In sports, when you talk the talk, you gotta back it up. When Joe Namath guaranteed victory for the Jets in Super Bowl III, or when Davey Johnson in 1986 said that the Mets should “dominate” the NL East, they had to win.
Bode Miller has been running Nike ads during the Olympics preaching against the importance of winning in sports. And so far, Miller has backed up his talk, failing to win any medals in four events (with one to go).
In competitive sports at the highest level, the guy who says it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, usually loses.
7 thoughts on “OTHER Not Bode Well”
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Is Miller, w/ his “Who cares? Its about the experience” attitude, the vanguard of America’s up-and-coming athletes, who’ve been raised in suburbs playing soccer and getting trophies for showing up?
1. Bode Miller isn’t from the suburbs but from rural New Hampshire
2. I didn’t grow up in the suburbs either but I don’t think it’s at all accurate to say that the prevailing ethos in the suburbs is “winning doesn’t matter.” In fact, the opposite might be true: where I, growing up in the city, was encouraged to participate in athletics mostly to keep me occupied and off the street, suburban kids are sent away to soccer/basketball/baseball camp at tremendous cost to the parents.
3. Although Bode Miller is extremely annoying and winning obviously is a huge part of Olympic competition, it’s not the only part.
4. Pretty much anyone that’s competed on a high level in terms of athletics, especially in individual competition, does at some point realize that winning actually isn’t the entirety of athletic competition (although, I would allow, a huge part of it) and that meeting your own expectations is important too, as is the experience of competing at a high level. The winning is everything attitude, in my opinion, is often thrust upon athletics by couch-potato types, often from the business/media world. (where winning arguably is everything) It obviously is not untrue, competition is about winners and losers, but it is not the whole truth either.
5. I can only speak from my own experience (city kid, high school/college athlete, junior olympian) but that’s my take.
There is a certain amount of credibility that is lost when an athlete become over exposed. The Sports Pickle banner announced JoinBodie.com has become a support group for losers. That seems to be the general consensus regarding Bodie. You have to give up your “rural” street cred if you are willing to cash checks from so many sponsors. The Pasta company that pays him so much must be thrilled to hear winning is not everything because Bodie will disappear faster than his contract if he fails to medal. I know where Bodie lives (I drink beer up the road ) and yeah it’s out there. But so what. Bye bye Bodie
He may have loftier goals than winning medals; but winning medals is the only reason why all those sponsors lined up behind him. He has cheated them if he did not try his best. If you don’t like competition, don’t ask someone to pay for your trip to the Olympics. I LOVE watching the Olympics on TV, and I really wish those kids could just compete with each other on a friendly basis without all those suits around; but it wouldn’t be on TV if not for the big bucks put up by the sponsors.
BTW NY fans, how about the vicious hit that Jagr took from someone on the Canadian team? You can see why MLB owners are not too thrilled with the WBC.
Jimbo, I had the same thought. Far more violent contact, and contact period, on the ice. But that is balanced by hockey players hitting Turin mid season, as opposed to MLB players looking for July performance in March.
“Trophies for showing up.” Nae bloody likely. US men’s soccer will win a World Cup within 20 years — or sooner — notwithstanding that pro soccer here will never even rival the NHL.
I am a Buffalo Bills fan, so . . . All hail wise Mr. Brodie! Winning the big one isn’t everything! Just being there is an honor!