNOWLEDGE his poor performance and say that DESPITE that, they were a team. Instead, they said, GOOD JOB!!!

Right.
Nothing destroys a team's cohesiveness more than teammates calling each other out when they didn't perform up to expectations. When an athlete (anybody really, but especially an athlete) fucks up, they know it. They don't need their support system pointing it out to them.

And I shouldn't even really say up to expectations. They lived up to expectations and then some. How many countries (including the once mighty Russians) would have been thrilled to medal?

At least I don't think they were expected to medal. I don't really follow gymnastics that much, as I generally do not like judged sports. It's too much about the judges and not enough about the performances.

Like in synchronized diving last night. One pair of divers gets a 9.0 from Japan and a 4.5 from New Zealand. WTF?

JBillyGirl · #32 Post by **JBillyGirl** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:01 am

Tan's real specialty is the rings, not the pommel horse. And pommel horse has always been far and away the USA's weakest event, except for Artemev, who blew 3 out of 4 PH routines at nationals and the trials. So I was very nervous when the announcers started talking about a silver medal a little too much. It's quite possible that even if Tan and Bhavsar had hit their routines they still wouldn't have gotten the silver, because frankly their routines were kind of weak to begin with IIRC. I wondered why they didn't put Jonathan Horton up there because of his consistency, but I suspect they are trying to have him conserve energy for the all-around.

Personally I thought winning the bronze was a great victory for the American men, whom just about everyone had counted out of the medals altogether after losing both Hamms. They had a lot of spectacular routines, especially on high bar, so they had a lot to be proud of. As for "individual responsibility," the team members are there to support each other, and once a routine is done, there's nothing a guy can do to change past performance, and EVERYONE chokes sometimes, so there's no point in berating the poor guy. (Now, if he had been up all night partying, that might be a different story...)

Overall, the US men were great, and I am very, very proud of them. sometimes it's nice to be reminded that all that glitters is not gold -- or even silver.

Here's Fanny! · #33 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:01 am

dimmzy wrote:
You're doing a good job as Curmudgeon of the Day, dimmzy!
You betcha! I believe the Chinese coach has the right idea. He said that if China doesn't win 5 gold medals, he will throw himself off the tallest building in Beijing.

-- dimmzy, who will be sure to look up when she's walking in the shadow of tall buildings in Beijing

Yeah, China's got the right idea. And they'll cheat and falsify and connive to achieve it.

Rexer25 · #34 Post by **Rexer25** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:02 am

Nit Picker wrote:
dimmzy wrote:
You're doing a good job as Curmudgeon of the Day, dimmzy!
You betcha! I believe the Chinese coach has the right idea. He said that if China doesn't win 5 gold medals, he will throw himself off the tallest building in Beijing.

-- dimmzy, who will be sure to look up when she's walking in the shadow of tall buildings in Beijing
So, we need to book a cab for Kevin Tan to the closest tall building?

That (Nit Picker) was me. I didn't realize I still had my costume on.

JBillyGirl · #35 Post by **JBillyGirl** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:03 am

Here's Fanny! wrote:Nothing destroys a team's cohesiveness more than teammates calling each other out when they didn't perform up to expectations. When an athlete (anybody really, but especially an athlete) fucks up, they know it. They don't need their support system pointing it out to them.

I couldn't have put it better myself (and I didn't).

JBillyGirl · #36 Post by **JBillyGirl** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:06 am

dimmzy wrote:You betcha! I believe the Chinese coach has the right idea. He said that if China doesn't win 5 gold medals, he will throw himself off the tallest building in Beijing.

Did he say whether he'd take a parachute?

BackInTex · #37 Post by **BackInTex** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:10 am

dimmzy wrote:
That is a GOOD thing. It is TEAM competition. That team stuck together and won the medal together. I hate teams made up of snobby individuals. That is a GOOD thing. It is TEAM competition. That team stuck together and won the medal together. I hate teams made up of snobby individuals.
Good point. That's where I would have expected team members to ACKNOWLEDGE his poor performance and say that DESPITE that, they were a team. Instead, they said, GOOD JOB!!!

Right.

I'll bet you were one of the kids who would tell the last batter to strike out in a lost game "Way to loose the game for us", even though that at bat was only 1 of 27 outs.

dimmzy · #38 Post by **dimmzy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:15 am

they don't need their support system pointing it out to them.

If you're going to be happy with blowing it, why try harder?

And it's a new way of "sport" when we look at our teammates as our "support system." They're not.

Look at the Japanese team. As Tim pointed out, they seemed rather content with silver, taking videos of themselves JUST BEFORE THEY WERE COMPETING.

I don't like to see people "content" with mediocre efforts.

Frankly, if Kevin had come off the horse with his head down, all upset and beating himself up, THEN I probably wouldn't be on this rant.

a1mamacat · #39 Post by **a1mamacat** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:23 am

I have to....

Medal is a noun

medal is not a verb

one wins a medal

one does not medal

JBillyGirl · #40 Post by **JBillyGirl** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:29 am

a1mamacat wrote:medal is not a verb

It is in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Here's Fanny! · #41 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:31 am

dimmzy wrote:I don't like to see people "content" with mediocre efforts.

I can't imagine anybody who ever gave a mediocre effort making it on an Olympic team in the first place. Effort does not equate with results.

If you consider standing on an Olympic podium mediocre and blowing it, then okay, they suck! And he should have been taken out back and shot! Then thrown off a tall building! But only after he was chided and mocked and paraded around the arena wearing a dunce cap and having rotten vegetables tossed in his general direction.

Here's Fanny! · #42 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:32 am

The way judging goes, who knows what his score would have been in any case. Or the dude after him. Some 'adjustments' might have had to been made to keep the Japanese in silver.

BackInTex · #43 Post by **BackInTex** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:32 am

JBillyGirl wrote:
a1mamacat wrote:medal is not a verb
It is in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Not a verb....to Canadians ....at least so far.

dimmzy · #44 Post by **dimmzy** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:38 am

I'll bet you were one of the kids who would tell the last batter to strike out in a lost game "Way to loose the game for us", even though that at bat was only 1 of 27 outs.

But it wasn't one of "27 outs." We were doing GREAT! If he had done an "average" routine, that would have been the 2 points that would have brought us into silver medal position. THEN, the next performer might have done a LITTLE better too (clearly he was a little unnerved). We could have won the silver.

ANYHOW, thank you for your participation.

--dimmzy, who will now join a Gymnastics message bored to rant with 12-year-olds who will probably call me a "meanie"

13 year old gymnast · #45 Post by **13 year old gymnast** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:43 am

dimmzy wrote:
I'll bet you were one of the kids who would tell the last batter to strike out in a lost game "Way to loose the game for us", even though that at bat was only 1 of 27 outs.
But it wasn't one of "27 outs." We were doing GREAT! If he had done an "average" routine, that would have been the 2 points that would have brought us into silver medal position. THEN, the next performer might have done a LITTLE better too (clearly he was a little unnerved). We could have won the silver.

ANYHOW, thank you for your participation.

--dimmzy, who will now join a Gymnastics message bored to rant with 12-year-olds who will probably call me a "meanie"

Meanie!

Here's Fanny! · #46 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:45 am

13 year old gymnast REALLY needs a He Kexin avatar. Immediately, if not sooner.

MarleysGh0st · #47 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:45 am

dimmzy wrote:--dimmzy, who will now join a Gymnastics message bored to rant with 12-year-olds who will probably call me a "meanie"

MarleysNephew might invite you to step up to the apparatus and show what you can do!

silverscreenselect · #48 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:53 am

dimmzy wrote:
I'll bet you were one of the kids who would tell the last batter to strike out in a lost game "Way to loose the game for us", even though that at bat was only 1 of 27 outs.
But it wasn't one of "27 outs." We were doing GREAT! If he had done an "average" routine, that would have been the 2 points that would have brought us into silver medal position.

In many "team" competitions in individual sports, they throw out the worst result (or two) and count the rest. In gymnastics, every score counts. Four years ago, the Chinese were favored to win the team gold medal but didn't medal at all because they started to blow routines and it snowballed and eventually they had too many bad routines to overcome.

It's not as if Germany, Russia, and even Japan all executed a series of solid but unspectacular routines and the one blown pommel horse effort cost the US the silver. The other countries all made their share of mistakes scattered throughout the routines, even Japan, and had a number of blown routines. The US won the bronze because they had fewer blown routines than the others.

It's tough to establish a team mentality in what is essentially an individual sport. On the one level, your teammates don't block for you or throw the ball to you as they do in traditional team sports. But you do keep each other's emotions and spirits up and encourage each other, which is the difference between a successful team and a group of individuals wearing the same uniform.

The US swim team relay was also four guys swimming individually, but the team spirit and emotion that was there was a key to their big win Sunday night.

Here's Fanny! · #49 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:57 am

silverscreenselect wrote:But you do keep each other's emotions and spirits up and encourage each other, which is the difference between a successful team and a group of individuals wearing the same uniform.

Wow. That is brilliant. (Yes, I'm responding to a sss post in total seriousness. Ha!)

Here's Fanny! · #50 Post by **Here's Fanny!** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:59 am

silverscreenselect wrote:The US swim team relay was also four guys swimming individually, but the team spirit and emotion that was there was a key to their big win Sunday night.

You know, I was going to say something about this earlier. If the US had come in second, would Cullen Jones have been the goat because he was overtaken on his leg, no matter his split time? Would he have been castigated as the 'weak link' even though he had a superb effort?

Besides the French trash talk and the old guy taking the lead at the last split second, one of the things that made that such a great event was that is was a team doing it.